Sharad Malhotra is an Indian film and television actor. He is currently playing the role of ‘Rishi’ on Colors popular television series “Kasam Tere Pyaar Ki.” According to the recent reports, the actor will soon be seen directing a short film called Prem, Gajra Aur Chilli Chicken soon. The actor has collaborated with Prateek Chakravorty, grandson of late film-maker Pramod Chakravorty, for the project.
About his upcoming project, Sharad said, “I wanted to do something different. The idea to make a short film came to me from a few true incidents that took place in Mumbai. I thought it would make for an interesting subject. It’s a quirky comedy but it is also dark at the same time.”
The duo has initially worked together in a film ‘Sydney With Love’, which Prateek had directed. “I share an emotional connection with him as that film was our first project together. Collaborating on this short film with him as the producer and me as a director will be another first for us. My entire team is ready, and we will start shooting in a couple of days in Mumbai.” Sharad said.
Sharad had never planned to don the director’s hat anytime soon, it was the story of the film that got him on board. He and his team have been working on the project for the past six months. “I have three very successful TV shows to my credit which is why perhaps people feel that (his) turning a director has to be something really cool. That kind of pressure can be scary but I am not feeling any pressure. I never thought of becoming a director. Being an actor, you want to act all the time but the story of the short film compelled me to direct.”
He has even shared this idea with his lady love Pooja Bisht. He said, “Sometime back, Pooja had heard about this incident which had occurred and mentioned it to me. I got the idea from there and then started working on the script with my writer.”
The actor is very much excited about his project, “I have done television shows for 10 years and I have done two feature films in my career, so in the future, I would love to do theater or act in a web series. There is a lot of scopes out there for digital content, and I want to explore that.”
Sharad shares a great bond with Prateek. He says Prateek is like a brother from another mother and we have seen ups and down together. On their bond, Prateek says, “Ssharad was the main lead in my film “From Sydney With Love” (2012). Since then we have developed a bond like brothers. We have seen the miseries of our fall together and helped each other grow in our own space over the period of time. He reinvented himself on television in very versatile shows and I stand so proud of him as a brother. I hope our friendship remains one that lasts a lifetime.” Prateek added, “Sharad had narrated me a story last year which I found highly amusing, stunningly different, extremely quirky, raw and twisted and I loved it from the word go. The story was told and then he got on with his shoots and shows. I met him 4-6 months later and we were catching up when I mentioned about my plans to produce short films and make them ready for festivals. He mentioned that he wanted to make a short film and the subject that he narrated was the film that he wanted to make. It was like destiny inked it for us to make together. I needed interesting short stories and he was making one. So it fell together in place and here we are making Prem, Gajra Aur Chilli Chicken. I am producing his first directorial debut.”