Karnesh and I are on the same page: Anushka Sharma

Anushka Sharma and her elder brother Karnesh are the only brother-sister producer team in B-Town. While their first NH10 (2015) was a success, they have wrapped filming their second, Phillauri and two more are on the way. 

Both are movie buffs and Karnesh (who was formerly in the merchant navy) and the actress are less like siblings and more like best friends. Today on Raksha Bandhan, Anushka shares the special bond she has with her brother...

‘We’re alike’

“Karnesh and I are both alike as individuals. Our thoughts and the way we approach things is similar. We may have been born on different days, but we think like twin souls. My mother tells me, according to our Hindu astrology, our rashis (planets) are very similar. We will always be on the same page when it comes to the creative aspect of what we want to produce. Karnesh is very good at seeing the potential in things, while I feel that I am involved more on the creative side. He instantly knows if a concept will do well or if a certain script can work, so we can get buyers for the film.”

Not without my bro

“My brother and I make a very good team. I don’t think it would have been possible for me as an actress — given my work schedule — to produce films, if my brother wasn’t there. I wouldn’t have done it. The production company Clean Slate Films is my brother’s and mine. While I am involved at every stage — I want to know what’s happening because these are projects that are very dear to me. Yet, physically, it’s not possible for me to be everywhere.”

Learning the ropes

“Production is a collaborative effort and I give as much credit to my brother Karnesh and the people who are in our company, like our executive producer. We are new to the industry and not from here, we are working alone and still learning the ropes of production. The good thing is that we have the power to follow through our convictions, we don’t get scared. When we believe in something, we will push for it. That’s how NH10 happened... on paper, it was a difficult film.”

Rakhi memories

“My earliest memories of Raksha Bandhan, are of Karnesh saying, ‘I don’t want a rakhi’. He’s always evasive of this celebration while I was an enthusiastic child wanting to tie him that rakhi. I wanted to get him like really big rakhis but he would not let me do it, so I would have to tie those small ones. When I would go to the store and look at all those big rakhis wistfully and think those are not for me ever. He would let me tie a small rakhi, but that too would be taken off the next day. I would feel very bad about it because I was young and thought that meant my brother won’t protect me because of this, but then I realised that he would protect me no matter what. Today, we are best friends and have supported each other through everything. He’s been such a huge support in my life and I think that’s what this relationship of ours is about.”