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Neena, Priya & Suchitra:
We are three co-founders of an impact films production company, called 3 Peepul Productions. We’re spread across Vadodara in India and Austin in USA.
Our journey is a story in itself, with many twists and turns, much like the films we bring to screen. So here goes…
We never set out to be film producers. That was never the plan. So we call ourselves – the “accidental producers”. And yet here we are. Building a films production house with projects supporting powerful stories that need to be told, bringing to screen voices that need to be heard.
Neena: The origins of our producorial journey started before we even formed the company. It all began in August 2020, when Suchitra and I were approached by an aspiring film maker and collaborator, Rohit Prajapati, from Vadodara, with an idea of a short film he wanted to make. He narrated 4 lines to us, and asked for our help in finding a producer. We loved the story and offered to finance the film- not quite realising the journey we were about to embark on. Overnight we became producers. The film went on the floor, with the first schedule shot in October 2020, when the lockdown opened for a bit.
Suchitra: As we approached the second schedule to be shot in December, the story had evolved from being a short film with 3 stories to a feature length film with all the stories merging into one. Rohit and we added more characters to the story, improvising to build more nuances to the film. This required greater investment, and we wondered whether to continue to self-finance the project or invite an investor. When I narrated this to my childhood friend Priya, she suggested joining as our third investor. At that point, Neena and Priya had never met – though both were and remain my dearest friends. We did our first Zoom call that night, and we hit it off as a trio! Priya came on board as a co-producer with that call. It was as simple as that.
Priya: By the time the film shoot was completed in January 2021, we were advised to form a Company to finalise our arrangement. Overnight we formed our Company- 3 Peepul Productions – in February 2021. We spent a lot of time brainstorming for the name that fit our dreams. We realised that we had many stories to tell; we were going to be producers for the long haul.
Neena: Our name – 3 Peepul Productions- reflects our ideology and vision, as we’re committed to telling stories rooted in the Indian ethos – much like the Peepul tree which grows in the Indian sub-continent. All three of us have a strong connection with the Peepul tree, bringing precious memories to the fore. We formulated our vision, mission and values for our Company. And voila, we became an impact films production company. Coming from varied backgrounds with each of us having 25-30 years’ work experience, in management, consulting, education, arts and e-commerce, we knew the ropes – kind of.
Suchitra: In January 2021, we started work on another project with a collaborator Kristine Landon-Smith, who’s a theatre director based in London. Kristine and we decided to make an improvised short film, with the objective to create inclusive spaces for the deaf within the community; collaborating with a school for deaf students – Akshar Trust (Centre for Children with deafness). Kristine auditioned and selected a cast of deaf and hearing young teenagers, who were students from Akshar and other schools of Vadodara, ably supported by translators and interpreters. Our short film “Vishwamitri Villas” revolves around the lives of young domestic servants in a building called Vishwamitri Villas, during the pandemic lockdown.
The shoot was entirely on Zoom, as it was during the third lockdown in April-May 2021. Every session was recorded, improvisations enacted and detailed notes made. The challenges were plentiful – internet glitches and “Am audible?” were par for course. Most of the young cast had never acted before; those with experience had only acted on stage; and for everyone it was a first to shoot a film on Zoom, that too a fully improvised film. Add to this, we were all in our homes, spread across Vadodara, New Delhi and London- connected on Zoom. A few language barriers came up, as Kristine didn’t speak Hindi or Gujarati so she needed translators, the hearing cast members didn’t know Indian Sign Language and the deaf cast members had to communicate with everyone through interpreters. Yet everyone communicated well, making friends across the screens while creating this film. Kristine and our editor Sabyasachi Bhattacharjee edited the 45 hours of Zoom footage to create a long-short 40 minute film – Vishwamitri Villas – a multilingual film in Hindi, Gujarati, English and Indian Sign Language, with subtitles in English and Hindi. A first in many ways!
Priya: We submitted Vishwamitri Villas to various film festivals, and the nominations and accolades started coming in from festivals in USA, UK and UAE. I came to Vadodara and we held a private screening party for our cast, crew and their families, in November 2021. That was the first time everyone met, face to face. What a joyful celebration!
We also made a documentary on “The Making of Vishwamitri Villas” to document the innovative processes behind making this special short film, directed by Natashja Rathore.
Our phenomenal learning experiences with Vishwamitri Villas validated our belief as women producers, to support stories that need to be heard. Oh! And we learnt to do subtitling, took some courses and spoke with experts, as we decided to subtitle our films ourselves, if possible. Our little contribution in our films.
Neena: Meanwhile our feature film had got its name – “Kundaalu” which means ‘circle’ in Gujarati, and had progressed to post production phase. 2021 went in dubbing, and music created and recorded in Vadodara, while 2022-23 went in post-production studios in Mumbai. While we subtitled the film ourselves, we also had the unique experience of dubbing for the film – a very unexpected experience which arose because it wasn’t possible to get the village women to travel to Vadodara for dubbing a few lines. What made this experience unforgettable? Our film is in Mehsani, a dialect of Gujarati- and none of us are Gujarati. Priya and Suchitra are Tamil and I’m Punjabi. Yet we dubbed for the film and our voices are now part of Kundaalu.
We started knocking on doors to find a presenter to get Kundaalu to screens. We met some incredible people in the industry, well-wishers and supporters who have gone the extra mile to help our film and us. We’ve also had the experience of doors closing in our face, some with no explanation.
With each step, we realised that creating and producing a film is perhaps the easier and more satisfying part of the journey, whereas distribution is the tough, frustrating and challenging part. And we did wonder at times- why have we become producers? We’ve felt the weight of expectations on our shoulders. That spurred us to keep on knocking on doors, all we needed is for one door to open. After 2 years of knocking on doors, we realised that we needed to make our own way – build our own doorway or break through the walls on our own. And that’s what we’re doing now. Making our own way.
Priya: Our Kundaalu got nominated and won 7 awards at Jaipur International Film Festival- JIFF 2024- a silver lining in some dark clouds. I remember when we saw the notification on Film Freeway – we were stunned, speechless that not only did our Kundaalu win- it swept most of the major award categories. We had been told over and over again by people in the industry that a film only wins if you know someone on the jury or you buy the awards – neither of which we did, as we don’t believe in such practices and refuse to play such games. So imagine our surprise and joy!
I flew to India, and we all went to the film festival in Jaipur on 15th January 2024, with our team, celebrating Kundaalu’s success together. What an evening. What an experience, three of us with the team, accepting the certificates to celebrate 7 awards for our Kundaalu.
Suchitra: Along the way, over the years, we’ve produced several micro-shorts. We’ve been commissioned to make 100 short films for Sakshi, an NGO that works to create gender equality in society, support victims of abuse and bring legislation that protects weaker sections of society, especially women, girls and children. We made 3 micro-shorts for Sakshi so far. This has been a deeply emotional, learning journey for us, as the content deals with domestic abuse, rape, violence and the emotions of abuse survivors. Being women, knowing people who have been abused- these are important stories we need to tell. And we’ve come to realise that we have to be their voice, to bring their stories to the world, to create an impact for generations ahead.
Neena: Now here we are, in 2025, bringing our Kundaalu to theatres on 7th November. Despite our film winning big at JIFF 2024, despite all the media attention, doors didn’t magically open even then. This brought us to the realization that the odds are stacked against first time producers, and that’s the nature of the business. We took a decision to distribute our film on our own merit, learning along the way. Touch wood, we found helpful collaborators whose advice and inputs have been most beneficial. This journey of collaboration in making Kundaalu and bringing it to the screen has been magical.
Priya: As we look back and reflect on our journey, it’s always exciting to start a new venture, however small it may be. I recall the exhilaration, the excitement, the fear and the uncertainty when we first began troubleshooting ideas for 3 Peepul. The pandemic was raging and everyone had to deal with logistical and other issues. At 3 Peepul, we chose to channel our energies into telling stories.
When you’re in your 20s, it is easy to wake up one day and say “I’m quitting my job today to start a business”, but when you are 50 plus, it’s another matter altogether, though age is not a hindrance to starting a business. In fact, some might argue that launching a business in your 50s comes with many advantages. You have experience, knowledge in your chosen field and expertise. You are more financially secure and you certainly have a better understanding of your own weaknesses and strengths. You also have a broader frame of reference because you’ve had range of personal as well as professional experiences from which you’ve culled out a philosophy of sorts about how you’d like to take your life forward. And then, while everything seems to be sailing along smoothly, you feel the urge to shake things up, change the status quo as it were. A new business is just like the sort of brilliant idea that seems doable.
Neena: Little does one know that there are many pitfalls ahead on this long journey, albeit a satisfying roller coaster ride. Suddenly you discover that your experience and cautiousness at times is viewed as stubbornness by some – especially the younger collaborators- who like to come up with radical new ideas every day, without thinking about the practical aspect of doing business. Then you begin to question yourself – Are you really set in your ways? Do you find it difficult to adapt to a new environment quickly? At 3 Peepul, we ask ourselves these questions frequently because we want to be open to explore new ideas and traverse new paths on our journey towards inclusivity and bringing people together to create meaningful cinema.
Suchitra: Soon after we began building 3 Peepul, we realised that we didn’t (and don’t) have the same stamina as we had in our early years at work. It’s getting harder to function on a few hours of sleep now, especially after several late nights in a row.
“Serenity now” is a phrase we often hear ourselves saying to each other, as we deal with impatient clients, or people who don’t respect our time, or people who are rude and offensive due to their own compulsions. But we do get through it all with a smile at the end of the day because we understand that good things take time and are worth the wait. We also recognise that creative people can be emotionally “high strung” at times, and we have to navigate their emotional highs and lows with empathy, as well as manage all the moving components of the film.
Our own life experiences, coupled with our commitment and sense of responsibility to each project and team, helps us to work our way through our challenges as producers. We’ve worked on certain projects for a fair bit of time only to realise they weren’t shaping up the way we wanted. We’ve had to part ways with certain collaborators for reasons beyond our control. We’ve had to let go certain stories because we couldn’t figure out the funding avenues. Difficult and traumatic decisions but we had to take them anyways.
Neena: As we three women have navigated tricky situations together, we’ve grown even closer, developing a deeper respect for each other. This has been such a special outcome of our working together. We’ve learnt to support and listen to each other, even when we disagree at times, we respect each other’s point of view, and try to include everyone in the journey. We’ve seen ups and downs, handled sensitive issues and navigated many pitfalls already. Yet we’ve come out of it, stronger and more united.
Suchitra: While we’re on this producorial journey, we must acknowledge the support of our families and friends. As women with families, we have to balance work and homes, family crises and personal obligations- the pressures that come with the territory as women professionals. One can’t switch off being a mother, wife, daughter or daughter-in-law even for a moment. Our families have been super supportive, and are rooting us on. This is a huge blessing, and we recognise how fortunate we are to have their backing.
Priya: The special bond between us as friends is that we lift each other up, picking up each other’s duties and covering for each other when needed, and most importantly – being there for each other. We chat. We laugh. We cry. We vent. We share. Our conversations start and end with work but along the way, we also share and confide about our lives, our dreams and our challenges. Our calls are our safe space, and our WhatsApp and Zoom calls can stretch for hours at a time. We also offer this safe space to all our collaborators – film making is truly a collaborative journey in every sense of the word.
Neena, Priya & Suchitra:
Bottom line, we are friends and women producers, who are fortunate to be co-founders of our Company.
As we bring our debut feature film “Kundaalu” to cinemas on 7th November, we’re deeply excited and apprehensive, in equal measure, as we hope audiences will relate to our beautiful story. Along with our writer-director and the entire team, we’ve poured our heart and soul into this film. We believe in the story, and hope it resonates with audiences.
Now as we build 3 Peepul Productions into a Company, focused on bringing compelling stories for the screen, we’re very humbled to be pitched stories from across India, in different languages, by experienced and aspiring film makers. We have shortlisted several projects, which we look forward to producing in the coming years.
At 3 Peepul Productions, we put our people and our stories first. From being “accidental” to now “intentional” producers, we are three women producers with a vision and many stories to tell.
We are 3 Peepul …
To know more, visit: www.3peepul.com
Instagram, FB & YouTube: 3peepul
