For us, journey of collaboration is more important than the process: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

In conversation with Adgully, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari delves into the inspiring journey behind the inception of Earthsky Pictures and their mission to make a significant impact on the world of content creation. Earthsky Pictures, a venture she co-founded, was born out of a shared passion for storytelling and a desire to collaborate with like-minded creators.

What inspired you to start Earthsky Pictures? Could you share the passion and drive behind this new venture? Could you tell us about any personal tales or experiences that have had a significant impact on your vision for Earthsky Pictures?

We worked in one of the best ad agencies and had the opportunity to be our best version through our stories. When we left, we directed ad films and feature films, but during the course of making our own path, we realised there were so many creators who were approaching us with their stories and studios and producing partners who believe in our collaboration as we walk along with our business partners and create stories with a lot of togetherness. For us, the journey of collaboration is more important than the process. We are extremely filled with gratitude that we partnered with such talented individuals who have made a name in the business of movies and we have learnt along the way. Having come from a corporate business, we understand the equilibrium that needs to be maintained between the creators and the business side. ‘Tarla’ by Piyush Gupta, ‘Tum se na ho payega’ by Abhishek Sinha, ‘Break-point’, the Malayalam film (which is in development), all of this happened because we want to tell diverse stories and nurture younger talent through Earthsky Pictures.

We were fortunate that somebody believed in us and gave us a break. This is our way of paying back. If at all, you can call it a dream, which is not so much at a personal level, but what kind of work we will be enabling going forward. The dream as of now is to be able to tell many more stories with the help of a lot of fantastic young talent, whether it’s technicians, writers or directors. And make our own movies partnering with like-minded partners who believe in our vision.

India’s content creation landscape is constantly evolving. How do you see Earthsky Pictures contributing to this evolution, and what unique perspectives or ideas do you bring to the table?

We need to change with the times and dynamics of human capacity to consume content, which changes with the ever-growing mindset of consumer behaviour and audience capacity to spend money in theatres, believing in a brand and the storyteller to sample it on an OTT platform. In the digital age, the audience knows who the director is, who the writer is and where the story is coming from. The times have changed, where we get world content that is available to all. We need to be more aware of what we create and know who we are speaking to. Who our is audience and what are they consuming.

Are there specific genres or types of content that Earthsky Pictures will focus on, and if so, what drove those choices?

We are mindful of the kind of stories we would like to say. But that does not restrict us from creating diverse genres. We always ask ourselves why and the purpose of green lighting a film or if we are partnering with a studio, we are collaborative to understand the intent, a lot of thinking needs to go into why are we telling the story, is it relevant? And what is the business viability for a movie? We work closely with the best in the business of marketing/ PR and business heads to understand the why and what of cinema and dive deep into audience understanding of why they liked one kind of movie. We question our intent always, but having the creative side higher there are movies we make purely for the love of it. And go with our heart judgement, after all the research and business conversation. Yet, movies need to have commercial viability. At Earthsky, we want to balance between the two. As we are storytellers first at the same time, we are telling stories for an audience and cinema lover, who follow our work. There is no cinema only for ourselves, without an audience.

In a world saturated with content, what strategies will Earthsky Pictures employs to stand out and connect with audiences on a deeper level?

We need to keep evolving and keeping our eyes and ears open to good stories. Sometimes it’s a germ of an idea. Sometimes it’s a book I have read. This happened with ‘Bareilly ki Barfi’ and ‘Tum se na ho payega’. But mostly, it is being open to reading as much as we can from everyone, as we never know where the next story idea comes from. Our duty is to be a purist when it comes to dissecting and deliberating and asking why again and again. Sometimes we like a story and after a few days the liking disappears to being okay and finding something better. As creators, we are always hungry for a good story and patient enough to go through the grill to listen, read from idea to screen.

Could you share any upcoming projects or collaborations that Earthsky Pictures has in the pipeline, which align with your vision for the company?

We are developing Hindi content in various genres. We are also developing content in regional languages, Malayalam, and Kannada. I feel language should not be a barrier to create good stories. The world has come closer and the language of emotions is the same.

As someone with a successful track record in filmmaking, how do you plan to leverage your experience and expertise to navigate the challenges and opportunities in the content creation landscape with Earthsky Pictures?

We are never good enough. We are trying every day to be the best version of ourselves in collaborating, learning and creating content. We want to tell the best stories and keep evolving with like-minded partners and bring everyone who is working with us to the forefront. The joy of seeing many creators telling a story through Earthsky is pure bliss.