Prerna Arora on comeback with Sonakshi Sinha’s Jatadhara, why South is more successful, forced paparazzi and fake promotions in Bollywood

Jatadhara poster by Prerna Arora

Producer Prerna Arora, known for backing successful projects like Rustom, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Padman, is returning to production with the supernatural fantasy thriller Jatadhara. The upcoming film stars Sudheer Babu, Sonakshi Sinha as the main antagonist, Dhana Pisachni along with Shilpa Shirodkar in a key role. Ahead of the pan-India release, Prerna joins DNA India for an exclusive conversation where she discusses her comeback, how South has successfully reached audiences in the country and where Indian cinema should work. She also explains ways to survive and keep some things under control in a male-dominated industry and shares this sincerely.

Prerna Arora makes her comeback with Jatadhara, a landmark in South cinema

Prerna is entering the pan-India market with Jatadhara, a film made with a team from Telugu cinema (director Venkat Kalyan, actor Sudheer Babu). When asked how she got the project, Prerna explains, “During Covid, Salman (Khan) bhai mentored me, helped me and I made a song called Bollywood Wala Dance. Immediately after the song, I got a chance to work with Aishwarya Rajinikanth and that was the biggest turning point for me. It was my first trip to Hyderabad. I did the song Musafir and it was eventually remade in different languages (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada). This was my second song and it was a completely different world.” I used to watch a lot of Tamil and Telugu movies, so I was always inclined to do something here. Even though I was offered it, I always decided not to do remakes.

Arora revealed that he met MM Kreem and then director Venkat Prabhu while working with Aishwarya. Soon he started receiving offers and scripts and that’s when he came across the script of Jatadhara. Prerna liked the idea of ​​Dhana Pisachni and decided to produce this film.

Prerna Arora explains why South cinema has been more successful in creating mass entertainment

Talking about what is the biggest plus point of South cinema, Prena adds, “We have cinema audiences; we have moviegoers in the South. There is Yaha (South) pe sach mein fan following, hero worship and extreme craze for its stars. That’s what I felt when I released the trailer here. Yaha pe sache fans hai. And the producers know how to justify the reputation of superstars like Rajini sir or Kamal Haasan sir or Mahesh Babu Garu, “They know how to treat their fans by giving them special roles.”

Prerna further highlights the differences and adds, “Yaha film ko bahut bada event mana jaata hai. Humare yaha abhi thoda casual ho gaya hai, because we get so much exposure. Beech mein everyone was on Instagram. And after watching the biggest of stars on OTT, the curiosity faded.” Arora also suggested that the South tends to think differently rather than following a trend.

Prerna Arora on fake promotions and forced paparazzi culture

Prerna also touched on the paparazzi culture and fake promotions in Bollywood. “Yaha (South) itna aggressive pap culture nahi hai ki ja-ja ke spotting karata hai. Talking about paid spottings that curb the spree of the actors, Prerna agrees and adds, “Definitely, humare yaha pesudo-fan following mixed ho gaya hai. Aap dekh rahe hai ki kaise ek plastic promotion shuru ho gaya, where nothing is real. But the audience is smart and they know if it’s real or not. Hume hammer karke dikhaya ja raha hai ultimately kills originality.” Jatadhara will release in theaters on November 7.