Ekta Kapoor recently achieved a remarkable milestone as she became the first Indian woman filmmaker to receive an International Emmy Directorate Award. Post her Emmy honor, a video of her speech at the International Emmy Awards 2023 went viral on social media. She thanked her mom, recalling how they started Balaji Telefilms from Jeetendra’s garage. She also recalled how for the initial years of her career, she and her mom were known as ‘lady producers’.
Now, in an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, Ekta Kapoor revealed how her family members reacted to her Emmy honor, and how she is planning to celebrate her big win. Ekta also talked about her collaboration with Kareena Kapoor Khan as a producer for The Buckingham Murders, and with Karan Johar for their next film starring Kartik Aaryan.
Ekta Kapoor’s collaboration with Kartik Aaryan and Karan Johar
A few days ago, Kartik Aaryan announced that he will be starring in a film directed by Sandeep Modi, and it will be produced by Karan Johar and Ekta Kapoor. Speaking about her collaboration with KJo, and Kartik, Ekta told Pinkvilla, “Kartik and I have collaborated earlier in Freddy. Karan and I have never but we are karmic cousins as we call each other. To work with him is like to work with the best in the business, and who won’t be excited about it?”
On working with Kareena Kapoor Khan
Kareena Kapoor Khan teamed up with Ekta Kapoor for her first-ever production venture with Hansal Mehta’s upcoming project, The Buckingham Murders. Ekta said that she and Kareena have an interesting track record workwise, and that her films with Kareena such as Jaane Jaan, Udta Punjab, and Veere Di Wedding have all been hugely successful.
Speaking about Kareena turning producer, Ekta Kapoor said, “She and I share a mutual respect for each other and inherent fondness, because we knew each other as kids, although we can’t call each other as childhood friends. I have always liked the way that she handles herself and the way she balances family and professional life. She is so much more than an actor that we have seen and I think Buckingham showcases just that. It’s always nice to see her take on the role of a producer and come into the marketing and share the credit and discredit of the film. I’m happy that people are loving that she started off as a producer.”
Ekta Kapoor on Emmy honor for her work
Speaking about her feelings after being honored for her work at Emmy Awards, Ekta Kapoor said, “It’s extremely overwhelming. At times it makes me numb to see that – we call it an act of dissociation when you don’t even believe that it is happening with you but, I just want to get back to my job, continue doing what I’m doing but this time there is a certain sense of responsibility of course there is also the inherent need to make global now.”
On celebrating her big win
When asked how she is planning to celebrate her big win at Emmy Awards, she said, “By coming back to Balaji and talking to my writing team and hopefully creating something. I think there’s no better way to celebrate content than making content.”
Ekta Kapoor’s family’s reaction to her Emmy win
When asked how her family reacted to her big Emmy win, she said, “My son was interested in the chocolates I got back for him. My nephew wanted shoes and since I’ve got those for him, he is even more happy. But I think my parents were really really happy and that’s what made me really happy- that I brought a smile to their faces and I think my nephew saw my speech and saw his name in it so he was impressed. And as far as I know it’s really hard to impress the GenZ. I finally feel like I’ve arrived.”
On love received for her Emmy speech
Ekta Kapoor said that her award acceptance speech at Emmy was a ‘heartfelt’ speech. “I tried to correlate India’s journey with mine. I also felt that production being a male-dominated world is highly ironical since we are the eternal producers of the world population so I thought the humor in it was inherently there and I think people identified with it,” she said.
Ekta Kapoor on the kind of stories she aims to make
When asked what kind of projects she aims to make, going ahead, she replied, “Hopefully global. I feel that the world is far more receptive to global stories than it was a few years ago and it doesn’t have to be niche or extremely festival-oriented. Sometimes a highly Indian folklore story can find global appreciation. And I am hoping to look forward to doing those.”
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