For decades now, the film production space has been dominated by men. It was men who ran production houses and backed the biggest of films in Bollywood. However, in recent decades, this seems to be changing steadily. While Ekta Kapoor has been around for almost three decades now, more women are taking on the producer’s role in recent years. One such example is Pooja Entertainment’s Deepshikha Deshmukh.
Having learned the tricks and ropes of the production space from her father, Vashu Bhagnani, Deepshikha has been a part of Pooja Entertainment for a while now and has worked on projects such as Sarabjit with the prediction house. Speaking with News18, Deepshikha opened up about her journey into the industry and said that in her case, her gender never came in the way of her production journey.
“Having said that, in the industry, every woman has had their own experience. Besides the challenges, the number of female producers today is rising so rapidly. I think it shows that the industry is ready for us. Now the whole ‘woman can or can’t do’ isn’t there. People are so hands-on. I have my ADs on the floor, I have so many executives with me on the production field and they’re so organized so I think there are so many more women entering the field and doing what it is. My parents always asked me to believe in myself and that’s why I just went with what I thought was right,” she said.
Deepshikha recalled breaking a few stereotypes growing up. She revealed that she got married at the age of 27, which was considered late about ten years ago. “I broke another stereotype when I had just delivered my second child, my daughter was just five months old when I started Sarabjit and I went on to promote it at Cannes. It was the first time that I was leaving her so there are a lot of stereotypes that we’ve broken on our way to doing our work,” she added.
The producer explained that it boils down to having a strong support system at home. “I have three very strong men in my life – my husband, my father, my brother – who believe and support and understand what it is. My mother-in-law, my mom, I think having a strong support system has really helped me break these stereotypes,” she added.
Ask her if she felt any sense of pressure when she decided to follow her father’s footsteps into the industry and Deepshikha explained, “Being Vashu Bhagnani’s daughter is more of a responsibility than a privilege. We’ve seen our father go through his share of struggles for setting up films, for doing the work he has done. He didn’t get anything on a platter and nor have we. When we also started off, there was so much that one needed to understand, so many aspects that one needs to put together to make a film work. Be it from the creative angle, creative forces on board, be it marketing, positioning your film right, releasing it right, making sure it reaches the right amount of audience. I think the role of the producer has also changed a lot. You’re not just a financer of a film anymore. There is a lot more involvement of a producer that is required now.”
Recalling one such tough time, Deepshikha said, “The one thing that I remember very clearly was Om Jai Jagdish was a very, very big film for us. When that film didn’t do well, it was an uphill task for us. He lost everything after that film. He had to pick his pieces and start all over again. We were in our early teens and I clearly remember that time. Those are the days one can’t forget. And that’s when you realize that success comes, success goes. It is hard work that stays. You have to be confident, you have to believe in yourself, you have to know that you can start from scratch and don’t let success go to your head.”
While there were some tough days, Deepshikha also recalled some good memories. “When we went to shoots, we were friendly with Chi-Chi (Govinda) bhaiya, Lolo, Bebo, Abhishek, Tushar, all the actors we worked with at that time. We spent a lot of time with them when we were at the shoots. But at home, mom was very particular about our chores, education.”
Deepshikha isn’t the only producer at the Deshmukh house today. Her sister-in-law, actress Genelia Deshmukh also turned producer a few years ago. Speaking about Genelia, Deepshikha said, “She’s a fantastic producer because when we discussed a little bit about what’s happening, I think she’s so hands-on with everything. We get along really well and she’s my go-to person as well. And she’s a fabulous mother and a fabulous actor, of course. And now even a producer, so I am so proud of the amazing work she’s doing.”
Looking ahead, Pooja Entertainment has a bank of movies in the making. These include Bade Miyan Chote Miyan with Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff, which Deepshikha dubbed as a ‘dream project’, and Ganpath, which is still under production. “We’ve finished a massive schedule on that one and we have another one to go. It is going to be India’s first dystopian film and it’s with Kriti Sanon and Tiger Shroff. It is very interesting,” she informed.
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