EXCLUSIVE: Jawan director Atlee on Varun Dhawan's VD18; reveals how Shah Rukh Khan inspired him to turn producer

In an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, filmmaker Atlee, who recently directed Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan, discussed his venture into producing Hindi films, beginning with Varun Dhawan's VD18.

By Apeksha Juneja

Updated on Sep 17, 2023 | 05:57 PM IST | 255K

EXCLUSIVE: Jawan director Atlee on Varun Dhawan's VD18; reveals how Shah Rukh Khan inspired him to turn producer

Jawan director Atlee on producing Hindi films (Pic Courtesy: Manav Manglani)

Filmmaker Atlee is currently basking in the success of his recent action thriller, Jawan. The movie, featuring superstar Shah Rukh Khan, Nayanthara, and Vijay Sethupathi, is making waves and setting records at the box office. Atlee, the director of this star-studded film that thrilled fans with SRK's massy avatar, sat down for an exclusive interview with Pinkvilla. During the interview, he discussed the historic success of his film and also revealed his decision to venture into producing Hindi films, with his project VD18 starring Varun Dhawan.

Jawan director Atlee reveals being inspired by Shah Rukh Khan to venture into producing Hindi films

Atlee is co-producing a Hindi film tentatively titled VD18 alongside Murad Khetani, with Varun Dhawan in the lead role. In an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, the Jawan director, was asked about his decision to venture into producing Hindi films. Atlee credited his lead hero in Jawan, Shah Rukh Khan as his inspiration for this move. He stated, “It's all because of Shah Rukh sir. Shah Rukh sir is a man who inspires you. I have been with him for the last four years. So he's a very serious technician and a serious actor in terms of, he's taken cinema very seriously. And he has grown cinema to a global level in all forms. So being with him and understanding the cinema, I thought I should also do production. He's an amazing producer; I've learnt certain things from him. So, I'm trying to implement it in my production also."

Watch the full interview here:

The filmmaker also shared his plans for more productions in the future. “I've started with one Hindi film now, I'm producing a couple more in the coming season, and I'm doing some production in the south also. I'm doing a couple of films there. So, I think I am getting inspired by Shah Rukh sir. I'm trying something. Let's see,” he said.

Discussing his approach to filmmaking, Atlee mentioned, “I want to produce all genres, and I have no restrictions. My ideology is to entertain, so I will entertain in every genre, and whichever genre I can't try on my own, I am just trying to do in production.”

ALSO READ: Shah Rukh Khan has an aww-dorable reaction as Deepika Padukone plants a sweet kiss on his cheek; PIC