'Mahetik Entertainment stands strong as a platform to give fair opportunities'

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While they are gearing up for the release of their debut production Games Of Karma which will soon release on OTT. Mamta Shah and Pratik Shah are also making short films and music albums.

In this interview with mid-day, the couple talk about how they plan to promote and nurture new talent, the idea of converting Games Of Karma into a franchise and also the way ahead for their production house.

What was the idea behind starting Mahetik Entertainment?

My wife Mamta and I have learnt acting and always wanted to pursue it. We have given auditions and sometimes missed them also. Everyone is not so financially sound that they can enrol themselves in a film school. So we are well aware of the difficulties that a common man has to face to get into this industry. We decided to be a bridge between the two.The kind of short films that we have made do not have the best production but the idea is to grow together and build confidence. We believe that content creation does not happen in isolation and is a perfect mix of talent, good energies and mutual belief, trust, and respect. When you give a chance to a person, he or she will remember us and that is what we want. People can reach out to us from social media and our telephone number is available online too.

What is the process like for discovering and developing new artists?

We believe where there is the right intention, there is a way. Because we want to promote young talent, we are creating an in-house content and scouting team that is constantly curating, discovering new talent. We are also open to people who approach us. Our work is consistent and relentless because there are so many filmmakers, actors, writers, cinematographers, music composers and others who are just waiting for one right opportunity. We want people to come pursue their dreams for which we will also pay within our budgets. And we at Mahetik Entertainment want to be a platform for variegated brilliance and great talent across all streams.

Tell us about your work so far.

We have produced Games Of Karma. We have pitched the film to many OTT platforms and it will soon be released on one of them. It's a thriller film and features Pratima Kazme, Jeetu Shastri, Arina Dey, Rahil Azam, Gyan Prakash, Swati Bakshi, Hiten Tejwani, Kenisha Bhardwaj Praveen Hingonia, Himani Sharma and Paritosh Sand.

The subject is really interesting. It talks about how karma pays back. We also have our own Youtube channel for which we are also making a few short films. We have already made some short films like I am Time Traveller, Taxi- A story of Taxi Driver, Sci-Fi- We are Dying year 2020. The idea behind opening up this channel is to give opportunity to new talent.

How important is Games Of Karma for you?

Games Of Karma is the founding project so it is really important for us. It is written and directed by Praveen Hingonia who taught us acting. There are many talents that are a part of the project so this film is crucial for them also. We finished shooting in March 2020, a few days before the first lockdown started. There is a bit of delay and we have pitched the film to OTT platforms and are confident of releasing it soon. The idea is to turn Games Of Karma into a franchise. In Bhagvad Gita, there are 18 different kinds of karmas and so if this works, we can make a sequel to it.

What are some of the other things that are in the pipeline from Mahetik Entertainment?

We are also into events and all kinds of production work. We are soon launching a new music single. It is a Ganpati bilingual song in Marathi and Hindi. This is going to be our first album song. We are also doing many virtual events.

mid-day is completing 42 years. Tell us about your association with the newspaper.

Just like us, mid-day has always believed in giving a platform for new voices. This is the first time we are associating with the newspaper and we are confident that this is a great tool to spread awareness about Mahetik Entertainment and reach our voices to as many people as possible. Radiocity is our exclusive partner for Games Of Karma who are going to help us promote it.

Rupal S