Ace designer and stylist Manish Malhotra takes his boldest step yet by entering the niche of film production with Stage5 Production. Gustaakh Ishq - Kucch Pehle Jaisa marks his maiden cinematic production, and through this, he brings back the charm of classic poetic love with Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Varma, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Sharib Hashmi as the creative cast! During the recently held trailer launch event, Manish Malhotra revealed his inspiration behind producing Gustaakh Ishq and also shared his views about taking creative risks with the film.
Speaking about stepping into the production space with Stage5 Production, Manish Malhotra shared, “Production house is my thing. It’s intimate; maybe the audience of today will relate to it, and I understand the people of today. I feel that classic, timeless love se har koi relate karega,” and added, “I wanted to start an independent production, not what people would expect out of me.”
For Manish, the aim was to produce a film that exuded love in its simplicity, with soulful music, poetry and clean romance. Speaking about his inspiration, he shared. “I love RD Burman, Gulzar sahab - their music and their work in movies. Jab pehle romance itna tha, log question nahi karte the. They would just be accepting it and fondly watching it. And I’ve been that person who has fondly watched it.”
He added, “I think aajkal hum romance nahi dekhte. Aajkal simplicity, purity, music, wo sab nahi dekhte. And I think Gustaakh Ishq me wo sab kuch hai, including emotions, music and clean romance. When I heard the script, mujhe iski duniya bahot achi lagi, it’s really beautiful. When you see the film, you’ll feel beautiful and that is very important for me. For my beginning as a producer, I felt I should start with a beautiful and classic world.”
Manish also opened up about taking creative risks with the film. “Mujhe aisa kuch risk laga nahi because ye darr nahi hai ki ye film kitni chalegi, kitne collections honge, kitne nahi honge, whether there will be profit or loss. Since our childhood, me and my brother Dinesh Malhotra have wished to become producers. And I only hope that it carries on because we want to continue to make films irrespective of anything. Bass ye hai ke achi scripts aati rahe jisse hum excite ho so we can make them with sincerity and honesty.”
Through Gustaakh Ishq, Manish Malhotra begins a new chapter as a producer under Stage5 Production - with a poetic love story that seamlessly blends classic storytelling while embracing the future of Indian cinema. Produced alongside his brother Dinesh Malhotra, Gustaakh Ishq is directed by Vibhu Puri, and it unfolds as a poignant tale of passion and unspoken desire, set amidst the bylanes of Purani Dilli and the fading kothis of Punjab. The film releases in theatres on 28th November.