Himanshoo A Pathak’s Elixir Productions have been impressing viewers with their brand of content. Till now, all their projects, Viru ki Paathshala for Facebook-IPL, Echoes (Short Film) etc, in different formats and mediums have done well. The producer and storyteller shares about his journey and experiences so far, and from where it all started.
“The saying, ‘Main akela hi chala tha janib-e-manzil magar, log saath aate gaye aur kaarwan banta gaya’ aptly suits my life and journey so far. I came to Bombay in 1993. After finishing my studies, I started working in different fields— from advertising to Marketing to television. My first work after college was with Provogue as a marketing executive, then I joined Spykar jeans and after that television happened. I worked for Doordarshan for a show that was produced by Mr. Subhash Ghai’s ‘Mukta Arts’ and a friend. Then I did films, my last one being "Humdum," under Mr. Kushan Nandy’s direction,” he says.
In between, when Himanshoo lost his father, he took a break and went back to Madhya Pradesh and stayed there till 2011. He came back to Mumbai again in 2012 when he got an offer from a friend to write a corporate film.
“One project gave way to others, but survival was uncertain and I chose to start working with a friend in his marketing company. I started again with advertising, moved to marketing, then to TV and Films. My last was Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s ‘Babumoshai Bandookbaaz’ as an Executive Producer. I have directed a few projects and produced quite a number of corporate films and commercials. I started producing Crime Alert for Dangal in 2017 and met my now partner Payal Saxena. We shared the common hunger to do good work and that’s how Elixir became reality. Our style of work and strengths are different and that’s what keeps us both sane and balanced. We started with TV and then ventured into the web space. Payal wanted to do a different kind of a web series, so we did ‘Ishqiyuon’ a complete family drama, high on romance, action and comedy. After this we have a few things planned,” he says.
Talking more about his journey as a producer, Himanshoo adds, “A producer is like a power supplier from whom every department gets power directly and indirectly and hence the producer should be full of energy. My journey has been exhilarating. I started with nothing and have made my way through many ups and downs. I have been fortunate that people helped me at every stage, be it my brother, mother, wife, sisters, sister-in-law, my loving friends… all have been supportive of my dream. Deep down my father (who passed away in 2004) wanted me to be in the film industry and due to his blessings here I am today gradually making my mark.”
Himanshoo shares that they have many things planned for Elixir in coming times. The idea is to churn relatable content, and the focus is always on quality.
“We are going with the flow and taking one step at a time. There are so many stories we want to tell, create, produce and hence we started with TV, then moved to web series and in another two years we will be venturing into film production. There are other plans as well for OTT. We are planning to launch a good content driven web platform. Work is on, but it’s too early to spill the beans,” he reveals.
So how easy or difficult is it to manage a production house? “Let me say, ‘With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility’. When I started out as an assistant or executive producer the role was always limited concerning my job and when I became a producer the responsibility just got doubled. You carry the responsibility of the project's success and its failure too. The pressure is huge and it starts from choosing the right story, pitching it to the right people, to marketing to promotion, budgeting, packaging, presentation, taking the right team on board and so on. It continues till the project sees the light of the day. I feel the role of a producer taught me to be compassionate, forgiving and more than that a people’s person,” he concludes.
