Ambika Hinduja, daughter of Ashok Hinduja, the youngest of the four Hinduja brothers, grew up on a diet of Bollywood, Hollywood and some “incredible” world cinema. She studied filmmaking in London and assisted filmmakers such as Subhash Ghai and Farhan Akhtar. In 2005, she launched Serendipity Films, which produced the critically acclaimed Being Cyrus. Her second film, Teen Patti, will release on February 26 and stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sir Ben Kingsley and R Madhavan. It’s an exciting time to be in the Hindi film industry, she tells Abhilasha Ojha.
How did you get involved in the business of films?
I have always been fascinated with telling stories. A visual narrative captures the imagination powerfully, which is the reason I chose films as my medium to tell stories. Cinema draws upon language, music, imagery and performance, making it the most composite of art forms. I am fascinated by how one person’ s imagination can serve to inspire millions of others.
What are the films that had a strong impact on you when you were growing up?
The list is way too long. I love Ramesh Sippy’ s Sholay, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’ s Chupke Chupke and Anand, and Raj Kapoor’s Sangam too. I enjoy the cinema of Pedro Almodovar and Majid Majidi. Then there’ s Godfather, Forrest Gump, Road to Perdition, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. (Smiles) I told you it’ s a long list.
How did Serendipity Films happen ?
I decided to get involved with films professionally at a very early age. Working in Mumbai, I realised that I could address an audience interested in stories coming out of modern India. I could explore themes such as identity and displacement, infidelity and the conflicts of love. I wanted to make cinema that would have global appeal the way European filmmakers do. Since, I thought, no one at the time was doing it, I took the bull by the horns and made Being Cyrus.
I also think it is exciting to be part of the industry at this time because the narrative arc is shifting and people are experimenting with stories that would not have been made earlier.
Tell us about Teen Patti?
The film stars two of the greatest legends — Amitabh Bachchan and Sir Ben Kingsley. Teen Patti also has R Madhavan and four debutantes — Siddharth Kher, Shraddha Kapoor, Vaibhav Talwar and Dhruv Ganesh.
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What kind of budgets do your films have?
It varies. Being Cyrus cost Rs 3.37 crore while Teen Patti’ s budget has been Rs 31.5 crore.
What is the mantra of Serendipity Films?
Serendipity’s mantra is to make global cinema using the resources at hand, tapping talent not only from India but also abroad.