UK BECOMES a hot bed for Bollywood in the summer with stars taking a holiday in London to high profile movies being shot on its shores.
One film that concluded shooting in London is Jawaani Jaaneman, which stars Saif Ali Khan, Tabu and newcomer Alaia F in the lead roles. The driving force behind the project is Jay Shewakramani, who has turned his love for cinema into telling his own stories on the big screen as a producer.
Eastern Eye caught up with the big thinking producer to talk about cinema, Jawaani Jaaneman and challenges of film producing.
What first connected you to cinema?
I have always been connected to cinema, which began from bunking school to watch Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan’s films to joining my brother-inlaw (producer) Mr Ramesh Taurani, so I feel its always been there.
What led you towards movie producing?
I joined Tips just before they were staring the first Race and while working on that film I realised producing is my calling. From that point I never looked back. For me filmmaking is also human management, and I think I do that well.
Tell us about Jawaani Jaaneman?
Jawaani Jaaneman is a script close to my heart. It’s like my first love, which I will never forget. It’s a family entertainer in the true sense and has its heart in the right place. I consider myself to be lucky to have found the right director and cast to take the script to its maximum potential.
What has been your experience of shooting in UK?
UK is every filmmakers dream place to shoot in. It’s extremely film friendly and in my personal experience, I think the weather makes a big difference. London has the best weather to shoot in. I would love to come back every year and shoot here.
What can we expect from the film?
What one can expect from this film is a clean family entertainer with a great cast. It has lots of fun, drama and emotion. What (director) Nitin (Kakkar) has managed is to put together is so well beyond even what I could imagine.
What’s the greatest challenge of producing a film?
For me producing is not just about negotiating amounts and cutting bills, it’s much beyond that. The greatest challenge for me is to identify the right film to make and then to get the right energies together to take that film to its final form.
What kind of movies do you enjoy watching?
I enjoy watching all kinds of movies. I am not particular about genre that way, but I love watching thrillers and supernatural films. In fact, I am working on a few scripts in that area.
Tell us about your next film Malang?
Malang is a co-production with T-Series and (filmmaker) Luv Ranjan. It’s a great script with some killer music that has been put together by Mohit Suri, who is by far the best in the dark love story genre. Every actor in that film is playing a very interesting character, which I think will make it a must watch.
Why do you love cinema?
The feeling of an idea converting into a story and the story converting into a screenplay and finally that coming onto screen is by far the most satisfying journey one can go through and that is what I enjoy the most about filmmaking.
Jawaani Jaaneman releases November 29
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