(L-r) Gauri Shinde, Pranab Kapadia, R. Balki (Photos Courtesy: Sterling Global)

TL; DR

Celebrated Bollywood filmmakers Gauri Shinde (Writer/Director – English Vinglish & Dear Zindagi) and R. Balki (Writer/Director Cheeni Kum, Paa, Shamitabh, Ki & Ka & Padman; Writer/Creative Director – Mission Mangal) have partnered with media business veteran Pranab Kapadia as co-producer for the upcoming films to be made under their production company – Hope Productions.

Founded in 2011, after the success of Cheeni Kum and Paa, Hope Productions was born of an idea to create and shape quality content, launch promising new talent and provide a platform for original storytelling, without any compromises. The first film under the Hope Productions banner was the superhit English Vinglish. The production house has many successful titles credited to its roster including critically acclaimed English Vinglish, Padman, Ki & Ka, Dear Zindagi, Mission Mangal to name a few. And is also responsible for a wide gamut of popular television commercials.

An experienced media professional, Pranab Kapadia boasts of a career spanning over 22 years in the industry. Starting off at Zee, Pranab enjoyed his next stint leading the UK Subsidiary of Reliance-owned Adlabs, and eventually moving on to Eros International as President Distribution – International. In 2020, he also founded Moviegoers Entertainment Limited – a UK based Media Distribution Company, that will continue to pursue other Film & TV business opportunities of Overseas Distribution of Content, Business Development of OTT Digital Aggregators and Music Publishing monetisation activities etc.

Commenting on the association, Pranab Kapadia said, “I am honoured and delighted to collaborate with India’s finest, most talented, creative powerhouse duo of Gauri Shinde & R Balki. Their unique style of storytelling, creating entertaining content and commercial success out of subjects that are considered taboo, is remarkable. After successfully producing award winning feature films and commercials, collecting several accolades at prestigious Film Festivals around the world, their production company Hope Productions is now at the cusp of growth and I am excited to lead this.”

“Gauri and I are absolutely delighted to announce that Pranab will be partnering with us in our future ventures, beginning with a thriller directed by me that begins filming in July this year, followed by three films planned for 2022. We have known Pranab for about 10 years now, and have always admired his desire to make films & content that not only break the barriers of convention but also tell newer stories, which is well complemented with his sound business acumen. Pranab has always believed that we need to keep earning the right to tell the stories we want to, and that syncs with our philosophy, bringing about this partnership. With his vast business experience and his inherent love for the movies there can be no better person than Pranab to help grow Hope Productions.” said R Balki.

A natural and symbiotic collaboration between Gauri Shinde and R. Balki with Pranab Kapadia is expected to bolster the visionary and ambitious endeavors of Hope Productions.