How an ad shoot led to Priyadarshan’s Haiwaan with Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan

Shailaja recently spoke to SCREEN about her experience of producing the two films, the challenges involved, and how KVN Productions—one of the biggest production houses today, with big-budget projects such as Jana Nayagan and Toxic—came on board.

Check out the excerpts:

What is it like to produce films at different scales?

It has been a great challenge and a huge learning experience producing these two films. Balan, being a Malayalam film, is not as big as Haiwaan in terms of scale. Being a Hindi film itself makes Haiwaan a much bigger-scale project.

We shot Balan across Kerala. The film was always on the move. It wasn’t like we shot it in one location or a studio. The journey has been fascinating and a great learning experience.

What inspired you to become a producer?

My husband and I have a company called Thespian Films. We have been in the business for about 20 years. We run an advertising agency where we represent brands, and we also run a small talent agency.

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This happened back in 2024, when we were shooting an ad for Kalyan Jewellers. We were producing the ad film and Priyadarshan was directing it for us. That’s how we got talking about the kind of films we wanted to make.

That’s when he told us that there was a film he really wanted to make in Hindi and that if I could put it together, it would be great. We said, “Sure, why not? We will help you with it.”

A picture of Haiwan producer Shailaja Desai Fenn.

We met Saif because he is someone my husband, Satish, knows well. Then Akshay Kumar came on board. Once we decided on the casting, we told Priyan sir that we would find a producer for him. That’s when he said, “No, it is going to be produced by you.”

We were taken aback, but then we put everything together. We went to Venkat sir of KVN Productions and presented everything to him to see if he would come on board. He loved the film, gave us his blessing and became a partner on the film. That’s how we ended up producing both Balan: The Boy and Haiwan with KVN Productions.

You made the casting sound too easy, considering the big names involved, like Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar. Is there anything we are missing?

Akshay sir’s casting was completely Priyan sir’s call because they share a great rapport. Akshay has a great amount of trust and faith in Priyan sir. And this was a character he had never played before. It is an out-and-out, completely black character. But he believes in and trusts Priyan sir. I’m sure that for an actor of his calibre, he must have seen something in the character as well as in the director.

Meanwhile, with Saif sir, in our very first meeting, he said, “I am doing this.” He is really happy to be working with Priyan sir. It is the first time that he is working with him, and for the first time, he is playing a blind protagonist. We have been blessed that way. I believe there is a God above us who has guided us through this journey.

How do you approach a small-budget film like Balan compared to a big-budget film like Haiwaan? How did you decide to introduce a new face in Balan?

A film is a film. Each film has its own journey and its own dynamics.

When you talk about a film like Balan, it is a Malayalam film. The story required a new actor. It is not like we deliberately decided to cast a newcomer. The film would work only if you had a newcomer, a fresh face who doesn’t come with any baggage—someone about whom people don’t have a preconceived idea of what kind of character the actor would play. If I had cast someone like Nayanthara in that role, the film might not have worked.

At the same time, Haiwaan is a big film. It has to have the actors that it has. With a film like that, you market it in a certain way. It’s completely dynamic. There are many smaller Hindi films where the story requires a new cast.

For us as producers, the one person we listen to the most is the director. What the director wants, we need to provide. And we know our directors are not unreasonable. We have complete faith in them.

KVN Productions has produced some of the biggest-budget films of the year, but both have underperformed. How difficult is it to be a producer?

They have had some of the biggest films in India coming from KVN Productions. As a producer, you need to have nerves of steel. And one thing is for sure—you have to believe in your product and go all out. As producers, the most important thing is to believe in what you are making.

How do you decide the budget of a film?

You don’t put crores of money into every film. There are many small-budget and content-oriented films coming out of both the Hindi and Telugu industries as well.

If it is a big film, it needs to be treated like one. If it is a small film, then it will have a smaller budget. Film is a business. No producer is making a film for fun, putting crores of money into it and letting it go down the drain. Nobody enjoys that. Where the investment is required, it is made.

Can we expect Mohanlal in Haiwaan?

Yes, there is a cameo.