MUMBAI: Writer-director-actor Simmer Bhatia says she had a tough time getting funding for her first project, and that made her start her own production house. In fact, it was fate that led her to venture into production.

She said, “I realized that no one invests if you are new, and no matter how good the content is, you need a known producer, actor, or a presenter for your movie to get financing.”

The movie was a prophecy, a calling you can say, made in an art house format. It was based on a very important chapter of my book, “Path to Origin. “I couldn’t get it for my first film, and I had decided to make the movie and get the message across to the world. Infact it’s a series and has won a lot of selections and few awards in the Hollywood festivals. I had been twice to L.A to receive the awards. Do plan to make a sci-fi series someday of this project.

Having produced/written movies like The Conversations: A Journey to the Path to Origin (short), Night Encounters (feature), and Denial (short), she is now awaiting the release of her short film Pravaah: The Flow. “It will be released on Pocket Films on June 14 at 5 p.m. The way the journey of the protagonist is shown in the movie Pravaah-The Flow, is relative to all travelers. How we come across interesting people and experiences as travelers, wanderers or soul-searchers, looking for something. Each interaction and each journey teaches us something, and we give something and take something and move on. That’s depicted in this travel journey. It’s real. It’s soul-touching. It has a message,” she said.

The short film features Sharad Malhotra, Maninee De, and Vikas Bhalla. Speaking of the casting, Simmer said, “Sharad Malhotra, as he is a traveler himself, got the essence of my protagonist instantly as I narrated the story to him. I needed a bohemian, spiritual, mature yet intense, and an amazing versatile actor for this role, and Sharad fitted flawlessly into this character. As I discussed with Sharad and went through options for one of the important co-actor. Someone who has these intense, expressive eyes, has this appeal to her yet simple. We both instantly felt Maninee De fitted perfectly in that character.

I needed a chilled-out, mature, good looking person in a certain age bracket, who is also a singer, and I have known Vikas Bhalla, so I just thought of him and approached,” she added.