Vijayendra Prasad is set to work exclusively with a production house and mentor their young talent
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 26, 2018)

After penning his son SS Rajamouli’s National Award winning 2015 epic action film Baahubali: The Beginning, it’s 2017 sequel and Kabir Khan’s Indo-Pak drama Bajrangi Bhaijaan, veteran Telugu screen writer K V Vijayendra Prasad is tying up with Eros International to develop scripts, mentor projects and produce and distribute films across Hindi, Telugu and Tamil languages.

After wrapping up prior commitments, Prasad will start working exclusively with the production house that had also produced Bajrangi Bhaijaan. “I am writing and producing many projects for them which are presently in the developing stages. I have always believed that content is king, stars and everything else come later, an opinion that the production house also shares. Which is why I thought it’s the right platform to showcase my talent,” asserts Prasad, who has already written 10 stories that will take shape under the partnership.

The projects will be made on budgets between Rs 1 crore to Rs 100 crore, and one of them is a period-drama on a large scale. But the first film to roll out will be Telugu filmmaker Sukumar’s Hindi debut, a family action thriller that Prasad will be mentoring. “His last film Rangasthalam, featuring Ram Charan and Samantha Akkineni, had done really well,” he informs. He will also write Rajamouli’s cousin S S Kanchi’s Tamil and Telugu thriller The Accountant, and his own assistant Sriman’s Hindi directorial debut.

Sunil Lulla, Managing Director of Eros International, added that it is an honour to collaborate with Vijayendra Prasad. “His stories coupled with the vision of some of the best directors in the country will strengthen our position as the destination for the finest cinematic experience. Our aim is also to constantly create lasting IPs (Intellectual Properties) by collaborating with leading talent across Hindi and regional industries.”

Meanwhile, Prasad reveals that while there is no plan to further the Baahubali franchise as of now, he is happy with the way the upcoming Krish directorial featuring Kangana Ranaut, Manikarnika - The Queen of Jhansi, which he has written, has shaped up. Commenting on the moving of its release to next year, the veteran writer clarifies, “It hasn’t been delayed. There is a lot of CGI (Computer-generated imagery) work left which is why we are now coming out on January 25.”

Following seven years on American TV, the VJ-turned-actress returns to India as a travel vlogger and because she misses her dhansak
Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 26, 2017)


Shortly after the release of Delhi Belly in 2010, Shenaz Treasurywala travelled to San Diego for a friend’s wedding. In the US, she also auditioned for the role of Aubrey Wentworth in the soap opera One Life To Live.

Treasurywala didn’t make the cut, and decided to head back to India. “The day I was to leave, I got a call which changed my life.” The part of Rama Patel had been written into OLTL to accommodate her, and she was a New Yorker overnight. Now, seven years after her move to Brooklyn, the VJ-turned-actress is returning, and will soon release a book — All He Left Me With Was A Recipe — on her experiences.

Having starred in one of America’s longest running TV soaps and a Netflix film among others, Treasurywala decided to return because she “misses home, family, friends and dhansak”. “Recently, I was unwell, and a friend of mine travelled across the city to get me Dhansak, and eating it, I just knew I had to get back,” she says over the phone from New York.

Treasurywala says that, unlike other actors, she’s never been too picky about her roles. “I will play any role, just give me the job. Actually, I am often typecast as Middle Eastern or Pakistani here. Having said that, there are just one or two ethnically diverse roles in a show or a film. So, usually at auditions, I am competing with Latinos, Blacks, Middle Easterners, Chinese and Indians for any part.” But being profiled at auditions fades in comparison to the struggle she had to endure during her first few years in America.

“The snowstorms and blizzards in New York are not for the faint-hearted. It takes a lot of adjustment to wake up every day in minus 10 degrees and grey cloudy skies.” But the real challenge began when her show was shelved. “Two and a half years later when One Life To Live got canceled, I cried. I had to go to auditions, I had to hustle — something I didn’t have to in India because my first job as a teenager was with MTV, and I was a super success at 18.”

But her first break inspired her to keep trying, and before she knew it, she was a correspondent on Comedy Central’s Nightly Show that is produced by Jon Stewart. Then came Brown Nation, NBC’s Indian-American comedy. “I happened to go to a bar where I met a writer and cinematographer. Next day, as I was walking to school (she did a screenwriting course at NYU on the side), I ran into one of them again, and he introduced me to a director. They called me in to shoot a pilot. A year later, they shot the show and a year down, it got picked up by Netflix.” Treasurywala has also starred in Knocked Up-director Judd Apatov’s The Big Sick, starring comedian Kumail Nanjiani and Ray Romano. “I don’t invest in PR so every little job I do isn’t plastered all over the newspapers in India, but I’ve had success here.”

The great American dream is obviously not without its downside. “The scene is the same as in India, but nobody calls directly, one must have an agent or manager, and the scope of making money is much less than in India. Taxes are ridiculous, and there’s no end to bills.”

While some may argue that her Hindi film career didn’t receive the same overwhelming response as her VJ stint, she feels that one “can’t win at everything in life immediately”. “I didn’t set out to be a Bollywood actor. My first film, Ishq Vishk, just came along and I went with it, and it was a big success. I continued with MTV almost right up until Delhi Belly, which was also a big hit,” says the actress who shipped all her furniture from Mumbai to New York when she nailed her first TV gig and only recently decided to do away with it all. “I have sold all my furniture and have been living out of a bag and crashing at Airbnbs.” Airbnbs? That’s right. Treasurywala is also seriously pursuing making a living out of travel, and is a popular travel vlogger. “I work, save and travel. I just fly around the world exploring in between acting gigs. I made a choice since I was very young to spend my money on experiences and not things.” Years ago, Treasurywala had to choose between hosting her own show on MTV and a job as an airhostess with an international airline.

“Sunil Lulla, then MTV’s boss, told me that I can choose to see the world, or allow the world to see me. If I picked the second option, he said, I’d be able to afford to travel the world anyway,” says Treasurywala, who has, till date, visited over 100 countries and recorded her travelogues. Being a travel vlogger allows her, she says, to also pursue her other passions: photography, hosting and interacting with people. “It’s like MTV’s Most Wanted all over again — it’s interactive — I respond to my fans,” says the Youtube star whose channel has knocked up four and a half million views.

Shilpi Sampad (MID-DAY; January 6, 2017)

Aanand L Rai is set to take his association with his Tanu Weds Manu and Raanjhanaa writer, Himanshu Sharma, to the next level. The filmmaker will be launching him as director in an upcoming production venture.

But for Himanshu, it wasn’t a surprise. “I saw it coming. I narrated the story idea to Aanand for him to direct, but he said that I must helm it instead. He told me this should be my first film as director,” says the National Award-winning writer. The Lucknow boy weaves his stories around his home state Uttar Pradesh. For the Tanu Weds Manu franchise, it was Kanpur, while Raanjhana was set in Benaras.

But for his directorial debut, Himanshu won’t reveal the backdrop just yet. “Currently, I am finishing work on Aanand’s next (with Shah Rukh Khan reportedly playing a dwarf) and will then move to my project. The story is ready, but I need more time to develop it. It’s too early to discuss details at this point,” he says.
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BOMBAY TIMES (January 6, 2017)

BOMBAY TIMES (November 8, 2016)

BOMBAY TIMES (January 20, 2016)

Producer Firoz A Nadiadwala on how the actor saved the day
Subhash K Jha (DNA; September 12, 2015)


I had no co-producer on board and a director who didn’t care what happened to the film. Anil spoke to Sunil Lulla who stepped in at that stage only because of Anil. They proved to be my saviours at a time when everybody had turned their back on me,” says the producer.

Firoz wonders aloud why Anees couldn’t wait. “He went to the producers’ association. He filed a police complaint against me, for defaulting payment. Aisa toh koi dushman bhi nahin karta. Aur phir yeh to Anees ki apni film thi.” It’s highly unlikely the two will ever work together again.

Says Firoz, “Anees had a problem with everything including my grandfather’s name being in the credit titles before his name. For the first time in the history of our banner, the director’s name comes before my grandfather’s. He also objected to my name in the credits for shooting the action scenes in the deserts. Arre, why should I not take credit for my work?”

Now that Welcome Back is a smash hit, Firoz wants to put the entire experience behind him. “But it’s not going to be easy. I’ve been to hell and back. I hope no producer has to go through what I did,” he says.

BOMBAY TIMES (January 7, 2015)

BOMBAY TIMES (November 26, 2014)

Eepsita Guha (BOMBAY TIMES; November 11, 2014)

Hiren Kotwani (BOMBAY TIMES; September 24, 2014)

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 22, 2014)


Sanjay Leela Bhansali has struck a unique deal with his Bajirao Mastani coproducer Sunil Lulla. The filmmaker will not charge a single rupee as his directorial fee but will share 50 per cent of the film's profits.

A source close to the development, told Mirror, "Earlier, only big stars demanded a share in profits but today, many A-list directors take 25-30 per cent of the profits from studios in lieu of their remuneration. Bhansali has doubled that figure, but there is a reason for the move."

Explaining what prompted Bhansali to take this step, the source said: "Bhansali is confident about the fate of the film and knows he will not be shortchanged. It's a smart move."

When contacted, Lulla's spokesperson confirmed the news.Speculation is rife that Bajirao Mastani has a budget of a whopping Rs 210 crore, making it the costliest Indian film. The source however refutes the rumours saying SLB has a sensible budget in mind and by taking a director's cut; he will be reducing it further.

The film will be extensively shot in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

Lead actor Ranveer Singh starts shooting by the year-end but Deepika Padukone will only report on the sets in February 2015, after she is done with Imtiaz Ali's Tamaasha and Shoojit Sircar's Piku.

Garima Sharma (BOMBAY TIMES; May 7, 2014)

Summer gets a dose of romance with director Arif Ali’s debut film Lekar Hum Deewana Dil, which marks the entry of Raj Kapoor’s grandson Armaan Jain and actress Deeksha Seth in Bollywood. Arif, director Imtiaz Ali’s brother, tells the story of two friends, who face the consequences of their decisions and then learn from them.

Says producer Dinesh Vijan, “The film is all about making mistakes and growing up. It reflects the ‘act first, think later’ sentiment of today’s youth and how relationships fail over unrealistic expectations. We are excited about our collaboration with A R Rahman too. He has created a young and new sound, which is unlike anything we have heard before.”

Adds producer Sunil Lulla, “After Love Aaj Kal and Cocktail, we are excited to team up with them yet again after. This is the perfect movie to continue our association with generation next love stories.”

Lekar Hum Deewana Dil, produced by Eros International and Illuminati Films, releases July 4.

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; February 28, 2014)

Vikas Bahl, 42, is instinctive, impulsive and a really good team player. He is emotional and inherently loves people who are emotional. His determination can lead to him becoming stubborn. He can tolerate indiscipline, but not bad output. He is a happy person for whom the protection of his friends is most important. Ahead of his upcoming film Queen, which is his debut as a solo director, he talks to Bombay Times about the generous Anurag Kashyap, the emotional Ronnie Screwvala and how he has always been a nonconformist. Excerpts:
 
How did you become a filmmaker? 
I grew up in Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi, which is the world of Rani (played by Kangana Ranaut) in Queen. My dad worked for Indian Oil Corporation and has now retired and my mom was a housewife. I fluctuated in my studies a lot. One year, I would top and the next year, I would have my parents sitting in front of my teacher pleading with them to pass me. But I was into other activities, like, I was the secretary of the anti-Mandal Commission forum — doing rallies on the road and was a part of AIESEC. I came to Mumbai to do my MBA from NMIMS and was a gold medallist that year. I had specialised in advertising and got my first job at O&M where Piyush Pandey became my mentor. He kept telling me to join creative, but I worked there for five years in client servicing. Then I left advertising to join Sunil Lulla at indya.com in Bangalore, after which I joined Radio Mirchi as national marketing head and then SAB TV, where I was the head of business and programming. That is when I made the shift to creative. The channel, from the 16th position, came to the No. 4 position. I then joined UTV and started Spotboy (alternate films division) till we started Phantom in 2011. I was the producer on Aamir, Dev D and Welcome To Sajjanpur. Meanwhile, I was parallelly writing Chillar Party and then co-directed it, but it did not get released for a year, and that was a really tough time, till Rajkumar Hirani saw the film and decided to present it, and Salman Khan took it under his wing. It was at that time that Anurag Kashyap and all of us (Vikramaditya Motwane, Madhu Mantena and I) felt that it was time to start a company together and we started Phantom; the common factor amongst all of us being that we all wanted to at least once in our life, do things we wanted to.
 
What were your strengths as a producer? 
I can very easily put myself into the director’s shoes and can ride with him through and through. I am instinctive, impulsive and a really good team player. I am willing to go through anything and give my 100% for a person I have decided to be with all through my life. I will never leave a job half-done. I am very generous and feel my directors should do well and make a lot of money. Fame doesn’t excite me, good output does. If I am not even getting credited in the film but my friends and family know that I have done it, I am happy. For instance, if Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane know how hard I worked on their films it is enough for me. Anurag may not normally pick up others’ calls, but if I send him a message saying, ‘Urgent’, he will call back instantly, even though he may be anywhere and I consider him even more generous than me. Madhu Mantena is like my brother. 

Were you a non-conformist by nature? 
Yes. That getting of the onetime gold medal was just to safeguard my dad’s belief of backing me to be able to tell his family that he was backing the right person and that I was fine, as I was otherwise all over the place. But then I let go of it. I was always doing things in my life for the wrong reasons. I took up biology, as the girl I liked was in biology. I wanted to join the Mandal Commission, as I loved the fact that you could sit on the street and give a dharna. But then of course, I would start believing in it. Politics always excited me and still excites me as much as movies do. My dad always supported me. While he would have loved it, had I gone with the normal route but he knew deep inside that that was not my calling. I think he would have spent all his savings to send me to do an MBA in Mumbai. In my professional career, I would always go up and then suddenly leave it. For instance, I was really good at advertising but I left it to go and work for dotcom as I liked Sunil Lulla and wanted to work in Bangalore. So again, it was for the wrong reasons but I left it when I was peaking and not bored. I left TV when I was up there to go and make movies. I am a very high risk-taker. I was also lucky to have worked under really good bosses.
 
Talk about your favourite bosses? 
Piyush Pandey was my first inspiration and he made me realise how you can be simple and yet so bright. He taught me to look at life simply. Sunil Lulla is the best team player I have met in my life. Once we had a fight with a client. In front of me, he blasted the client, but then he took me into a room and then blasted me and I knew he had won me for life, as in front of the client he had stood by me. Ronnie Screwvala inspires me like nobody else. He is the most self-driven person I know and is a wonderful human being. He is all about his work, his people and his family. And to get that dynamic correct is very rare. If I would sit in front of him and say I wanted to buy that house, he would not think twice about whether he would recover what he did for me in the long run, but would just help me buy it at that time. He has a front of being a cold businessman, but many of his calls are emotional. He may convert it into a great business deal later, but there are many decisions that he would have taken with his heart more than his mind. He is also the best creative business person I know. I was always a rebel as a deputy, but I was lucky to have great bosses who knew that while I was a non-conformist, my heart was in the right place.
 
Who are you most attached to in the world? 
My wife Richa and my dog. Richa and I are bohemian who love to travel. We were in O&M together which is where we met. She is extremely creative and confident and a lot of my confidence comes from her.
 
Talk about your family? 
While I talk a lot more to my mom, I am emotionally more attached to my father. Given how bright he was, he never got his due in life and I think he looks up to me for earning that for him. Within my family, I was closest to my grandfather Devi Dayal Bahl. As a child, I used to stay with him in his room. He had lost his memory, so I would take him to the bathroom, give him a shower and knew in my heart what he had done in his life. Despite being a freedom fighter, he had left the Congress when they started going wrong, he disbelieved Mahatma Gandhi when Partition happened, which was totally unexpected of him. I was the one who had sent the first SMS post 26/11, for the rally at the Gateway of India. The police had investigated and found out that I was the person responsible, so my name is still there as the person who would have been behind bars had anything gone wrong at that rally. I am very close to my family and they feel that I too am extremely honest like my dadaji and have taken after him. He died long back, but I lived 10 years of my life in his room, coming back from school and seeing him, waking up in the middle of the night and picking him up if he fell from his bed. I didn’t realise that he affected me, but I do now, as I understood that there was a larger than life thing in my family. Politics doesn’t excite me, but my love for my country does. I actually have a tattoo on my arm saying ‘Made in India’. I was writing this film called Conditions Apply that was about being proud of my country. But right now, I am feeling let-down and not feeling proud of my country so I aborted writing it. I want to make a film where I can say that we are good people. It’s not politics, but what politicians are supposed to do that excites me. I have a point of view on how the country should be run. And I know that I can be fairly violent and vociferous about it.

Once again, two of Sonakshi Sinha’s films are clashing at the BO. Which one will she prefer to promote this time?
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; January 22, 2014)

When her last two films, R… Rajkumar and Bullett Raja were up for release, their back-to-back release dates meant that Sonakshi Sinha had to juggle the promotions of the two films. Looks like the actress is in a fix again. Action Jackson, her film with Ajay Devgn, and Holiday, with Akshay Kumar, are both releasing on June 6. After the release of Aamir Khan starrer, PK, was pushed to December, producers of both her films are now eyeing the same release date.

Dividing time between the promotional activities for these two upcoming films will prove to be quite a task for Sonakshi and it is likely that she will have to choose one over the other like she did the last time. It was said that she had promoted Prabhu Dheva’s R... Rajkumar with Shahid Kapoor more aggressively (due to her rapport with them) than Tigmanshu Dhulia’s film, Bullett Raja, which had Saif Ali Khan as her co-star.

This time around, sources state that it will be a tough call. On one hand, Action Jackson is directed by Prabhu Deva, whom she calls her favourite director, while AR Murugadoss’s Holiday stars Akshay Kumar, whom she considers to be her lucky mascot.

Says a source, “The last time it so happened that the release date for R... Rajkumar was declared in advance and her dates were locked for its promotions. At that time, Bullett Raja was slated for a September release. But when the date was shifted to November, it upset her schedule and accommodating dates for both the films proved to be quite difficult.” This time too, the actress doesn’t want to pick one film over the other.

“But it will be undoubtedly be difficult for her to promote the two films and come up with an excuse for choosing one over the other,” adds the source.

It remains to be seen who will win this round: Prabhu Deva and Devgn or Akki.
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Mehul S Thakkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 22, 2014)

While Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn don’t have a history of rivalry, that could change in the coming months. Even though it is being said that a clash of their releases has been averted, Mirror has learnt that the Ajay starrer Action Jackson and Holiday toplining Akshay are still on a collision course. June 6, the first Friday after the end IPL season, will see two big south directors, Prabhu Dheva and A R Murugadoss, competing at the box office. But even more interesting are the backstage developments which led to this face-off. A source told Mirror, “Vipul Shah, the producer of Holiday, had initially slotted its release for May 1. But, Ajay approached his studio (Reliance) with the request to bring forward the date to avoid coming on the same day as his Action Jackson. Vipul agreed and decided to lock June 6 after confirming that Aamir Khan's P.K had moved to Christmas.”

Sunil Lulla, MD of Eros, the production house helming the Ajay starrer, also contacted Vidhu Vinod Chopra to confirm if P.K had been pushed ahead to December. “When he got a yes he discussed the development with Ajay and decided to release Action Jackson too on June 6,” added the source.

When contacted Vipul confirmed the news and said, “We announced the new release date on Monday and within two hours they too made an announcement that their film will open on June 6. Personally I feel there is no need for films to come together. When we were requested to move the film, we did. It’s time for Eros to show the same grace to avoid the clash. I believe Ajay will never do this deliberately.”

Sunil Lulla maintains, “I was not aware that Akshay’s film is also coming on the same day.”

Interestingly, Akshay had earlier pushed Holiday from March 28 to make way for Ritiesh Deshmukh’s Marathi film Yellow. Akshay too produces regional films and decided to not cut into Riteish’s film.

Said a source, “Akshay really liked Yellow as it has a strong message. Akshay wanted the film to get an uninterrupted run without the audience divided over another big film.”

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; January 21, 2014)

Latest news has it that Aamir Khan starrer PK will no longer release on June 6; instead it will release on Christmas day. Cashing in on the situation, both Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar now want to release their films on June 6. It maybe recalled here that the initial release date of both the films — Devgn’s Action Jackson and Akshay Kumar’s Holiday — was May 1; however, it looks like the two will fight it out on June 6. Surprising considering that Ajay had earlier requested the producers of Akshay’s film to postpone their release so that they can avert a clash.

When contacted, Sanjeev Lamba, CEO, Reliance Entertainment confirmed this. He said, “Ajay had requested that I move the release date of our film Holiday from May 1. So when we heard that P. K. was no longer releasing on June 6, we decided to slot our release accordingly. We were not aware that now Ajay has shifted his film Action Jackson to the same day.”

Sunil Lulla, the distributor and producer for Action Jackson, said he was not aware of any clash. He said, “As far as I know, Holiday was releasing on May 1. In fact, we had a discussion with Ajay Devgn last week and it was mutually decided that our film would release on June 6.” Whether it is a case of misunderstanding or done on purpose, the Ajay-Akshay clash seems inevitable now.

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 6, 2014)

Salman Khan is one of those who believe that he does not need gimmicks to pull the audience to the theatres. He has proved in the past that his star power is enough to set the cash counters jingling. Although with Ready he finally jumped on the bandwagon and started to promote his films, the actor still believes that hugely expensive exercises are no guarantee for a box-office hit.

According to a source, last week he spoke to Eros International, the presenters of his upcoming film Jai Ho, and requested them to revise the publicity budget. “The amount allocated was Rs 16 crore, but Salman told Sunil Lulla (the head honcho of the production house) that the upper limit for promotions should be no more than Rs 6 crore. He wants the rest of the money to be distributed among the poor and needy while on city tours,” said the source.

Not only this, Mirror has also learnt that the actor has also told the presenters to ensure that the ticket prices do not skyrocket as has become a trend with recent releases. “Numbers are important but don’t take the film out of the common man’s reach,” the star reasoned.

Lulla though flabbergasted by these unusual demands, couldn’t refuse Salman. Last heard, his company was reworking the modalities. An Eros spokesperson confirmed the news and said, “Yes, Salman and Eros have discussed the matter. Salman wants the film to reach out to as many people as possible. It’s only be right to have a fair pricing. We can assure you that tickets won’t cost you as much as Dhoom 3. A part of the film’s promotional budget has now been allocated to charitable organisations.”