Ekta Kapoor’s success formula

Ekta Kapoor's mantra for Balaji Motion Pictures is to produce path-breaking cinema
The Dirty Picture, the dazzling multi-starrer set in the 80s South Indian film industry, has taken the audience and the industry by storm, evoking an avalanche of reactions. Balaji Motion Pictures has been slowly and steadily building up its repertoire with meaningful yet commercial films like Love Sex Aur Dhoka, Taryanche Bait, Shor In The City, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai and now The Dirty Picture, proving that it is a frontrunner in the business. For a company that is just a decade old, it is being talked about in the same breath as big players like Yash Raj Films, UTV Motion Pictures and Dharma Productions.

Sharing her vision, Ekta Kapoor says, "We will continue to make commercial, big budget films under Balaji Motion Pictures. We want to follow the Disney format and make wholesome family entertainers. Our other company ALT Entertainment will make path-breaking yet financially viable films. They will be niche and edgy." Ekta adds that today's cinema has changed and there's a new mindset, audience and demography. "I am amazed at the response The Dirty Picture has received from the industry and the audience. I had the script three years ago, but no director wanted to touch it. In the end, the team's conviction paid off."

In the capacity of a friend and a contemporary, director Karan Johar says, "Balaji has emerged as an exceptionally prolific production house. It's avant garde cinema mixed with the ultimate mainstream fantasy. They have conquered every demographic in the recent past. Ekta's vision and her team's execution has paved the way for a party at the box office!"

Director-producer Mahesh Bhatt gives Ekta full marks too, saying, "According to me, TDP is about audacity, courage and the conviction of the makers - Ekta and director Milan Luthria. Ekta is a 21st century Indian filmmaker who is coming into her own and yet rooted in real India. She's not apologetic of the Bollywood idioms that have been there for years. I have seen LSD and OUATIM. Now with TDP, she's growing from strength to strength and I am seeing the rise and rise of Ekta Kapoor. I am very happy the film has come from a young woman producer. Her audacity reflects in her films."

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, "Ekta is a game changer. She shot films like Ragini MMS and LSD on the digital format and proved that costs can be lowered, while TDP has made people realise that heroine-oriented films can have huge openings too. In fact, TDP's opening was bigger than Singham and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara. Ekta makes big budget, ambitious films alongside smaller-budget films and is reaching out to the masses and the classes. She's not just a great selector of scripts but a smart businesswoman too."

Talking about her association with Ekta, Vidya Balan says, "We started together with Hum Paanch. She could've continued to make extensions of saas-bahu shows for the big screen, but she didn't take that route. India cinema is coming of age because of filmmakers like her. I have tremendous admiration for her. Our belief in cinema is the same."



Courtesy : TOI