Manish Malhotra talks about his journey into film production

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 15 (ANI): The much-awaited film 'Gustaakh Ishq' is all set for its release, and so is fashion designer Manish Malhotra who has now turned producer for the very first time.
While speaking to ANI, Manish shared how filmmaking had been in his mind for many years, however he finally found the time to work on it during the COVID-19 lockdown. He said the break helped him think about what he wanted to do for himself creatively.

"Well, I wanted to produce from a long time ago. I wanted to direct, write and everything. Because my career was also very busy. And I think when I got time during COVID, you know, that was the time when I thought what should I do for my personal self?"
Manish also shared that he did not want to follow trends or make something that felt like every other film. Instead, he wanted to create something meaningful and different.
Talking about starting his production house, he said, "After COVID, I launched Stage 5 Production. It's self-funded, self-created. From letterhead to logo to the first Instagram post, we created everything ourselves for Stage 5."
Explaining why he wanted to step out of his comfort zone, Manish added, "I didn't want it to look like I was making a small film on the same topics as everyone else. A film is not small or big. A film should be a little different."
"My work has its own branding with glamour, stars, and big films. So I wanted to do something different and not go into the comfort zone that comes so easily, like working with friends. With this thought, I started looking for scripts, and two years passed while searching for the right one."
'Gustaakh Ishq', stars actors Vijay Varma and Fatima Sana Shaikh and is set to hit theatres on November 28. (ANI)