Exclusive: What Shah Rukh Khan Told Wedding Filmer AKA Vishal Punjabi About Cinema
This filmmaker, who weaves stories out of real-life weddings, owes his career to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and his production company Red Chillies Entertainment. As Vishal Punjabi Aka The Wedding Filmer completes 15 years in the industry, he talks about his long association with Shah Rukh Khan and his unforgettable influence during an exclusive chat with NDTV.
Shah Rukh Khan And Cinema
Before venturing into the wedding business, Vishal Punjabi used to work as a line producer for Red Chillies Entertainment in Mumbai. Vishal, who always wanted to make films, was noticed for his knack for visual art.
Vishal was allowed to set up a team for visual art by putting together visual effects productions for films such as Asoka, Main Hoon Na, Paheli, and Don -- all starring Shah Rukh -- as well as Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. He moved to the advertising vertical of Red Chillies Entertainment to produce and direct television commercials.
When asked about his long association with Red Chillies Entertainment, Vishall tells NDTV, "Everything I know about filmmaking, I have learnt from my time at Red Chillies. Farah Khan, Santosh Sivan, Bobby Chawla, Juhi Chawla, Shah Rukh Khan are my mentors. They taught me how to edit, they have taught me how to shoot. They have taught me the language of cinema. I hope they are proud of me now."
What are some of his fond memories with Shah Rukh Khan?
"Shah Rukh Khan once told me, 'Filmmaking requires a lot of maturity, time and love. Only make a film when you reach that level of maturity'. I think, today, I have reached that level of maturity, where I can bring expertise and years of my experience to the craft."
If you scroll down Vishal Punjabi's Instagram posts, you will find a DDLJ (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge) poster, shared way back in 2015. The caption read, "When I grow up..."
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Vishal Punjabi (@theweddingfilmer)
We now know where it all comes from.
Vishal Punjabi has covered more than 50 celebrity weddings till date, such as Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma (2017), Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh (2018), Vicky Kaushal-Katrina Kaif (2021), Sidharth Malhotra-Kiara Advani (2023), to name a few. He started his career when there was no wedding videography market in India as such. Reflecting upon his career, he says, "It's been quite a journey."
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