"<i>Deadline</i> has aggression but no gore"

Courtesy: IndiaFM
Monday, October 30, 2006
Producer Ravi Agarwal had to organize only one preview of Deadline - Sirf 24 Ghante to entice three corporates to pitch for presenting the film. He has been a part of the media industry since past eight years. Under the banner of Plus Entertainment he has already produced three films. Two of these films, Akalpit and Salaam (both Marathi) have released to fabulous critical appreciation while their maiden venture into Hindi cinema shall release on 10th November very soon under the title Deadline - Sirf 24 Ghante. Amongst these films, Salaam has been nominated for 4 Screen awards including Best Film. Deadline is an abduction thriller, with a star cast of Konkona Sen Sharma, Sandhya Mridul, Irrfan Khan, Rajit Kapur, Zakir Hussein and Princey Shukla.

What has brought you to Hindi Cinema?
Hindi Cinema has been interesting me since childhood. I loved watching films and always thought of making one. But instead I started the second best thing ie: my 'Prabhat Channel' and the created Media Plus company for marketing activities. Later I graduated to my first love of making films and changed the name of my company to Plus Entertainment. My first two films have been received well. Now I have moved into bigger field. My third film is bigger then the second and fourth is yet bigger.

Tell us about Deadline - Sirf 24 Ghante
Deadline is a thriller. It is about abduction and vengeance. Tanveer Khan had told me the same story from two angles but I liked this angle more. This has aggression but no gore. It is very emotional story and he has treated it so well. He really knows his job and is really a producer's director. Everything was planned to the T and shooting went on schedule. He finished the film in two schedules itself.

Why did you go for such serious artistes like Konkona Sen Sharma, Sandhya Mridul, Irrfan Khan and Rajit Kapur for a thriller?
Thriller is also a serious business and you need good artistes to give good production quality. Selection of the artiste was with Tanveer and he has done a fantastic job about it. He was very clear about which star he wants for which character and even preferred to wait till their dates were available. For Sandhya Mridul's character he saw so many other artistes but could not imagine them in the role. So eventually we started the film only after she was free. Each artiste has fitted the character so well. Irrfan too was decided before. We have not compromised on stars or the technicians at all. We have taken people like Baba Azmi, Dileep Shukla, Sanjay Sankla, Bijon Dasgupta, Bhiku Verma, Jitendra Chaudhary and everybody knows that they are the best at their respective jobs.

Who has given the music?
Anshul and Sandy. Music is not primary in the film because it is a thriller. Background is done by them. They are new but they are really good.

Would you call yourself a good producer?
I don't know what a good producer is but if it means giving support then I have been 100 percent with my director and stars. I never interfered with their work but was always there when they needed me. I am not here for glamour. I am here because I want to do good and quality work in this industry. In technical terms also I took services from the best. I want to play long innings. So I guess I am a good producer.

When do you plan to release Deadline?
It's releasing worldwide on the 10th November 06. Percept Pictures Company is presenting the film.

Is it difficult to sell a film in today's scenario?
Who says that films are not selling these days! A good film gets buyers any time. We did not even show our film to the distributors. We had three corporates who were keenly interested in presenting the film and we went with Percept Pictures because their network is very strong. We are very happy with them.

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