Abhishek Chadha

There are many people who invest in the entertainment industry, the reason- the return on investments if you get them are very high and of course, no one thinks of the worst case scenario if they are a business man. If they thought of the worst case scenario, they would not do business in the first place- These are the words of Abhishek Chadha, the director of the movie Leader and director of Stalwarts Labs Private Limited.

Abhishek says that he has always been passionate about movies which according to him, not a big deal because more than half of the country which watches movies and has access to multiplexes, wants to be involved with movies somehow. When asked why he not considered acting instead, he replies that he spent his youth sharing and fulfilling the responsibilities of the family and by the time he became strong enough so as to look at following his dreams, the charms of his “Jawaani” were lost already.

Chadha, as you can guess from his replies, is a true Punjabi at heart who loves to eat and drink. An ardent follower of Goddess ‘Durga’ or ‘Shera Wali Maa’ as he says, he is a thoroughly religious person who loves singing ‘bhajans’ and makes sure that there is a family get together for a “Jaagran” at least once a year. Talking about Leader, Mr. Chadha said that the project is indeed close to his heart for it touches the sensitive topic of women in politics. He says that being a follower of ‘Durga Maa’, he holds women in high esteem and feels that if women are given the power, half of the problems of this world would stop existing. He says that a woman, irrespective of the level of education or exposure that she gets, is still able to manage the house well and ensure that everyone lives happily and peacefully.

It is this power of a woman, which he says motivated him for directing the movie since it was about a female protagonist. Mr. Chadha says that this was just a start for him and even though the movie could not fare really well on the Bollywood horizon, they did significantly good business in the ‘Bhojpuri’ cinema domain. He says that he is not bogged down at all by the dismal performance but it definitely does drive him to do better. He says that a story is not the only thing that works for a movie to sell, Bollywood is more about marketing than just the storyline. However, he has learned his lesson and will work out on the same the next time he ventures into his ultimate dream i.e. Bollywood.