We’re exploring diverse genres, from a human drama to a romcom and also a dance film, says Shariq Patel
After winning the National Award for their production Mom (2017) starring the late Sridevi, and the success of their ventures, Parmanu: The Story Of Pokhran and Dhadak in 2018, Zee Studios is gearing up for a big 2019. The studio conglomerate is upbeat with the buzz that the teaser, trailer and the songs of their January 25 release, Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi, have generated among the trade circuit and the audience.
A special screening of this Kangana Ranaut-starrer was held for the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, on Friday evening at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Shariq Patel, CEO, Zee Studios, says, “When we saw the rushes, the scale at which the film has been shot coupled with Kangana’s fantastic performance, it gave us goosebumps. We’re a lot more confident that it will resonate with movie-goers and generate business because of the character. We’ve all heard of the Warrior Queen. A large part of the audience hasn’t seen Rani Laxmibai’s story on the big screen. We’re excited that people are eager to see the film, saying ‘ab picture dikhao’. There’s a genuine desire to see a great story.”
The corporate house also has another biggie lined up in March — Dharma Productions’ Kesari, starring Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra. Zee Studios is distributing the film based on the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi in which 21 Sikh soldiers fought against 10,000 Afghans. This will be followed by Karan Johar’s other production, Good News, starring Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani. Later, they also have Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, Sunny Deol’s next directorial venture, which marks the debut of his son, Karan.
Shariq reveals that this year, they will foray into production in a big way and have signed on Shree Narayan Singh (Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Batti Gul Meter Chalu), Abhishek Sharma (Parmanu: The Story Of Pokhran), Sajid Samji (Housefull 3) and choreographer Bosco Leslie Martis (of Bosco-Caesar duo) to make movies in-house. He adds, “We’re exploring diverse genres, from a human drama to a romcom and also a dance film. We’ll share more details as and when the scripts, casting and the team is locked. From the films with the four directors, we are looking to release two movies in 2019. We’re talking to more directors, too. As a studio, our strategy ahead is to have 10-12 films a year. So, we should be releasing a movie every month.”
With OTT grabbing the eyeballs, the corporate company is also expanding its reach on the digital space. Shariq elaborates, “We have access to great writing and direction talent that we’re talking to for films. A lot of them have interesting ideas for the digital space. And seeing the content market looking for novel, original stories, we’re looking to leverage our experience in content creation for longer format.” They are in advanced talks with filmmakers for OTT content and will make announcements as soon as things are finalised.
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 "Sajid Samji, Abhishek Sharma, Shree Narayan Singh, Shariq Patel and Bosco Leslie Martis")
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