Exclusive - Siddharth P Malhotra recalls the time when he narrated Maharaj to Junaid Khan and Aamir Khan, says 'Aamir loved it'

Siddharth P Malhotra

Director Siddharth P Malhotra has had a remarkable journey in the Indian film industry. From creating iconic medical dramas like Sanjeevani to directing critically acclaimed films like Maharaj, Siddharth P Malhotra has consistently pushed the boundaries of storytelling.

Siddharth is now back as the writer for the new series 'Doctors' which stars Sharad Kelkar, Harleen Sethi, Viraf Patel and Aamir Ali. He is also working on the biopic on Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari.

In an exclusive conversation with Money Control, Siddharth P Malhotra reflected on his experience working on Maharaj, a film that marked the debut of Aamir Khan's son Junaid Khan.

He also revealed that he chose Junaid for the role of Karsan Das Mulji because of his authenticity and truthfulness. Aamir Khan, who was present during the narration, loved the script and gave his nod of approval.

Siddharth P Malhotra also spoke about the challenges of releasing Maharaj, which was initially slated for a theatrical release but eventually premiered on Netflix due to the pandemic. Despite the setbacks, the film received widespread acclaim and became a huge success on the OTT platform.

In addition to Maharaj, he has several other projects in the pipeline, including a biopic on Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari. He has finished scripting the film and is currently working on the casting.

Siddharth P Malhotra also shared his thoughts on the current state of the Indian film industry, particularly the divide between Bollywood and South Indian cinema. He said that South Indian films have surpassed Bollywood in terms of 'action films', but when it comes to content, Bollywood still has an edge.

Finally, Malhotra weighed in on the issue of high Food and Beverage (F&B) prices in multiplexes, which he believes is a major deterrent for audiences.

He emphasized the need for exhibitors and distributors to revisit their pricing strategies to make cinema-going more accessible and affordable for the masses.

Excerpts from the exclusive interview:

Sanjeevani to Doctors, things have turned well

Most of the medical dramas have been created by me only. I started off my career with Sanjeevani when I was all of 19-20 years old. So, that was my first show with Monish Behl and all these people. And that ran for 2 years. Actually my maternal side is a family of doctors. So I somehow that genre of storytelling of human emotions has always appealed to me, and I've excelled at that. So may it be Sanjeevani, Ayushman, which I did with Sudeep Sahir or Sony may it be Zindagi Wins, Dil Mil Gaye, Sanjeevani 2 and now Doctors. Somehow, maybe I think that even the network feel that, you know, as a creator, this genre, he never goes wrong with, he always delivers. Because I've managed to deliver in this genre every time. Even even on a show like Doctors where we have had rare bit of publicity. It is the number one show on Ormat as of now in India, all over India. So somehow that I think that pulse of the of the human emotion comes as a creator and producer well there. Because maybe I know the world well.

Medical drama on TV are love stories

What happened in all my television shows was that I've never seen anybody ever die in those 5 years in 5 shows. In a doctor's life, some people die. But, you know, in television, there's a format of turning everything into a love story. So you'll turn it into a love story, and then there'll be a hero character made, then there'll be medical.

Doctors on OTT made me show real life cases

This gave me a, platform to take up medical cases like euthanasia, like, the conjoined wins, and cases where you could really make a difference about organ donation and play with a lot of doctors and their life, not only a hero heroine. So I think that's what resonated even somehow into, into every single life.

After Hichki, wrote Maharaj

I made Hichki and it did well. Then I took Maharaj to Aditya Chopra and it was approved in a year. In 2021, we started shooting and we finished shooting the film despite Covid. We cast Junaid, Aamir's son. We did all the hard work - got Jaideep (Ahlawat) to loose weight and then at that time no films were working in theatres. We kept waiting for the movies to work in theatres. You know, then as a director, one can make a film and as a team, they can make a film. But then comes the part where is it to be released, when money is paid, when bigger, things are at stake, then, you know, people like Adi Chopra felt that OTT is the right fit for this kind of film. When people weren't coming to theaters We didn't want to hear the film flopped.

Laapataa Ladies didn't work in theatres initially

Even Laapataa Ladies actually did not do the kind of business it should have done in the theaters initially compared to the investment, it did good business, but not the kind of business that the producers would have expected. When it dropped on Netflix, it became huge. We didn't want this. First it was a newcomer's film and we have worked so hard, then we decided that look this is a better platform to release and a better, home to find.

Had to wait for a year to release Maharaj on Netflix

Then we showed it to Netflix. It's still up there. And then nobody thought that Netflix par bechne ke baad bhi we had to wait for 1 year. We were like when is the right window? It is a politically heavy film? I see. Made the film, I didn't think of all these, I think we're all makers at heart, so we don't think of the political or the, religious ramifications when you choose when you choose a subject. You choose a subject because you believe in the subject. And then what follows is a lesson learned.

Maharaj hit controversy before its release

Because of that one poster which showed Jaideep sporting a tika on his forehead, our film was banned. We were not allowed to release the trailer. We had a plan of releasing a trailer, doing a premiere, a big premiere. Netflix had showed a 35 page event promotions plans which didn't happen because the court case happened. Then Gujarat High Court gave us a judgment finally when the judiciary saw it and they liked it. When it released on the platform we also didn't know that it had released. This is the first film where the trailer of a film comes five days after it's on the platform. The song of the film comes to 1 week one and a half week after it's on the platform.

Maharaj became no 1 film on Netflix

In spite of us cutting 25 minutes from the final print of Maharaj the film was loved. I think on Sunday, it came on Friday evening dropped. Saturday, the next day, it was number 2. Sunday, it was number 1. And it then ran for number 1 in 22 countries. 18 -19 million.

Why Junaid for the role of Karsan Das Mulji?

I had seen his audition for Lal Singh Chadha and I was  discussing some other project with Aamir Khan sir. When I used to discuss then Junaid would sit with us. And I saw truthfulness in Junaid. And simultaneously I was also doing research on Karsan Das Mulji, journalist and he was a very simple Gujarati man who stayed in Byculla. I knew I could get any big star for this role in Maharaj as my last film Hichki was a hit and Aditya Chopra was producing Maharaj. But I thought the star would bring in his star power to the character and he wouldn't be Karsan Das Mulji I want. I wanted (like I got real life basti kids in Rani Mukherjee starrer Hichki) a real person.

Junaid not a typical Bollywood actor

He's not the typical Bollywood, star person who's trained to speak and act. usme bahut sachai hai. So I thought that I want a real guy. And, Adi is giving me the permission and backing to make the film the way I want to make. So we just went and narrated it. We went and narrated the film to Adi and Aamir. Adi loved the idea. We narrated it to Junaid, Aamir and the entire family, they all loved the idea and said now do your hard work on it.

Aamir Khan loved Maharaj

Aamir Khan loved the script when he heard it on the first go. With Aamir, sir, what happens is that he hears the narration as a viewer. He reacts - he will cry, smile with the script. Toh jab pehli hi narration di thi he said kamaal ki picture hai ye. There was a yes. Though I regret that the film that I had written and what came for the audience is not the same.

Returning with Biopic on Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari

My next film I have announced, it is a biopic on Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari. Casting is left, we have just finished the scripting. So as a director, there are 2 or 3 films of mine this year which I will announce with cast. I am not going to take a break now and there are some really good films I am going to announce soon both as director and writer. There's lot more as a creator and writer. The ones I wrote during the Covid will be out for release now.

Detailed script for biopic on Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari

When you are doing a love story on Kamal Amrohi Meena Kumari then you have to work hard on the script for again, because these are these are films which are responsibilities. Meena Kumari ki life kehna koi asaan kaam nahi hai. They've they've created such great work. And if you're creating that love story, you have to be correct to it. So we've worked very hard to that love story. We we're very happy with the script. We're getting into casting of it. It's gonna be a big film.
And even the other shows that I'm doing now for various platforms, slowly we will start talking about it. They're getting into production.

Makers going for theatrical releases

I think right now, makers are coming back to releasing movies in theatre. Woh phase bhi last year tak hi tha that OTT par jaye, this year's phase is that films should release theatrically. If you notice not many OTT films are being commissioned. Netflix and Amazon are commissioning original OTT. So you have to deliver your film in a theatrical platform. From makers, now we are okay because that line has been blurred. But it is very clear that when you are making a theatrical film, you have to make a cinematic experience. Because if you give them an experience, you have to role. Just as a cinema, as a maker, when you're making it for those medium now, audience we'll have to be very conscious to get people in a theatre to watch.

South and Bollywood divide

I really believe South has overpowered action field. Every action field is looking like a south film. So my agreement is only limited to the action films. But when it comes to content, when you look at movies like Stree 2, which is a franchise working so well. But there are other films also which are doing those kind of numbers as as well. I really believe that make good film. So if you make a film which has a certain recovery and is within a budget ecosystem it will work. If you have a bad film, no matter how big the star cast is how big the South action directors, south directors, A bad film is a bad film, it's going to flop.

Bollywood actioners look like south movies

And a good film, you know, which gives you experience, take, for example, Pushpa 2. It's a 3 hour 40 minutes. But it holds you, it gives you an experience. They keep you entertained. Audience wants basically, entertainment. We don't pay entertainment tax for for anything else. The audience comes for the escapism from their daily hustle bustle. So, South according to me is only taking over in the Hindi action film. Now everything looks like one south action film. You can't really make out the difference. Make out the difference.

High price of F n B pinching the pocket of cinema goers

I think a lot has been spoken about FNB, on various platforms. But eventually, that's a larger call of an exhibitor and and distributor. If they don't change it then things won't change. Nobody wants to eat a popcorn worth Rs 500. We used to get samosa, popcorn for 100 Rs. Now you wont get pepsi for Rs100. We have to make a good movie forcing people to watch the movie in theatre. First is the trailer which has to impress and people tell you dont miss it in the theatre. Taking out the time and spending that amount of money is a task. But if you are spending less money then people will come to the theatre as it is easy on the pocket. If I am going to a multiplex and I am spending 500 Rs or on first day Rs 1200 per ticket that's asking for a lot. On an average we are releasing 4-5 films every week, so people are reluctant to spend that much. When you're spending less money, like you said, Rs 99 for a movie ticket then you will go. People will come to the theatres.

With his impressive body of work and insightful perspectives on the industry, Siddharth P Malhotra is undoubtedly one of the most exciting and innovative filmmakers working in Bollywood today.