Abhishek Chaubey to produce Konkona Sen Sharma's directorial debut

Says 'Ishqiya' director Abhishek Chaubey, who is now steamrolling Konkona Sen Sharma's directorial debut.

Abhishek Chaubey, who started out as Vishal Bhardwaj's associate director and co-writer in Makdee in 2002, and went on to assist him in all his subsequent films, even co-writing Omkara with him before turning director in 2010 with Ishqiya and following up with its sequel, Dedh Ishqiya four years later, is now turning producer. He will be collaborating with casting director Honey Trehan, who also started out as an assistant on Maqbool, on the Vikrant Massey-Kalki Koechlin starrer, A Death in the Gunj, which will mark the directorial debut of Konkona Sen Sharma.

"We're not doing it for the money but to facilitate the kind of films we want to see on screen. It's also more fulfilling than watching TV or playing video games," Abhishek laughs.

He admits that it's a change to look at cinema from the perspective of a producer. And he's looking at making Konkona's script, which just fell into their laps, into a commercially viable project by keeping to a budget. "That will inspire buyers to take a marginal risk," he reasons. "We don't want anyone to suffer any losses."

Was the decision prompted by the fact that after Dedh Ishqiya failed to live up to expectations commercially, Vishal hasn't produced his next, the dark, drug drama, Udta Punjab? Buzz is, the two have had a fall-out. "Only technically have I moved out of Vishal's fold, in spirit and relationship, we are still together. These rumours are just talk, and, as is common, the person they are about is the one usually unaware of them," he jokes. "Even though, unfortunately, the Ishqiya sequel didn't do well, it's one of our achievements. But yes, when a film doesn't do well, people are unhappy and there are consequences to that. But I have Vishal's blessings for our debut production."

So is this the end of the Ishqiya franchise, you wonder, and he admits that at the moment he has no idea on how to take the journey forward. "But even the idea of Dedh Ishqiya did not come from me. So if someone else comes up with a brainwave, we may," he muses.

His next directorial Udta Punjab is gearing up for a June release. It's a subject " the rampant use of drugs in Punjab " Abhishek feels very intensely about. "It feels real and emotional and I'm really happy with the way Shahid (Kapoor), Alia (Bhatt), Kareena (Kapoor) and Diljit (Dosanjh) have performed. The real challenge now is to get people into the theatres. Once they do, I know they wil take something back home," he promises.

So what next? "My co-writer and I just started working on a subject a few weeks ago. But it's still just the germ of an idea taken root. So don't ask me about the story since I still have to find one," he signs off.