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INTERVIEW: Vikram Malhotra on Sherni and Vidya Balan: ‘You can’t make a forest where Tiger’s reside’
It’s a fully fictional story put together from scratch. I can assure you that no mainstream Hindi film is set in this world, says Vikram Malhotra, who is gearing up for the digital premiere of Vidya Balan's Sherni.
After Shakuntala Devi and Durgamati, producer Vikram Malhotra’s next is the Amit Masurkar directed Sherni, fronted by Vidya Balan. The film premieres on Amazon Prime this weekend and the producer opened up about the idea to bring it on a digital platform. “We noticed that there is a demand for content as there’s nothing new in the mainstream space,” Vikram insists. He further informs that Sherni was always conceptualized as a theatrical film, however, it’s due to the pandemic that it has taken the digital route.
“Our driving motto of getting these films on OTT was to get new content for the audience in the comfort of their home. These films can be consumed in over 200 countries. The reach of these platforms is increasing by the day, and we were very satisfied with the results of Shakuntala Devi,” he avers, adding further that shooting a film like Sherni was difficult in the middle of the pandemic. “As the news of the pandemic came up, my first concern was to ensure safety for everything. Our shoot was halted in March 2020, and it was only in the third week of October that we resumed shooting for the film."
“The characters are so beautifully sketched out and have layers. Vidya’s character is a woman who would do what’s right in her own way
Vikram Malhotra
He asserts that strict bio-bubble protocols were followed all through the second schedule in October, 2021. “We didn’t have to compromise on the script or shooting spots. The entire team shot for 28-days and everyone was in their PPE kits even in the jungle. We came out with zero casualty,” he smiles. Vikram greenlit the project as he was bowled over by the vision of his director, Amit. “It’s a fully fictional story put together from scratch. I can assure you that no mainstream Hindi film is set in this world. It’s unique to Amit, where real people exist and where heroism is in everyday form. You would be surprised to know that a large percentage of forest officers are women.”
Speaking about the ensemble cast and the leading lady, Vidya Balan, the producer shares, “The characters are so beautifully sketched out and have layers. Vidya’s character is a woman who would do what’s right in her own way.” He signs off explaining why they preferred to shoot at real locations, instead of creating a forest set up at a studio in Mumbai. “You can’t make a forest where Tiger’s reside. Look at Vidya’s performance in the film, you can’t get that performance out of the artist until it’s shot in a certain environment,” he concludes.
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