Sanju baba now on Balaji show-Sony

The production house has roped Sanjay Dutt to be one of the judges on their reality show, reveals Shobha Kapoor

Pulling it off: Shobha Kapoor and (inset) Sanjay Dutt

Balaji is going ahead with its first ever reality show.

Yes we are doing a reality TV show along with Sunil Shetty's Popstar, a subsidy of Popkorn Entertainment. It will start on Sony from December and will have Sanjay Dutt as one of the judges. The show will hunt for a dancing pair who will star in Popkorn and Balaji's next film along with Sanjay Dutt, in June. The show will air for three years.

Earlier, Ekta was handling everything but now the company has a team for every department. Sunil and us are also planning a cricket-based reality show, while Ekta is planning a music reality one.

Balaji is also entering films in a big way.

Yes. We have some tie-ups with Popkorn. The first film is called EMI — Liya Hai Toh Chukana Padega, directed by Saurabh Kabra and starring Sanjay Dutt, Urmila and Arjun Rampal. Sunil and Sanju are very excited about the script.

Then there's Mission Istanbul, starring Vivek Oberoi and Zayed Khan, Raaste with Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham, which has got delayed, and also Little Godfather.

Today, the entire film division in Balaji comes under a separate entity, called Balaji Motion Pictures. It's the market requirement today and films have always been Ekta's passion.

Any in-house productions?

Yes. There is C Company directed by Sachin Yardi, the Kya Kool Hai Hum sequel and a niche film, I Too Had A Dream, directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia. It's based on the life of Verghese Kurien, the founder of Amul Milk. We want people to know what the man has done for India and rural women.

October 12 is an important date for you.

Yes. We are distributing a prestigious film like Bhool Bhulaiyaa all over India for the first time. That's a big step for Balaji. We are distributing Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar Raj too. The distribution market is growing fast and it's time Balaji took charge. My brother Ramesh Sippy has been a distributor for 36 years, and Jeetuji was a partner with him for 21 years (for over 70 films) under GRA Distributors.

At one point, GRA was the No 1 distributor in the country. We want to regain that position. In the future, we plan to distribute films in the international market too.

What's happening with the Balaji awards?

We are looking at a year-end date before New Year's Eve. Talks are on with Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Shilpa Shetty and a few more stars for their dates. If I had my way, Shah Rukh, Salman and Saif Ali Khan ko bhi le jaoon — they are all fantastic. I love them all!

Have you seen your husband Jeetendra in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa?

Yes. I was happy to see him on TV and think he's doing a good job. He wasn't keen in the beginning, but Ekta persuaded him. She told him, 'You have to do it, papa'. He always listens to his children.

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