From Sarbjit to Sarvann

Bollywood’s youngest producer Deepshikha Deshmukh, who made her debut with the much acclaimed Sarbjit, is all set for her next production, Sarvann.

Daughter of Vashu Bhagnani, Deepshikha has infused fresh blood and energy into Pooja Films. Her mantra is telling stories differently. Apart from being a strong influence in Bollywood, she is a style icon as well.

Married to one of the first families in politics in Maharashtra (daughter-in-law of Vilasrao Deshmukh), Deepshikha is a mother who manages work and home efficiently. In an exclusive interaction with us, Deepshika talks about her future plans, association with Priyanka Chopra and more. Read on:

Does being a woman make it difficult for you in this field which is male dominated?

This was the case maybe a decade ago. Not anymore. I think no industry is ‘male’ dominated today. We all are recognized for the kind of work we do, and there is an equal amount of opportunity for all. I mean look at Dr Madhu Chopra, Pooja Bhatt, Zoya Akhtar, Farah Khan—the list just goes on.

Coming from a Bollywood family, was it pre-decided that you would carry forward the Pooja Films legacy?

Growing up with Vashu Bhagnani ji as your father ensured that I understood the nuances of film production from a very young age. Besides his legacy, I love the entire creative process of taking a story from inception to 70 mm. The sense of accomplishment is immense and extremely satisfying as a professional. Wouldn’t want to trade it for anything else.

How has been your association with Priyanka Chopra?

We both share the same vision—commitment to providing a platform for great stories to be told, irrespective of language or genre. The journey during Ventilator was a very smooth experience, and with Sarvann now the bond has grown stronger.

Priyanka, in spite of being extremely busy with her international projects, made sure she was always available for her production venture.

What makes Pooja Entertainment back regional movies?

I will attribute the decision of backing regional films to my father Vashu Bhagnani. He has always believed in backing newer cinema, new-age stories, discovering new territories and newer audiences. Also, I strongly believe that language has never been a barrier to tell good stories. Regional cinema has a lot of potential and it must be backed.

We heard you want to get Hollywood titles in India. Please elaborate.

Pooja Entertainment did bring a few Hollywood big tickets to Indian audiences this year. We would like to expand the scope of this initiative. Today there is serious competition between Hollywood and Bollywood and we recognise that. The audiences for Hollywood movies are growing manifold and it’s important we create opportunities for our audiences.

Being the daughter-in-law of one of Maharashtra’s first political families, is that a pressure position?

Wouldn’t call it a pressure position, but it’s definitely different. We deal with reel in Bollywood and in politics everything is real. But, being in a political family like the Deshmukhs has definitely helped me connect at the grassroots level. It has been a tremendous learning curve for me.

Would you like to take up acting at any point of time in life?

I am very happy and content with the three roles that I am playing- that of a wife, a mother and a producer.