Siva has previously been vocal about how the role of an EP is different here than it is in Hollywood and other film industries. Though he has done this job before for other films, he says that a film like PS redefined the meaning of the job for him.

“The film is produced by Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions, and the roles of both organisations were well-defined. Madras Talkies would take care of the shooting and the production process—which begins with casting and ends with post-production work. My role in such a film is to follow the creative decisions of the filmmaker and make sure everything is being followed,” says Siva.

“PS is a dream project for Mani sir, and to make this dream a reality, we had to alter the rule books. Subaskaran sir (Lyca Productions) and Mani sir undertook the monumental task of adapting an epic novel and our job was to make sure there would be no excess or wastage. The cast and crew too were cooperative, with actors ready to grow facial hair, go bald, learn horse-riding and swordsmanship, and learn to speak classical Tamil. Their willingness to be a part of the team made it easier to execute plans.”

As the role of an EP also entails working out salaries for the cast and crew, the conversation veers towards the numbers. “Compensating the talents is an important step, and we make sure nothing embarrassing happens. With big stars and technicians, there are really no negotiations; it happens only with talents in the next tier,” explains Siva who was responsible for both the crores that went to talents and substantially lesser amounts that went into expenses like travel and accommodation. “Veen akanumna enge venalum veenakalam.

Whatever you see and feel on screen must be worth spending on, and the rest, the lesser we spend on it, the better. We have an auditing team, and my line producers and production managers negotiate everything including talent, equipment, and location. We give them budgets to stick to and that gets shared with auditors who email us whether it’s all under control.”

Siva, who has worked with Mani for more than 20 years, remembers Mani wanting to revive this project multiple times.

“It fell into place this time because of the decision to shoot it as two films. Baahubali also proved that people are welcoming of period films in which an older version of the language is spoken. We also believed we had the technological prowess to pull off such a project now. I’m not surprised that it took so long for this film to happen, given how technology was in its nascent stages back in the 80s and 90s.”

Apart from the usual difficulties of handling such a large team of talented and shooting a period film, PS also presented Siva and his team with new challenges.

“For example, all the actors wore real gold jewellery that we sourced from a popular jewellery company that made it specifically for this film. Men don’t wear jewels these days, but back then, they did, and all their jewellery had to be made from scratch. These were sent under the close observation of security personnel who had to make sure that the jewellery would be during and after the shoot. Similarly, we had a lot of animals in the set, and we had to figure out where we would let them rest and had to enable access to food and medical check-up as well. We worked during Covid times, so testing too had to be done rigorously. We had specific teams for each of these tasks,” adds Siva.

When big-budget films fail, veteran production houses are known to work closely with affected parties to ensure that losses get compensated in future films. I ask how it works now, with the entry of corporate organisations into film production.

“Production houses like Pakshiraja Studios, Modern Theatres, AVM, Prasad, Gemini, and Vijaya Vauhini Studios made sure that their paperwork was perfect. Similarly, for Madras Talkies, several technicians have been working with Mani sir for decades… AR Rahman sir has been teaming up with him for 30 years now while Sreekar Prasad sir has worked with him for 25 years,” says Siva.

“Corporate companies coming into production, according to me, is a healthy change, because there’s discipline, a straightforward and honest accounting process and transparency. As far as funding and distribution are concerned, having a corporate company comes in handy. When you have longevity, the team you have will keep working with you and that relationship goes beyond the professional, and becomes a personal and creative bond.”

The upcoming English film Rust is set to resume production in January after a year since the demise of cinematographer of the film Halyna Hutchins who died after being accidentally shot on the sets.

However, the production will not resume in New Mexico where the probe is currently undergoing. While the production is still looking for a new place, Rust has probablities being shot in California, as per Melina Spadone, the attorney of Rust Movie Productions LLC.

As per reports, the production company of Rust had announced a settlement for Matthew Hutchins, Halyna's husband and it was agreed that the production would resume after a 15-month hiatus. He had also said in a statement that to wrap up Hust would be a way to "to pay tribute to Halyna's final work".

Halyna was shot dead on the sets of Rust during preparation of a scene with actor Alec Baldwin. The incident took place on October 21, 2021. The gun was fired by Alec, who was told that the gun was "cold".

(This story originally appeared on cinemaexpress.com)

MUMBAI: Actor Ishaan Khatter says playing a real-life war hero in the upcoming movie "Pippa" so early on in his career was a transforming experience.

Ishaan, known for "Beyond the Clouds" and Dhadak", said he is elated to play an Indian Army officer who was his age at that point of time.

“‘Pippa' certainly has been a transforming, different experience for me. It is in that kind of zone that is not being explored by young actors. It is interesting because that is just the age that the gentleman I am portraying, who is a real-life brigadier, was then a young captain,” the 26-year-old actor told PTI.

Directed by Raja Krishna Menon of "Airlift" fame, the movie is based on Brigadier Mehta's book "The Burning Chaffees".

Its title is taken from the Russian amphibious war tank called the PT-76, popularly known as "Pippa", which was used in the 1971 War.

Mrunal Thakur, Priyanshu Painyuli and Soni Razdan round out the cast of the film.

Backed by producers Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur, “Pippa” will hit the screens on December 2.

There are reports that Ishaan will collaborate with “Udta Punjab” director Abhishek Chaubey for a biopic on legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand.

While the actor didn't confirm his casting, he said working with Chaubey is on his wish list.

“I have a list of directors with whom I hope to work sooner or later. Abhishek Chaubey sir is definitely on that list. I am open to working with people who I may not know yet, who may have a great idea and become the next greatest filmmaker,” he added.

Ishaan will next be seen in “Phone Bhoot”, also starring Katrina Kaif and Siddhant Chaturvedi.

The horror comedy is directed by Gurmmeet Singh (“Mirzapur”) and produced by Excel Entertainment.

“Phone Bhoot” is set to be released in theatres on November 4.