On Monday, Netflix India unveiled its star-studded slate for 2025 that includes Aryan Khan’s directorial debut The Ba***ds Of Bollywood, Dining With The Kapoors, and many anticipated offerings. But Triptii Dimri and Vijay Varma’s Afghan Snow was conspicuously missing from its roster. The spy thriller, produced by Karnesh Ssharma’s Clean Slate Filmz, was reportedly delivered to the OTT giant in December 2023. So, why is it nowhere close to reaching the audience yet?

According to multiple industry insiders, Netflix has assumed control of the project from Sharma and is now considering making some changes to the thriller that has been directed by Anshai Lal, who previously helmed Phillauri (2017) and Mai (2022).

An actor from the show, on the condition of anonymity, said, “Afghan Snow has been given to Netflix, and the team is contemplating re-editing the show and even shooting additional parts as they deem fit. I’m told it will release later this year. Many titles will be added to the streamer’s slate beyond the ones announced on Monday.”

After its successful collaborations with Netflix on Bulbbul (2020) and Qala (2022), Sharma’s production house had greenlit Afghan Snow for the OTT platform. Sources say that after the series was completed in December 2023, there were some creative differences between the makers and the streamer. With the project in limbo over the past year, crew members apparently also struggled with delayed payments.

A unit hand revealed, “Our payments took very long to get cleared. While some got the full payment eventually, for many of us, the final tranche will come upon release. We were expecting the show to be announced on Monday evening.”

With this series stuck and Sudip Sharma—who had made Kohrra (2023) with Clean Slate Filmz—announcing its second season independently, rumours about the production house undergoing major changes have gained credence. An insider said, “The production house has been practically defunct for the past year. It will be re-launched soon with a new name.”

Mid-day reached out to Netflix and Clean Slate Filmz for a comment on Afghan Snow’s fate. Both didn’t respond till press time.

Hate begets hate. Positivity spawns positivity and failure is just one more step in our march to success - this is the mantra that Anushka Sharma lives by. She shrugs off slander, laughs away at the evils of social media and confesses that she didn't have a clear vision from the beginning, but says, “I knew what I didn't want to do.“ That's her - feisty and fearless. It reflects in her choices of films, too. Like the upcoming Phillauri, which is also her second production with brother Karnesh. How different can she be? Read on to find out more about what makes Anushka tick...

For NH10, your first film as producer, you chose Navdeep Singh as your director, who was just one-film old. Now, for Phillauri, you are again working with a first-time director, Anshai Lal. You really vest a lot of faith in new talent, right?
I have worked in Band Baaja Baaraat with a new director, Maneesh Sharma, and that was a turning point in my career. In fact, at that point, when I was so new, I needed an established director even more, but I believed in him. I think at some point someone gave me a chance, so there is no reason why I shouldn't do the same. I hadn't seen Manorama Six Feet Under when I decided to work with Navdeep Singh. I judged him on the basis of how he had written the story and the way he narrated the film. Sometimes, your instinct tells you that something is right.

Anshai Lal, on the other hand, has been my brother Karnesh's (producer) friend for years and when he came up with the idea, we all liked it, but there was no story around it. I was intrigued by his take on something like a boy getting married to a tree because he is a manglik.

In Bollywood when a film does well, people rush to adapt, remake and repackage the same concept. Even actors follow suit, and it becomes a vicious cycle...
The industry likes to repeat things that have worked with the audiences. I am completely the opposite of that. I will not do something that I have done before. I have refused a lot of good scripts just on those grounds. The films were good and they did well too, but it didn't work in my scheme of things. After NH10, I was offered a lot of roles to play a strong woman avenging her husband's death, but I wasn't keen on doing them. If something has worked and it's repeated, how will it work again?

If you observe, often when people come to you with scripts, they give you a reference of some other film. Like that, NH10 became a reference film. And I want to create more such reference films. Today, people have access to all kinds of entertainment from around the world, so unless it is a Salman, SRK or Aamir film, which draws audience to the theatres owing to their huge fan following, you have to offer the film goers something different. That is the only way you can get them to the theatres. Even Sultan for that matter, was different for a Salman Khan film. In the same way, Phillauri is dealing with something new, even if it is a commercial family film. In fact, the way the character of the bhoot has been presented visually is something you have never seen before in films.

Do you think that when a film fails, the entire onus is on the actor?
That's not true. It affects everyone. But the thing with actors is that when a film fails, we can quickly move on to another film, but a director finds it harder to come out of a slump. The recovery is quicker for actors, because we can work on many films at the same time.

From the start, you seemed to have a clear vision of what you wanted to do, and the pressures of stardom haven't tempted you to do otherwise. Like resisting the need to work with only superstars so that your stock goes higher...
I haven't done it for nine years, why would I do it now? I didn't succumb when I was new, so there is no question of it at this stage. It's not like I had a clear vision, but from the beginning, I knew what I didn't want to do. I don't want to just look glamorous in a film because I believe I have more to offer. And I want chances to express that.

Your brother Karnesh and you seem to be great business partners, but do sibling squabbles ever come in the way?
We have our fights, but the truth is that when you are working with a family member, you forget about being tactful. On the contrary, when you are working with someone else, you are often careful about what you say and do. Karnesh and I had to travel this journey and reach a point where we could comfortably find a balance, which is important for a healthy partnership. The trust factor between us is immense, and our values are the same, as we have been brought up by the same people. We both deal with situations in a similar way. Our parents are proud and happy that we are doing something together, though they don't specifically discuss films, unless it comes up in conversations. They are not film parents who get involved in what we are doing.

A few years ago, you were advised to not get into the production business...
People say things to you depending on the way they understand the world. I don't think that they are doing it out of malice in their heart - that's what they know, so that's what they will tell you. If I was scared of failing as a producer, I wouldn't be in the business. I know that physically, I can't be everywhere, but I am wholly and entirely involved in everything along with my brother. I think responsibility pushes me and I'm not the kind to crack under pressure. There were people from the industry like Mukesh Bhatt who called me up and encouraged me when I turned producer. And there were some who didn't take me seriously. I guess they thought it's a random one-off thing, but now they have realised that I am serious about it. When people deter me, it only makes me stronger. I know being a producer is risky business, but what is not risky? Even when you act in a film its risky because you don't know what its fate will be. I don't work with fear, I work with conviction.

You have expressed you anger against trolls on social media. What is your way of dealing with them?
When my films are releasing, I look up a lot at my mentions, otherwise I don't bother. The best thing to do when someone is being inappropriate is just ignore and block them. Block the trolls - it is the best feeling. I believe that if you don't have anything good to say, don't say any thing at all. We live in a world where hatred is on the rise and people think it is okay to hate. I don't want to encourage it, even if it is on social media. As an actor, I don't need any of those people in my space. After a whole day of hard work, the last thing you need is people talking bulls**t and being nasty. Sometimes, you have to be come thick-skinned as an actor. You begin to understand how these people out there are insecure and unhappy about your life and success. There are a lot of misogynistic men out there, who have an issue with women expressing themselves. They cannot stand it and this is how they express it. They are actually powerless people. The only power they have is the 140-characters online.

Taking off from what you just said, have all these years in the industry made you thick-skinned?
I won't say that nothing bothers me, but I'm logical and practical. Once I understand why someone is saying something, I deal with it better. Yes, there are times when you get very shaky and upset, but you have to let it pass. For me, the most important thing in my life is to make peace with things and move on. Frankly, I have not faced extreme failure ever in my life. Also, given the number of years I've been around, I've done fewer films compared to my contemporaries. I leave no stone unturned to do my best; if it doesn't work, I just accept it. I know that we all like to be control freaks, but trying to control things too much can mess you up. I think it is important to go through failures to change the course of action in your life. Sometimes, failure is a telling sign, and you got to understand it and act on it.

There has been a lot of talk about your supposed engagement (to Virat Kohli). Is marriage on the cards soon?
It's not something I like to talk about. I want all the focus to be on my work and I am giving people enough reasons to talk about my work (smiles).

After foraying into film production with Navdeep Singh's gritty slasher-thriller NH10, Anushka Sharma recently revealed in a video chat with Anupama Chopra that she is reuniting with Singh for another thriller that she may act in. She is also to embark on two other productions, debutant director Anshai Lal's romcom, and Delhi Belly writer Akshat Verma's laugh riot, in the new year. Now, Mirror has learnt that the 27-year-old actress-producer has signed Ayushmann Khurrana for Anshai's film. Buzz is, Anushka will also feature in the film.

First-timer Anshai has previously assisted on the 2006 Rahul Bose and Mallika Sherawat-starrer, Pyaar Ke Side Effects, and Sajid Khan's first instalment of the Housefull series in 2010.

Anushka, who is currently filming with Ranbir Kapoor for an upcoming romance-drama in London, had informed (Mirror, December 8) that Anshai's script is a funny, happy romance with loads of humour and is also content and technique-heavy. “A proper feature film with songs, too,“ she had added.

The film will roll in mid-2016. Anushka's brother Karnesh is overseeing the progress closely. Ayushmann, who is currently filming Sameer Sharma's Punjabi romance, Manmarziyan, alongside Bhumi Pednekar, signed up for another rom com, presumably because it's a new director-producer team.

In an interview with Mirror (September 12), the actor, who made his debut with the muchloved Vicky Donor ­ the first production of another actor-turned-producer, John Abraham, had revealed that the combination of a new producer and new director could be a tricky spot, but he has been lucky to have found filmmakers who have “captained the ship with ease“. It looks like he is excited to have found another of the kind in Anushka-Anshai.