“I blame my mother for my obsession with cinema.
Our family settled in Mumbai after fleeing the riots in my father’s sugar mill on the Karnataka border. From our small rented apartment, Dad left for work at 9:00am sharp. Mom spoke only Hindi and had no friends to visit. Not caring whether I had school the next day, nor needed to study for the 10th standard exams, at twelve-noon, she would drag me next door to Geeta or Lotus Cinema. She bribed me with A1 samosas – three in each pack - and a Mangola. We watched everything – Garm Hava (1973), Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977), Shirdi Ke Sai Baba (1977) - seven times because she thought it was an actual documentary.
The torture became a passion. An undiagnosed dyslexic, I was ashamed of my struggles to read and write. But motion pictures brought beautiful, powerful stories to life, while transporting me far away from my struggles at Xavier’s. I dreamt that I, too, could tell stories that would affect people. That one day, maybe I could win the respect of the entire country. In 2008, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, my mother had tears in her eyes as she watched President Pratibha Patil hand me a National Award for Kanchivaram (2008).
I continue to be addicted to cinema. My mother is not well now, and I miss having her besides me. But I am still there in the theater, 9:00am, at the first showing of every new film. This year, I complete twenty-five years in Indian cinema, but there are many more stories to tell.”
The Films.
The True Story of….
Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi
(1999)
Even after creating 2000 ad films, no one would give Shailendra Singh a shot as a Film Producer. So he made his own film. He earned a Limca Award ensuring that all 206 people in the film were also debuts : Salim Sulaiman, Vishal Shekhar, Shaan, Dino Morea, Sanjeev Mulchandani, Rajiv Jain, Longinus Fernandes and so many more. The soundtrack was a rage.
Makdee
(2002)
Shabana Azmi’s terrifying performance had children crying by intermission, but its success as India’s first children’s horror entertainment lit the forest fire of mainstream children’s cinema. Shailendra’s backing of debut talent, Vishal Bhardwaj, gave the now hugely successful director, wings to fly.
Phir Milenge
(2004)
Learning that India was ranked the second-most HIV/AIDS infected country in the world, Shailendra was driven to hold up a ‘mirror to society’ with cinema. Fresh off her National Award win for Mitr (2002), Revathi was the first to agree to make India’s first social cause cinema. Uday Chopra turned down the lead role, but Shailendra convinced Salman Khan to – gasp! – die of AIDS in the film (and work without a vanity van!). The hi-octane cast was rounded out with Shilpa Shetty and Abhishek Bachchan; music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. It was highly applauded and dubbed in multiple languages, fulfilling the objective of raising awareness for the cause.
Because Shailendra had sold the film as a ‘love triangle’, to apologize for his deceit, for the first time ever, a Producer returned his investors’ funds at an elaborate function at Taj Lands End – a very alive Salman Khan at his side.
…Yahaan
(2005)
Further solidifying his reputation for launching the careers of future industry icons, Shailendra backed the debut film of Shoojit Sircar based on the emotional story. He was further impressed with the phenomenal package of cinematography, music (lyrics by Gulzar) and breakthrough performances by Jimmy Shergill and debut, Minissha Lamba. The film truly deserved to win every award for which it was nominated.
Hanuman
(2005)
India’s first full-length, 2D animation entertainer! Realizing that Hollywood was outsourcing all their animation to Hyderabad, Shailendra jump-started the entire - and now thriving - generation of Indian animation cinema. Hanuman won the hearts of the nation, proved what Indian creativity was capable of and racked up a considerable amount of awards.
Page 3
(2005)
Madhur Bhandarkar had just given an original, smash-hit with Chandni Bar (2001), followed by a big flop, Aan : Men at Work (2004), and no one understood his concept for this film. The original producer fled the country halfway through shooting. Shailendra saw the half-baked film, and felt the potential of Madhur’s vision. He told Percept Pictures, “this is a goldmine”. The film was nominated for sixteen awards and won six of them, including three National Awards. It exposed what it took, and what it meant, to appear on the infamous Page 3, and changed the landscape of society culture in India.
Malamaal Weekly
(2006)
Shailendra took another huge risk in making this film, refusing to heed the warnings of Ajay Bijli. Multiplexes were the current supernovas, attracting audiences with sparkling, shining theaters and glamorous, opulent films. But Shailendra Singh doesn’t believe in genres, languages or drawing any sort of boundaries in film. He fully backed Priyadarshan’s raw, rural, earthy comedy, starring Paresh Rawal in a dhoti, with rotten teeth and coke-bottle glasses. The film made so much money that, at a swanky function in Juhu Hotel, Shailendra presented all the actors – Arbaaz Khan, Om Puri, Govardhan Asrani, Reema Sen, Rajpal Yadav – with an overflow check (everyone except Paresh Rawal, who had already taken his pound of flesh)! Malamaal Weekly broke all the rules of what could work at a multiplex!
Dor
(2006)
Finding Nagesh Kukunoor to be an intriguing, albeit introverted, filmmaker, Shailendra fell in love with his touching, expressionist story. It was a difficult film to make - shot across three extreme locations (desert of Rajasthan, city of Riyadh and mountains of Himachal Pradesh) – with a limited budget, but Shailendra believed it was a story that needed to be told. The film was nominated for thirteen awards, with Ayesha Takia and Shreyas Talpade winning six major acting awards.
Corporate
(2006)
Another award-winning partnership with Madhur Bhandarkar, Corporate was an exciting, juicy, well-timed film that profiled the cut-throat side of corporate India : the rapid expansion of giant corporations and the hedonist culture that comes with financial success, cracked wide open by malpractice, cheating and honey-traps, seen through the eyes of highly relatable characters. Bipasha Basu was highly lauded for her starring role.
Traffic Signal
(2007)
Hoping to continue their successful run, Shailendra pitched Madhur Bhandarkar a film inspired by City of Gods (2002). At Mahim Junction, Shailendra explained the organization structure and horrifying, disfiguring activities of the beggar mafia. In England, they did some deep research in underground storytelling styles. Shailendra envisioned the film to be a raw, shocking analysis of Mumbai’s underbelly, contrasted with the privilege of India’s business capital, and was disappointed at Madhur’s final, highly sanitized version. But, the film did win a National Award!
Khuda Kay Liye
(2007)
Doing what no one else could, Shailendra acquired and distributed the first Pakistani film to ever release in India. Another ‘story that needed to be told’, audiences across the country were amazed that such a compelling plot, phenomenal screenplay, music and performances came out of Pakistan. The Indian government, however, balked at the thirteen Pakistani artists walking the red carpet at Metro Cinema and dining at Trishna. Despite sending Crime Branch, Income Tax and other government bodies to scare Percept Pictures into compliance, Shailendra followed up on the success with a second Pakistani release, Ramchand Pakistani (2008) – breaking down yet another imaginary boundary in cinema.
Return of Hanuman
(2007)
Due to the original’s success, India’s first full-length, 3D animation film was a no-brainer for Shailendra! The highly anticipated sequel was on track to becoming bigger and better than the original, but – while Shailendra was tied up with a family emergency - high-profile director, Anurag Kashyap converted the superhero film into a social cause cinema about climate change. Anurag later claimed that he ‘was incapable of doing animation’. But, hey, the film is rated as an education film by the CFBC – so there’s that.
Firaaq
(2008)
After being let down by established directors chasing fame and fortune, instead of the art of cinema, Shailendra backed the debut film of Nandita Das. She pulled together an incredible ensemble cast – including Inaamulhaq, Naseeruddin Shah, Shahana Goswami and more – for the dark, yet compelling look at the 2002 violence in Gujarat (which banned the film). Though it lost money at the box-office, the film received critical acclaim and launched the directing career of Nandita Das.
Jannat : In Search of Heaven
(2008)
He dreamed of playing cricket for the country, but his father said ‘it’s not a real career’. Instead, Shailendra played his matches off the field – creating historic milestones and raising lots of money for the sport and its national team. Years later, Shailendra can finally admit that Jannat – a story about match fixing – was inspired by true events. Let’s just say that in the second game of the second season of Shailendra’s Sahara Cup in Toronto – India vs Pakistan – Mr. Mohammad Azharuddin was… raising eyebrows… with his inconsistent performance. Raking it in at the box office, Jannat was a beautifully made commercial cinema for all audiences.
Kanchivaram
(2008)
Shailendra’s favorite film. Priyadarshan was at his commercial peak, but Shailendra sensed a restlessness in his friend. Priyan admitted that his own parents still “doubt me as a true artist”, to which Shailendra asked, “What would fix that?” The answer, “A national award.” Shailendra responded, “Here is the story that you should make.”
Together, they took on the emotional challenge of making this highly emotional, Telugu period-drama with a budget of 1.1 crore INR. Along with Prakash Raj, Shreya Reddy and members of the crew, they travelled in Ambassador cars, took turns cooking meals and put their egos aside to tell this story of the poor silk weaver and his daughter – a story of determination against all odds. Their passion and pain won them standing ovations in Toronto, Dubai and every other festival they attended, as well as three National Awards - in the popular category! Non-Hindi films that have followed, like Baahubali (2015), Pushpa (2021) and Kantara (2022) are testament to Kanchivaram’s legacy proving that cinema has no boundaries - not even language.
Jail
(2009)
Inspired by Hollywood’s intense, gritty stories of incarceration, Shailendra again partnered with Madhur Bhandarkar, hoping that he would dig deep in to his own rags-to-riches story for inspiration. But Madhur was already spoiled with the comforts of wealth and Shailendra was disappointed with the cosmetic, make-believe façade of the film – another major lost opportunity.
Bumm Bumm Bole
(2010)
Feeling that Priyadarshan had been chasing commerce for too long and needed to get back to the real art of cinema, Shailendra secured the rights for their mutual idol, Majid Majidi’s, Children of Heaven (1997) - India’s first remake of an Iranian film. Shailendra provided an unlimited budget, but even after casting Darsheel Safary in his first film after Taare Zameen Par (2007), along with a stellar cast, Priyadarshan made, well… certainly not a piece of art.
Aashayein
(2010)
John Abraham had just broken up with Bipasha Basu, and Shailendra thought that casting him in this honest, experimental cinema by Nagesh Kukunoor would be a win-win for all. The film was a social cause cinema about the universal truth that with progression, comes a deep depression and Shailendra begged John to be reasonable about his price. John charged an arm and a leg, but didn’t get the box office ringing. Shailendra called him out in the media, to “do the next film for me, for free,” so, naturally, John never spoke to him again. The film has stunning music by Salim Sulaiman and gorgeous cinematography by Sudeep Chatterjee.
Rush
(2012)
For this brilliant, commercial heist thriller, Shailendra picked up one of India’s finest ad-film makers, Shamin Desai. Early hype for the film was smoldering hot, due to the glamorous production (a tribute to both of their advertising roots!) and the star cast of Emraan Hashmi, Sagarika Ghose and Aditya Pancholi. But the universe had other plans. They lost Shamin to stage-four cancer. His wife Priyanka Desai, graciously stepped in to complete the film – which is super trendy and worth the watch! But at the end of the day, Rush is Shamin’s uncompleted dream.
Sunshine Music Tours and Travels
(2016)
Shailendra Singh’s directorial debut! Shailendra had a burning desire to articulate the journey of building the Sunburn I.P. for the next generation. It was based on a real fan that Shailendra met in Shimla, whose dream was to attend Sunburn, but could never afford it. It was a mammoth exercise; twenty-five people on a bus from Kashmir to Goa, shot backwards, climax first, and the debut of Sunny Kaushal. Shailendra admits that he could have executed the film better, taken more time with the editing, but… he is proud that he had a story and he went out there and told it.
Spiderman 3
(2007)
Knowing that all of India would want to watch it, Shailendra was in a cut-throat battle with a top studio owner to win the India distribution rights for this mega-blockbuster. He fought tooth and nail, eventually offering to pay India’s first-ever minimum guarantee (11 crores!) for a Hollywood film. A box office success, after being dubbed in all languages (including Bhojpuri), it sparked another trend for borderless content. Stories aren’t told in dialogues, but in screenplay, narrative, acting performances, music, emotions and more. The minimum guarantee acquisition set an industry benchmark, and Shailendra followed up with Rush Hour 3 (2007), Hancock (2008) and other Hollywood blockbusters.
