Producer Shailendra Singh, who is known for his contribution in the world of cinema with films like Kanchivaram, Malamaal Weekly, etc., in a recent interview opened up on his film Kanchivaram, which won three National awards, which was directed by the legendary Priyadarshan.
In a recent interview with podcaster Siddharth Kannan, the popular filmmaker and producer reflected on losing money on big-budget films and how he lost 80 crores in the Akshay Kumar film 8 x10 Tasveer, emphasizing he is capable of thinking about small films.
Further explaining his point, Shailendra pointed out that his thought is that their idea of the film should be big, but the budget should be smaller. He went on to reveal that films like Salman Khan’s film Phir Milenge, which discussed HIV and AIDS, were made on a lower budget; it was just 2.5 crores.
Shailendra then revealed that his film Kanchivaram, the period drama which won three National awards, was directed by Priyadarshan and starred Prakash Raj and Shriya Reddy, and had a budget of only 1.9 crore.
The producer then shared the inside story, revealing that for the Kanchivaram film, Priyadarshan and others took no money for the film, stayed on the sets, traveled in a single vehicle, and even cooked meals together because it was about the art and not the financial.
Shailendra then highlighted that he and Priyadarshan received the three National awards they got goosebumps. He also emphasized that because of Kanchivaram, he could take his mother to Rashtriya Bhavan.
He also shared the major reason behind Priyadarshan doing Kanchivaram was that his parents were highly educated, and they didn’t consider his work, and to prove to them that he is doing something good that matters to the people, and so Kanchivaram got them three National awards.
