Cinema Intro
Cinema Intro
Shailendra Singh -
Cinema
multiple award-winning
Creative producer, writer and Director…
celebrating ‘25 Years in Cinema’ in 2023. The Serial Entrepreneur is Founder of Percept Ltd, Sunburn, Guestlist4Good, Boss Entertainment & Percept Picture Co. He produced & released 72 feature films, 2000 ad films, 480 live Bollywood events, ranked the ‘12th Most Powerful Man in Bollywood’ (Filmfare, 2009).
His 1st film, Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi (1999) earned a Limca Book of Records Award for debuting 176 talents. Makdee (2002); India’s first children’s horror cinema, launched Vishal Bhardwaj. Phir Milenge (2004); first social cause cinema, starred Salman Khan, Shilpa Shetty & Abhishek Bachchan. Hanuman (2005); first full-length, 2D animation. National Award-winning Page 3 (2005) & Malamaal Weekly (2006); early multiplex blockbusters. Spiderman 3 (2007); first-ever minimum guarantee (11cr) for a Hollywood film.
At the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2023, Shailendra Singh acquired and released the first Pakistani film ever in India : Khuda Kay Liye (2007). Kanchivaram (2008); his Tamil film w/ Priyadarshan, won three National Awards in popular category.
Shailendra Singh Films on YouTube was the ‘3rd-most watched short film channel’ (2020) and his latest ‘unplugged cinema by Shailendra Singh’ has featured ‘the world’s best ballet dancer’, Sergei Polunin, as well as Deepak Dobriyal, Yashpal Sharma, & Hollywood’s Royal Couple – Michael Douglas & Catherine Zeta-Jones.
While at IFFI 2023, Shailendra Singh also announced a slate of eleven brand new films - made in India, for the world.
Creative Producer Shailendra Singh and Director Priyadarshan hold the three National Awards presented for their film Kanchivaram (2008).
President Pratibha Patil bestows the National Award to Shailendra Singh; Best Producer - Kanchivaram (2008).
Ladoo
Ladoo
Ladoo (2025)
Marathi · Black & White · Drama
Story, Screenplay and directed by Shailendra Singh
Produced by Sonia Nassery Cole
Produced by Shailendra Singh
Cannes Film Festival Submission.
"Mumbai, India; 2025. Asia's billionaire capital.
45 days in the life of Chandu, a public toilet janitor.
In the city of dreams, there is a cost to waking up."
synopsis
Before dawn breaks over Mumbai's glittering towers, Chandu descends into darkness - scrubbing the public toilets near the train station while the city's wealthy sleep above.
A silent wave to his neighbour. Whispered strategies by the neighbours against the blossoming influx of rats. This is life in the city slums.
When Pooja fails to arrive, Chandu works both sides without complaint. When he collapses, coughing blood onto tile he's just cleaned, she's the only one who forces the supervisor to act.
The hospital drains his savings. His job hangs by a thread. No family remains.
Desperate, Chandu takes work at an elder care facility - and discovers his future. In the faces of the abandoned old, in their treatment by an indifferent system, he sees exactly what awaits a man with no one left to fight for him.
LADOO Trailer | cinema by Shailendra Singh | starring Pradip Gogate
Stills from Ladoo (2025)
Pradip Gogate as Chandu, in Ladoo (2025)
Still from Ladoo (2025)
Still from Ladoo (2025)
Still from Ladoo (2025) — life in Mumbai's slums
Pradip Gogate as Chandu in Ladoo (2025)
Ladoo (2025) is currently on the film festival circuit, and has been submitted to Cannes.
unplugged cinema
unplugged cinema
unplugged cinema
by Shailendra Singh
Shailendra Singh has ‘been there, done that’ in the film industry. His brand of ‘unplugged cinema’ is an avant-garde way of telling captivating stories in an unstructured and unparalleled creative manner. Kacche Din Raw Days, his first unplugged cinema that featured Deepak Dobriyal, Yashpal Sharma and Tina Singh, won 30 awards on the international film festival circuit. After the release critically acclaimed Diversion, Shailendra released SERGEI – featuring Sergei Polunin, the greatest living ballet dancer who is often referred to as the ‘James Dean of Ballet’ and ‘The Bad Boy of Ballet’. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones joined him next.
“No expectations, no limits.
That’s the raw energy I want to create with right now. ‘unplugged cinema’ allows me to do that.”
The Films
Unplugged in Mumbai :
starring Michael Douglas & Catherine Zeta Jones
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones are unquestionably Hollywood’s Royal Couple. But they have never appeared together in a film – until now. Audiences around the world witness the never-seen-before, raw and real emotion, excitement and celebration of Michael and Catherine’s epic reunion with Shailendra Singh in Unplugged in Mumbai.
Kacche Din | Raw Days :
‘Best Short Film’, ‘Best Foreign Short Film’ and ‘Best Director’ at international film festivals
Deepak Dobriyal gives a gripping performance as a migrant taxi driver, barely earning enough to eat on the unfinished, congested streets of Mumbai City. While trying to keep a distance, but ultimately getting pulled in to the lives of his passengers, he also has a run in with a police officer, played by the indelible Yashpal Sharma. Directed by Shailendra Singh - 30 awards on the international film festival circuit.
Earthian :
Multiple award-winning, first silent art documentary
Follow our nameless protagonist on a deeply personal journey to lift the veils of his own reality. Successful in business, with extra cash to spend and surrounded by humanity in the urban sprawl of Mumbai, he is, nevertheless, lost. On the fluttering of birds’ wings, he senses the promise of revelation, leaves everything behind and embarks, alone, on a journey North. With each step, from the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains and in to its formidable depths, he follows the clarity brought on by the awakening of his soul – unveiling what it means to be an Earthian.
Sergei :
starring Sergei Polunin
‘The world’s best dancer’ (The Guardian, 2013)
& ‘The James Dean of Ballet’ (Telegraph, 2012)
The youngest-ever Principal Dancer for the London Royal Ballet, he quit just two years later, earning him another title, ‘The Bad Boy of Ballet’. When he came to India to meet Shailendra Singh, the two creative energies united, and Sergei Polunin found his freedom.
Diversion :
Starring Shailendra Singh and featuring the music of Vidjay Beerepoot
To honor a relationship, a man embarks upon a 2000km roadtrip from Mumbai to Rishikesh and learns that it is truly about the journey - because the destination is always the same. This experimental films features the music of Vidjay Beerepoot, award-winning Composer from The Netherlands, performed by the Bow Tie Orchestra in Moscow.
Dog :
A stark, dramatic thriller - Prime Video In and USA
Having lost everything he ever loved, suffering from PTSD and recently released from prison after serving a long sentence, Virender Singh welcomes the quiet and solitude of his secluded cabin in the Himalayan Mountains. But he is not as alone as it seems. When the tension mounts, will he be faithful to his new friend, the Butcher, or keep looking for Jesus? Direct by and starring Shailendra Singh.
25 Years in Cinema
25 Years in Cinema
Kanchivaram (2008) Poster - directed by Priyadarshan. Three National Awards - Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Producer
Firaaq (2008) Poster - directorial debut of Nandita Das. Winner of 6 International Awards.
Hanuman (2005) Poster - India's first full-length commercial animation film. Launched a whole generation of Indian animation.
Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi (1999) Poster — Shailendra Singh's debut film. Limca Book of Records: 169 debuts, including Dino Morea, Salim Sulailman, Longines and more.
Makdee (2002) Poster - India's first children's horror cinema. Launched director Vishal Bhardwaj.
Phir Milenge (2004) Poster - India’s first cause cinema film. Starring Salman Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and Shilpa Shetty.
Cannes 2023
Cannes 2023
Michael Douglas and Shailendra Singh at Cannes 2023 — Bombay Times, May 2023.
Michael Douglas and Shailendra Singh first met while partnering to make the threequel to Romancing the Stone (1984), to be shot across the length and breadth of in India. Over the next decade, Hollywood’s Ultimate Leading Man and India’s Entertainment Maverick never lost touch and shared a deep friendship. During their last visit to India, Michael and Catherine featured in an unplugged cinema, directed by Shailendra, about the power of relationships to transcend geographical boundaries, titled Unplugged in Mumbai (2022). In Cannes this year, Michael and Shailendra take their personal and creative relationship to the next level.
“We have a project that we are working on, it’s an outline now. We need to talk a little bit more about the characterizations and storylines, but I hope so — I would be really excited.”
Boris Becker, Shailendra Singh and Michael Douglas — Mumbai, 1984.
Shailendra Singh with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Michael Douglas — Mumbai, 1984
Shailendra Singh’s
36 Hours in Cannes 2023
Published in The Free Press Journal. May 20, 2023. Read the article →
Shailendra Singh with Hon'ble Minister Dr L Murugan — India Pavilion, Cannes 2023.
16 MAY 2023. MUMBAI
8:00pm
I receive a last minute invitation from Shri. Dr. L. Murugan, Hon’ble Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, to join him and the FICCI contingent at Cannes. He has a special request – can I bring my dear friend, Michael Douglas, to the Indian Pavilion? Michael had just won the Honorary Palme d’Or, the festival’s highest honor, and I am thrilled at the opportunity to be besides him to celebrate. I am also very proud-to-be-Indian, and deeply sentimental to support my government in representing our Indian cinema to the world.
9:00pm
Knowing what a busy man Michael is, I send him an email marked ‘URGENT, but for fun!’, extending the invitation to join us. I may be wrong, but this might be the first time where an international cinema icon, as legendary as Hollywood’s Ultimate Leading Man, would be visiting the Indian Pavilion.
9:10pm
Michael responds saying that he is excited to see me, that I must join him for his celebratory lunch with friends and family, and ‘yes’, he would be delighted to meet at the India Pavilion at 11:30am on the 18th. I savor my friend’s affection and share the good news with the Hon’ble Minister and FICCI. I buy a ticket on Swiss Airways.
11:59pm
I take off from Mumbai, and am on my way to Cannes.
Shailendra Singh at the India Pavilion Cannes 2023 with the FICCI India contingent and Madhur Bandarkar.
17 May 2023. Cannes
11:00am
Lunch is hosted by Honorable Minister along with a few of the notable, and super cool, India@Cannes contingent. I have an interactive and explosive conversation about movies with Aman Gupta — co-Founder and CMO of boAt and Shark Tank judge. We discuss a highly innovative, next level, branded film for boAt. We hatch a global cinema deal for a franchise of Kumar Mangat — Ajay Devgn’s manager, founder of Panorama Studios and film producer. Manushi Chillar — Miss World 2007, Khushbu — politician, actress and producer, and Bobby Bedi — producer of Bandit Queen join in a conversation about future of Indian cinema. Not to mention that some South Indian actors and directors are in attendance... Madhur Bhandarkar and me rehash our long, storied, filmmaking history together.
1:30pm
I spend the remaining day browsing through the Marché du Film. The absolute sucker for emotional, honest, entertaining stories that resonate through my whole being — impactful stories that transcend any boundaries that we imagine cinema to have and inspire me — no, compel me... to make them. It is also good to see our new generation stars walking down the red carpet and make heads turn. Some making their debut at Cannes.
On the dais — Michael Douglas, Shailendra Singh, Minister Dr L Murugan and Joint Secretary Films Prithul Kumar. India Pavilion, Cannes 2023.
“Shailendra is a dear friend, and it would be exciting to collaborate with him in India, subject to all creative and commercial details being in place.”
18 MAY 2023. CANNES & Monaco
11:30am. Cannes
Michael arrives at the Indian Pavilion and I embrace him a long awaited, familial hug. I introduce him to the Minister and Prithul Kumar — Joint Secretary, Films, I&B Ministry. We sit on the dais and have some fun. Michael reminisces about his last trip to visit me in Mumbai, with his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and tells the media that everyone should watch Unplugged in Mumbai (2022) — the unplugged cinema I made about the friendship that transcends geographic location. We reminisce about the time we met, when Michael and I travelled across India to secure the logistics for Racing the Monsoon, the threequel to Romancing the Stone (1984) and Jewel of the Nile (1985). Michael surprises everyone in attendance when he says, “Racing the Monsoon may still be alive, and hopefully we can still do it. If Shailendra makes the film, I will do it.” I have never given up on the dream of working together to make that film, hopefully, this time, with the support of the Indian government.
With Academy Award winning producer Jeremy Thomas — Cannes 2023.
12:30pm. Monaco
There is a frenzy of excited fans wanting photographs, as Michael and I hop into the Cannes electric BMW and ride through the thick forests to Monaco. Poolside, at the palatial villa of one of Michael’s good friends, we finally celebrate the incredible honor of the Palme d’Or that he we was bestowed. I am truly blessed to meet some seriously gifted, global cinema directors, writers, artists, and especially, of course, Catherine Zeta-Jones and her incredibly talented daughter, Carys Douglas. It’s fun time away from the paparazzi.
5:30pm. Cannes
The man, the myth, the legend, Jeremy Thomas, offers to drive me back to Cannes. The Academy Award winning producer of The Last Emperor (1987), A Dangerous Method (2011), Kon-Tiki (2012), and one my personal favorites, Sexy Beast (2000) — with Ben Kingsley and the boulder (if you know, you know!) — passionately, with a childlike wonder, converses about cinema the entire drive. I am absolutely enthralled.
6:30pm
I meet and share a brief conversation with Hollywood’s heroine, Katie Holmes and connect with our own Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who continues to rule the red carpet at Cannes with her million-dollar looks. We catch up on our past adventures of working together, while the onlookers wonder what’s up.
11:30pm
I am on my way back to Mumbai. I am buzzing with the genius and artistry that I encountered, and am burning with an endless volcano of creative energy and desire to make cinematic magic in India, for the world.
With actress and filmmaker, Katie Holmes — Cannes 2023.
Reconnecting with actress and Miss World 1994, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan at Cannes 2023.
Shailendra Singh, Michael Douglas, Minister Dr. L. Murugan and Jt Secretary Prithul Kumar discuss filmmaking at the Indian Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival.
Shailendra Singh's 36 hours at Cannes 2023 marked a turning point - from Bollywood's most prolific producer to a filmmaker pursuing global co-productions, from India, for the world. The seeds sown at the India Pavilion bore fruit at IFFI 2023 in November, where Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones attended as guests of honour.
11 New Films
11 New Films
Shailendra Singh’s
Next 25 Years in Cinema :
Made in India, for the World
On Nov 22nd, 2023 at the 54th International Film Festival in Goa, Shailendra Singh held a special press conference to announce a slate of eleven brand new feature films - all in different stages of development. He was accompanied by Iain Banner, Shailendra's South African collaborator.
“The founder of India’s biggest EDM festival, Sunburn, announces line-up of upcoming 11 feature films”. Gomantak Times, Nov 2023. Read the article →
“Bollywood has become driven by ‘projects’, all revolving around an actor or a director’s available dates. I want to make storytelling the hero again. For me, it’s all about the script and the universal sentiments, told from India, that the entire world can understand. I have eleven such scripts, printed and sitting in a steel vault at IFFI Goa – the first time this has ever happened. ”
Pluto — announced at IFFI 2023, Goa.
Scavengers — announced at IFFI 2023, Goa.
Doctor Dang — announced at IFFI 2023, Goa.
Lovers — announced at IFFI 2023, Goa.
Story of Daniil — announced at IFFI 2023, Goa.
Sexaholic — announced at IFFI 2023, Goa.
Tigdam — announced at IFFI 2023, Goa.
Perfect Divorce — announced at IFFI 2023, Goa.
Khud ki Khushi — announced at IFFI 2023, Goa.
Battle of Rs.340 — announced at IFFI 2023, Goa.
Brothers — announced at IFFI 2023, Goa.
“I don’t believe that you can place cinema into genres. Art is borderless and boundless. ”
Masterclass
Masterclass
Is It Time for One World Cinema? — Michael Douglas in conversation with Shailendra Singh. IFFI 2023.
Hollywood’s Living Legend
speaks with
India’s Prolific Bollywood Producer
Michael Douglas in conversation with Shailendra Singh
at the 54h International Film Festival of India (IFFI), 2023
He is legendary Hollywood Actor and Producer; winner of two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and an Emmy Award. He is multiple National Award winning Bollywood Creator Producer, Writer and Director. Michael Douglas sat down with Shailendra Singh to discuss how they met in India while scouting for a film; the unifying similarities and dynamic differences between Hollywood and Bollywood; and what being awarded the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award from India, means to a living legend of Hollywood.Full of deep insights, and a lively repartee.
“At the masterclass, Douglas spoke about
how he had survived Stage 4 cancer—the
radiation caused his voice to change to a
rasp—and coped with the incarceration of his son for a drug crime.
The conversation was conducted by actor
Shailendra Singh, whose tabloid-style
questions (‘What is your wife’s shoe size?’) left Douglas amused, and later brought out his sarcastic side.”
Michael Kirk Douglas.
Michael Kirk Douglas, redefined storytelling through a career spanning five decades in theater, film, and tv. The legendary Hollywood actor and Producer earned two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, an Emmy Award and 'Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award'.
Forever associated with his ruthless portrayal of Gorden Gecko in Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street”,other best known-films include “Fatal Attraction”, “Basic Instinct”, “Romancing the Stone”, “War of the Roses”, “Behind the Candelabra” and many more. He earned his first Academy Award in 1975, by producing “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”.
Shailendra Singh.
Throughout 25 years in cinema, producing and releasing 72 feature films, Shailendra Singh has set industry benchmarks. His debut film, “Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi” won a Limca Records Award for most debuts (118). “Makdee” was India’s first children’s horror film; “Hanuman”, the first animation; “Phir Milenge”, first social cause cinema; “Khuda Kay Liye”, first Pakistani film released. In 2008, his “Kanchivaram”, directed by Priyadarshan, won three National Awards. A bestselling author and Serial Entreprenuer, he launched 23 successful startups, including Percept Ltd, Sunburn, Boss Entertainment and Guestlist4Good social enterprise.
As covered in Variety — Michael Douglas masterclass with Shailendra Singh, IFFI 2023. Read the article →
“Hollywood veteran
Michael Douglas was in
an expansive mood while
delivering a masterclass
at the recently concluded
International Film Festival
of India (IFFI), Goa, where
he also accepted a lifetime
achievement award.”
In a moment that brought the house down, Shailendra Singh invited Michael Douglas to deliver a gravelly-voiced line from Amitabh Bachchan's iconic Shahenshah — and the Hollywood legend delivered.
On stage — Michael Douglas in conversation with Shailendra Singh. IFFI 2023, Kala Academy, Goa.
IFFI 2023 masterclass — Michael Douglas and Shailendra Singh.
IFFI 2023 — Michael Douglas and Shailendra Singh in conversation.
