What’s sex got to do with success, asks Ekta Kapoor

Her shows on the small screen may have been accused of relegating entertainment to kitchen politics, but on the big screen, her recent fare has proven to be quite a game changer. With her big ticket movie The Dirty Picture hitting jackpot at the BO last year and hijacking the top awards this year, Ekta’s further cemented her stakes as a mega player in the industry. No mean task in a predominantly male driven industry, but Ekta waves it off.  As After Hrs catches up with the filmmaker for a candid tete-a-tete, Ekta points out that the only thing that matters in this industry is what’s seen on the screen:

Camping out
“I won’t deny that often there may be a certain affinity to work with a particular set of people, but that’s mostly to do with the comfort level that we share, as well as the role requirements. If that’s what you would call camps, then yes campism’s very much there. But as for me, I’d rather be my own camp, than belong to anyone else’s,” says Ekta.

In the right direction
Ekta may have expansion plans for her production house, but she insists that she’s not looking forward to broadening her own profile. “I am happy producing films, but direction is not something that I am looking at all. I can handle all aspects of my work, but I don’t think like a director yet and actor toh is completely out of the picture for me,” she adds.

Gangster connect
Shootout at Lokhandwala, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai and now the sequels like Shootout At Wadala… “I think gangsters are lucky for me,” laughs Ekta. “I think they make for interesting stories and are closer to real life than we may think.”

Sex sells!
“Sex sells, but good films even more,” says Ekta, as she talks about actor Vidya Balan’s hot act in their last recent release. “It was not about what Vidya was showing, but about her being unapologetic about showing it that worked for the film,” feels Ekta. “I’m not here to sell sex to the audience, but if it’s an interesting story, I’m all for it,” she adds.

Woman power
The filmmaker who was the youngest Asian woman to make it to the power list of an international magazine recently, feels that though it’s a male-dominated industry, she’s never felt shortchanged for being a woman. “What’s sex got to do with success?” she quips. “I don’t think anyone here is out to put you down just because you are a woman. I think it all just boils down to the work you are known for. It may not be easy, but it’s certainly not impossible for a woman to make it to the top,” smiles Ekta.