Kaahin Kissii Roz, Kahiin to Hoga, Kkehna Hai Kuch Mujhko, Teen Bahuraniyaan, Sasural Simar, and Ek Shringaar-Swabhiman actor Manish Raisinghani has been writing and producing verticals like Race Ka Badshah, Engineer Number 1, Jail Ka King, and Jallad CEO, along with acting in them. He believes that working as an actor and as a curious soul opened different avenues for him and made him take a step into production.
He said, “I believe that getting your hands dirty is the only way to master anything. And having a 360-degree perspective only helps you open the unseen known dimensions. And I believe art is all about exploration. I like to get my hands dirty with every layer of the craft—it turns out, that’s where the magic is.”
“Acting with extremely talented teams gave me a perspective to become a better writer, and becoming a good writer gave me better control as a producer to optimise things efficiently. That’s how we have managed to make some impossible-looking shows at a very optimum cost, even in foreign locations. Great team, good planning has helped us achieve some impossibles,” he added.
He mentioned that digital platforms give the freedom to tell stories the way one wants. He said, “A founder of one of these platforms once told me they’ve got the tech and the math sorted, as they are experts in that, so they leave storytelling to storytellers. They do the numbers, we do the drama. Fair deal. But it also means no excuses, just ownership. Freedom with accountability! The perfect pressure to make conviction count.”
When asked where this whole urge to be behind the camera started from, Manish said, “It all started during Sasural Simar Ka with my little partner in crime Avika Gor. Before and after our shoots, we used to shoot our own short films, which made us typical indie filmmakers who have to do everything by ourselves, from writing to editing and then selling it too. We made it to Cannes twice, and we are on a roll to Cannes. That kickstarted our journeys. Then, with my mother-like mentor, Swapna Wagmare Joshi, I learned producing, where she made it simple for me: if you don’t understand finances, partner with people to handle the production bit, and you concentrate on storytelling, and that’s been my pattern ever since. We produced TV shows together, and to date, she is my guiding light. Just blessed to have the right people around who are very hungry to tell stories.”
“Then came another man who was hungrier and more foolish than I am, Mr Vikram Ghai, whom I have been a fan of for years and tried having on board as director for our shows since 2018, but things never worked out then. I mention this man because he really knows how to push my boundaries too; he directed our landmark Dubai show and, in those impossible locations, got greedy for more and elevated everything to another level. We have been working together on quite a few stories and even producing them together, and if I have people like him and our teams around, I’m sure the sky is the limit,” he added.
