Ajit Andhare looks back at the ten-year journey of Viacom18; shares his experience of working with Aamir Khan and box office prediction for Laal Singh Chaddha

Among all the present and past studios of Bollywood, Viacom18 Studios stands out. Since its inception in 2011, it has backed some of the most memorable and significant films like Tanu Weds Manu (2011), Pyaar Ka Punchnama (2011), Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012), OMG Oh My God (2012), Special 26 (2013), Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), Madras Café (2013), Queen (2014), Mary Kom (2014), Margarita With A Straw (2015), Gabbar Is Back (2015), Drishyam (2015), Manjhi – The Mountain Man (2015), Toilet – Ek Prem Katha (2017), Padmaavat (2018), Manto (2018), Andhadhun (2018), etc. If that’s not enough, it has also left a mark in regional cinema and in the web series space.

And the future looks brighter for this studio as it is a part of Aamir Khan-starrer Laal Singh Chaddha and Hrithik Roshan-Deepika Padukone starrer Fighter. Recently, Viacom18 was also in the news for striking a multi-film deal with Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.

Perfect Woman decided to interview Viacom18 COO and Ajit Andhare and ask him about his journey and a lot more. In the first part of our exclusive story, Viacom18’s man-in-charge looks back at the first decade of Viacom18 Studios and shares interesting details about Laal Singh Chaddha.

The title card of Viacom18 Studios gives me goosebumps every time. It gives a glimpse of some of the films made by Viacom18 since its inception in 2011 and it makes you realize that several path-breaking films have come out from this studio. Could you tell us about Viacom18’s 10-year journey?
I am glad that you mentioned the title card of Viacom18. It also has the tagline that says ‘Redefining Indian cinema’. We have taken a rather tall task of saying that. I mean, you should keep your standards high, isn’t it (smiles)? So we are trying to live up to that.

For a country as diverse as India, our cinema was a little more simplistic and kind of one-size-fits-all. That has changed now and it started largely with the advent of the multiplexes. Post-liberalisation, our society became more equitable and we saw women making massive strides. We were able to capture this social trend in some of our women-centric cinema-like Tanu Weds Manu, Kahaani, Queen, Margarita With A Straw, etc. That’s the reason why these stories have touched a chord. Even Toilet – Ek Prem Katha did that. As a nation, we were trying to face the sad truth that our sanitation is not that great. And a film need not be inspirational or moralistic every time. Look at Andhadhun.

There have been other challenges. We had a trial-by-fire with Padmaavat but we pulled through it and ultimately, we had a good outcome.

When we started, there were studios like Disney, Fox, Eros, and UTV. All of them have folded up. We have managed to survive and keep our flag flying! I am happy about the way things have shaped up. Moreover, we have been able to work with established people like Aamir Khan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Vishal Bhardwaj, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, etc, build a creative rapport with them and at the same time, give voice to younger filmmakers like Vikas Bahl, Umesh Shukla, etc.; that’s also been fuel for our success. And yes, we have won 6 National Awards in 8 years; it’s almost sounding like I am blowing my own trumpet!

So in our ten-year journey, we have been able to make the kind of cinema that drives us, our cinema got recognized both in terms of commercial success and critical acclaim and thirdly, we managed to make some sort of impact that Indian cinema stands for. Hence, that has fairly been a rewarding journey and it continues

It has been a memorable experience. It’s reassuring that some of our ways of working are strikingly similar to his process. For instance, he’s also a huge believer in scripts. I have heard often from certain people that they prefer going to the set, that the set talks to them, and that they’ll decide how they’ll take the shot while on the set and so on! I am much happier with Aamir’s model of having everything well-planned. He does table-reading. It gives you confidence and brings a lot of integrity to the filmmaking process. Also, his approach in making music is great and we had some wonderful sittings with Pritam and Amitabh Bhattacharya. It was great to see his judgment in music. He’s actually involved in every department, including costume! So I feel that I have gone to the University Of Aamir Khan and have graduated from there! Hence, I have enjoyed every minute of working on Laal Singh Chaddha.

We had a lot of challenges. There are several locations in the film. We were planning to shoot in Ladakh but we couldn’t initially due to the China situation. The Covid-19 pandemic also stalled the shoot. But we finally managed to wrap the shoot and now we are raring to go and release the film!