Actor Shreyas Talpade set to venture into production

Mumbai: Actor Shreyas Talpade is all set to don the mantle of Bollywood producer treading in the footsteps of senior actors from the world of marquee.

"I am planning on production, I am working on a couple of scripts. There have been couple of people who have wanted me to get into it. I want to be completely assured of how the film would be made. So as long as that is not in place I will not talk about it. I would rather talk about it once the film is over and it is ready to release," Shreyas told reporters in an interview. "It is very superstitious kind of thing but I believe in it....I would talk about it when the film happens. I am thinking of production it might happen this year," the 36-year-old said. As far as the trend goes, Shreyas is not the sole actor to be bitten by the bug of production. Big B turned producer way back in 1996 when he founded Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd (ABCL). In 1999, actors Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza came together to set up `Dreamz Unlimited`. Their first two ventures, `Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani` and `Asoka`, however, bombed at the box office. In 2004, Shahrukh took over Dreamz Unlimited and transformed it into `Red Chillies Entertainment` taking his wife Gauri on board as a producer. Ditto for Aamir Khan who became part of the production gamble with Ashutosh Gowariker`s `Lagaan` in 2001. Actor Saif Ali Khan ventured into production when he set up his own production company `Illuminati Films` in 2009. Bollywood hulk Salman Khan too did not lag behind in logging in as producer. The Dabangg Khan founded the `Salman Khan Being Human Productions` in 2011 and produced `Chillar Party` under the banner. `Raju Chacha` marked Ajay Devgan`s entry into production while Sanjay Dutt turned producer way back in 2006 with `Zinda`. Others who followed the suit include actors Priety Zinta, Lara Dutta, Dia Mirza, Zayed Khan, John Abraham and Ameesha Patel. When asked about the growing clan of actors venturing into production, the `Iqbal`-fame actor said, "I like two kinds of stories, underdog kind of stories and issue-based subjects. So you can expect either of the two". "I need not necessarily be part of every film that I produce. If we feel we need new guys or seniors or established actors we would approach them be it for a multi-starrer or a solo film. If I feel the subject of the film is good I will produce it no matter who stars in it, be it me or someone," he said. If there was some script that demanded someone like Ajay Devgn to be part of it, I know I can`t pull off that on my own. So in that case I will rather go and approach him, Shreyas said. PTI