A successful project is an amazing feat, but there are many incomplete ones where we place our hopes too high, only to never see the end result. Two such projects feel worth sharing on this platform.
In 2017, I pitched a high-concept web series to production houses, based on a lesser-explored phase of post-independence Indian history—how, after independence in 1947, more than 600 princely states were gradually assimilated to form a single republic by 1950. There was a clear protagonist, multiple conflicts, and a full show was being developed. We entered pre-production: actors were cast, recces were underway. Slowly, however, priorities shifted elsewhere, and for reasons still unclear, the project stalled in 2018. It could have been my launchpad into mainstream Bollywood, but it wasn’t. The project resurfaced again in 2022 and then in 2023, but nothing materialised. What hurts even more is that another show, by a different set of filmmakers on a similar subject, has just been released and has become a massive hit on Indian platforms. It does sting, but life moves on.
Another such project came to me through my company in 2019, when a group of freelance Singaporean filmmakers wanted to weave stories around border villages across several countries—India–Pakistan, Myanmar–Laos, Myanmar–China, Thailand–Laos, and others. I travelled to a border district of India, near Amritsar and even visited the Wagah border. It was an electric moment, and we already had strong documentary subjects lined up. Then a brief India–Pakistan conflict broke out, and everything was put on hold. The filmmakers had already spent significant money on permissions, as well as on my travel and stay, since Amritsar isn’t my home city. Disheartened, the project eventually dissolved.
What about your experiences? Have you ever given everything to a project that never quite sailed through? How did it feel, and how did you cope with it?
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I can really relate to this. I’ve been a development executive across television and film for about 15 years, and the reality of the job is that you develop a huge volume of projects in a given year for only a small handful to move into active development, and MAYBE one to actually reach production.
A lot of the work is pouring your heart and energy into something that ultimately doesn’t sell or ends up on the shelf... and that’s just part of the process.
The encouraging thing I’ve learned (and truly believe) is that no project is ever really dead. I’ve seen projects sit for years on the shelf... collecting dust... long forgotten...and then come back to life when the timing was finally right... including some I’ve worked on myself. So much of this industry comes down to timing and alignment.
The key is not getting disillusioned, and instead learn from every project... building skills, relationships, and strategy so the next one is even stronger when it goes to market.
2 people like this
I've experienced that as a writer and back when I tried to produce two feature films, Sagar Srivastava. It hurt, but an unfinished project doesn't mean it won't get finished one day.