Yash Patnaik: Independent Producers Focus On Current Business, Content Studios Build Brands For Long-Term Gain

After giving hit shows such as ‘Ek Veer Ki Ardaas...Veera’, ‘Sadda Haq’, ‘Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi’, ‘Ishq Mein Marjawan’, Yash and Mamta Patnaik’s independent production house, ‘Beyond Dreams Entertainment’ is a storehouse of talent. Currently, they’re producing ‘Channa Mereya’ that stars Karan Wahi and Niyati Fatnani. They also launched ‘Inspire Films’, which is their Content Studio wing.

Speaking to Prateek Sur, Yash Patnaik opens up about the numerous problems that TV producers face, and how they tackle them independently. He even speaks up about the issues of strict budgets while producing a show on TV without the backing of a massive production studio. Excerpts from the chat:

In films, there are big production houses and studios as well as independent filmmakers. But in TV almost all producers are independent and work on strict budgets etc. How different is producing a TV show for an independent producer from producing a film?

Like films, there are also 3 categories of content creators

A) Global Media Corporates

B) Content Studios

C) Independent Producers

Inspire Films is a Content Studio. Unlike most others who are independent entities or partnership entities, we have been a Private Limited company from day 1. In the last decade and a half, we have produced more than 50 highly successful IPs across global, national and regional platforms. We do not restrict our expertise to a particular domain. We have a strong content team which keeps developing original IPs. We also acquire a lot of published IPs in the form of Books, Novels, Life Rights, Series and Films. Our approach has been to create and develop multiple IPs and build strong pipelines.

What sort of challenges does an independent producer face?

Independent producers generally face 3 kinds of challenges - bandwidth, back end and cash flow. But for content studios like us, we have been producing multiple shows at any given point in time. We have rock-solid backend teams for content, operation and corporate management. We are also a 100 per cent self-funded company.

What are those things that an independent producer does that a commercial or a big-budget producer doesn’t do?

Independent producers tend to focus on current business. P&L of projects supersedes building a brand. As a studio, we understand the value of building a brand for long-term gain. Our motto has been to “invest in good ideas, good talents and good infrastructure”