Soumya Vajpayee Tiwari (MID-DAY; December 28, 2016)

"I have been training rigorously over the years and have finally reached a point where I can sound like a professional singer without an auto tuner,” says Shekhar Suman. Ready with a new TV show, Success Stories, which goes on air from Sunday, the actor-filmmaker is also working on his second music album. His first was Kuch Khwaab Aise in 2008.

Shekhar tells hitlist, “I am working on two concepts and am yet to decide which one to go ahead with. The first one is a tribute — compilation of songs by Rafi saab and Mukesh. I also have a couple of original songs that I will record soon. Today’s generation will be able to relate to those melodious numbers. So, between these two, I need to decide by next month which one will make for an album.”

He decided on singing since the independent music scene is currently witnessing a revival of sorts. “I do riyaaz three hours every morning over Skype since my Ustad is in Kolkata,” he says. He plans to release the album by March.

Shekhar, who rose to fame with ’90s shows Dekh Bhai Dekh and Reporter, also wants to revive his hit TV talk show, Movers & Shakers, either on the tube or the web. He feels TV has changed for the worse. “While films have become hugely progressive and experimental — take Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Piku and Pink for instance, TV has become regressive with shows like Naagin and Brahmarakshas. Makers choose to cater to populist sentiments and soaps end up being a poor copy of films. TV is losing its individuality.”

After a trio of films didn't live up to expectations, Balaji CEO Sameer Nair reveals that focus will now be on digital, TV, newcomers and budgets
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 30, 2016)

Balaji Motion Pictures has had five releases this year starting with the third instalment of the Kyaa Kool Hain Hum franchise, followed by the Azhar biopic, Abhishek Chaubey's Udta Punjab, Great Grand Masti and the recently-released Tiger Shroff-starrer, A Flying Jatt. None of the films lived up to box-office expectations and now buzz is, the production house has decided to put film making on the back burner for now. Sameer Nair, group CEO of Balaji Telefilms refuted the rumour but admitted that they have grown more conscious of cost and feasibility.

"We are not shutting down, we have productions on the floor but will take stock of projects more closely now keeping commercial viability in mind. We have been trying to be more cost effective for some time now given the market conditions. The move wasn't prompted by the last few films, we have got more stringent over the last six months," insists Sameer.

He rues the leak of the censor copy of Great Grand Masti three weeks ahead of its release resulting in huge losses.

"Ditto Udta Punjab, though it did reasonably well. Azhar broke even, A Flying Jatt has just released and Half Girlfriend is next in line. It's business as usual but we will be cautious now," he admits.

Did roping in stars like Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Alia Bhatt for Udta Punjab escalate the budget? Will they now focus on newcomers to control revenues?

"Yes, we would like to do that like everyone else. It's about finding the right combo of director, actors and content. For us content has always been king," reasons Sameer, adding that for now the focus is on ALT Balaji, the digital off-shoot of the company which will be launched by the year-end.

Sameer reveals that TV will continue to be the company's core competency. "Ekta has been breaking new ground on TV. Naagin was very successful and had record-breaking ratings. On weekends only format shows work but Ekta came up with a new genre for the slot. Brahmarakshas is doing really well," he exults.

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 3, 2014)

Vikram Bhatt, who’s gearing up to terrify us with India’s first 3D creature film, titled Creature, is confident that his monster is at par with Hollywood standards. But he asserts that his creature is not a dinosaur, werewolf or even a vampire. “Why should I borrow from American culture? My creature is a Brahmarakshas--a mutant from Indian mythology. It’s 10-feet tall, has a swishing tail and is in the same league as the Yeti which I believe exists, although I am yet to encounter one,” he says. The creature owes its existence to stateof-art visual effects and has been created indigenously in the Chennai-based Prasad EFX. “I did approach a couple of foreign studios but the price they quoted was absurd. So I went to Prasad, I have previously worked with them on 1920, Haunted and Raaz 3. Initially I was sceptical but my fears were put to rest when I saw the creature for the first time on screen. With the right lighting, texture and animation, it looked terrifying,” he recalls, adding that it took seven months for his creature to take shape. “It reinforces the fact that we have the talent. The back work VFX of many Hollywood films is done in India.”

Interestingly, Vikram’s heroine, Bipasha Basu, is yet to see the creature. “I keep telling Bipasha to come see it. I can hear the fear in her voice when she says she will, soon. I wonder how she will dub for the film knowing what a fattu she is,” he breaks into a hearty laugh.

Despite Bipasha's self-confessed fear for anything that is unexplained and part of the supernatural, Vikram believes Bipasha is the perfect choice for his spine-chillers. “She surrenders completely to the script and the director. And when you are making India’s first creature film, it’s better to work with someone who believes in your vision rather than someone who’s sceptical," he says. "Even when I narrated the germ of the idea of Creature to Bipasha, her reaction was, ‘Let’s go for it!’”