Mumbai. Actress Sargun Mehta says producer Ekta Kapoor has paved the way for more female filmmakers in the Indian television industry and offered content that matches their characters and real life. Sargun, who has made her mark as an actress in the TV world and the Punjabi film industry, has several projects lined up as a producer, including the TV show, ‘Badal Pe Paon Hai’.
She said, “In the TV industry, Ekta Kapoor cleared the way for everyone. She left no stone unturned to ensure that we don’t have to face the trouble of saying ‘How will you do this (produce the show)?’ She has already done so much that no one can raise any question.” The actress told PTI-Bhasha in an interview, “In Punjabi films, they were not used to the idea of us producing. It’s not that they made fun of me, but they underestimated me. They didn’t think I would be able to do films the way I did.” Sargun Mehta, who has produced Punjabi films and TV shows like ‘Kala Shah Kala’, ‘Jhalle’, ‘Udaariyaan’ and ‘Junooniyat’, said that she has realised that acting is a much easier job than producing.
She said, “I have now realised that production work does not look like hard work. As an actor, when I come on the set, I think, ‘I have a lot of work to do’, but there are other people like the unit (crew), producers and creative team who have been working on it for months or years.” Mehta said, “When actors complain, I say, ‘You have a fun job to do, don’t complain’. I am not saying that it is an easy job. Being an actor is difficult but another job can change your perception. I do this (producing) because I like my control over what I am making.”
He said that he is happy to start his acting journey in the Punjabi film industry, which has grown very fast in the last few years. He started his new journey in 2015 with the Punjabi romantic-comedy feature film ‘Angrez’, which became one of the highest-grossing films of that year. Some of his other notable works include ‘Love Punjab’, ‘Lahoriye’, ‘K.Smit’, ‘Moh’, and ‘Jatt Nu Chudail Takri’.
“At that time, the Punjabi film industry was not doing so well. Everyone would ask me, ‘Why are you doing this?’ I would say, ‘I like it and it’s all good’. Then the industry has grown very fast in terms of growth,” Mehta said. “Earlier, four films were being made. Now, we are making 60 films a year, and touching the Rs 100 crore mark at the box office. I am happy to be part of a growing industry. You are not saturated like this. Everyone is eager to do more and they are experimenting a lot.”