Filmmaking is a tough gig. It might look glamorous from the outside but it requires lot of persistence and perseverance. It is quite common for a filmmaker’s child to follow footsteps of their parents. As a film and TV producer and director Sunil Agnihotri is a distinguished name. Unarguably, he has also been described as the ‘King of Television costume dramas’. Sunil Agnihotri has directed films like Danga Fasad, Daava featuring Akshay Kumar,Jai Kishen with Akshay Kumar, Laat Saab with Jackie Shroff ‘Balwinder Singh Famous Ho Gaya’ featuring singers from the music world – Mika Singh and Shaan. He was a household name with TV series like Chandrakanta , Jai Ganesha etc.
Sunil Agnihotri’s son Siddharth Agnihotri seems to have got accustomed to his father’s way of life. Siddharth is armed with a complete filmmaking course from New York Film Academy,New York (U.S.A.). He has recently opened his own production house under the name of Illusionist Films. He produces ad commercials and has plans for web series, TV shows and other digital content.
Life father, like son….. Ad-filmmaker Siddharth too has begun his cinematic journey by wielding the megaphone with an interesting short film, Equal Mom . The film has already been well received on YouTube and is generating more eyeballs each day. It is jointly produced by Pooja Khubchandani, Apeksha Agarwal and Siddharth Agnihotri in association with Ogilvy, Mumbai. The film has been scripted by Akshay Seth. Equal Mom delves on a sensitive issue of maternity leave for adoptive mothers. The subject has been beautifully portrayed in 2 minutes by a child and mother played by Priya Malik. It sends a strong message to the people and the governing authorities to give equal rights. The film is being sent across various festivals too.
Speaking about his debut, Siddharth says, “Equal Mom is an extremely interesting concept and I wanted to create awareness on this subject. The script touched my heart and I believe and hope our film will make a difference and the law will recognise the importance of equal leave for an adoptive mother.”
On nudging about using his father’s influence to bag work, Siddharth firmly states,“I do not intend to use my father’s name to bag work. I want people to see me individually and appreciate me for my work.” ——–Sanjay Sharma Raj(P.R.O.)