Produced by Alia Bhatt and Shaheen Bhatt under the banner of Eternal Sunshine Productions and co-produced by Grishma Shah and Vikesh Bhutani, Don’t Be Shy is written and directed by Sreeti Mukerji
At the first-ever Prime Video Presents: International Originals in London, where Don’t Be Shy was showcased, Alia Bhatt, the producer of the film shared her commitment to stories that feel genuine, emotionally rooted and free from trend-chasing. Crafted by writer-director Sreeti Mukerji, the film follows 20-year-old Shyamili ‘Shy’ Das, who believes she has life mapped out, until an unexpected turn of events throws everything off course.
Reflecting on these values in conversation with Nikhil Madhok, director and head of Originals, Prime Video India, Alia Bhatt spoke about backing authentic voices and why Prime Video emerged as the perfect creative home for the film.
Sharing what she looks for while backing stories and creators, Alia Bhatt spoke about the importance of originality and emotional honesty,
“One of the most important things is a genuine voice. We don’t want to be a bunch of like, “me too’s”, just following a trend just because one thing has worked, so follow that. Because we can’t tell a story authentically if we actually don’t believe in it. And no voice can actually bring some magic to your screen if it’s not coming from a very genuine place. So number one, a genuine voice. Number two, something that stays with you long after. That’s something that we connected on immediately because we have grown up watching movies, listening to songs of movies that we perhaps haven’t seen, but the songs have stayed with us and some dialogues have stayed with us. Whether it’s a movie or a TV show, something about a scene or a character or a moment, when that stays with you after you’ve moved on from the moment, I feel there’s no greater impact than that.”
Explaining why Prime Video was the ideal partner for the film, Alia Bhatt said,
“It felt like the most natural fit also just because for this the content that you have at Prime Video and the content that you’ll have chosen to back and produce has one thing in common which is, it’s a genuine voice and it’s one thing sets apart from one another. I don’t think there are many similar-ish spaces that you all intend to put out there for your audience and I know at the heart because I’ve interacted so much with the creative team, I know the heart and the soul of you know your creative process is also to keep your ear very close to the ground but also take risks sometimes and also give the audience what they feel what they want but in a new way.”
Produced by Alia Bhatt and Shaheen Bhatt under the banner of Eternal Sunshine Productions and co-produced by Grishma Shah and Vikesh Bhutani, Don’t Be Shy is written and directed by Sreeti Mukerji. The upcoming Original movie is set to premiere exclusively on Prime Video across India and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
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