Hindi
Yoodlee Films Moves into Next Gear: finishes four films during COVID- 19
Four films in various stages of completion in the last four months of the pandemic. Sounds like a tall order, but this is exactly what one new-age production house has gone ahead and done.
The unexpected onset of a global pandemic notwithstanding, Yoodlee Films has moved into the next gear, by completing four feature films, in the last few months. COVID-19 has pushed the Indian film industry to rethink production logistics, on-set protocol, safety regulations for cast and crew, and challenged conventional distribution, publicity, and release methodologies. In the midst of this, Yoodlee Films has defied all odds and has successfully managed to complete the shooting of two feature films simultaneously, with all directives and measures in place. Alongside they have also wrapped up the post-production work on two other films, which are now being readied for release.
Known for films that traverse a wide spectrum of topics and genres, Yoodlee Films immediately sprung into action as soon as the Unlock guidelines for shooting films were announced. Two major feature films – a Hindi romantic comedy involving a stand-up comic duo, called 'Comedy Couple' and Marathi cinema’s first horror-comedy featuring Zombies – 'Zombivali’, started shoot immediately after the lockdown was lifted and completed the same in the next couple of months. Apart from this, two other features – 'Agra' and 'Bahut Hua Samman’ have sped into various stages of post-production and were readied for release, making Yoodlee Films the only production house to continue to be this prolific through the pandemic. Its also to be noted that during the lockdown, Yoodlee released the critically acclaimed 'Axone' and the crowd favorite 'Chaman Bahaar' on Netflix.
'Agra' stars an ensemble cast headed by Rahul Roy who makes a comeback, along with Priyanka Bose, Mohit Agarwal, Ruhani Sharma, Vibha Chibber, Sonal Jha, and Aanchal Goswami. It explores confined spaces and suppressed sexuality in small towns and promises to start a conversation around taboo subjects. Agra which is being touted as a festival favorite is directed by Kanu Behl, whose 2015 debut ‘Titli’ won much critical acclaim.
'Bahut Hua Samman' stars Raghav Junyal, Sanjay Mishra, Nidhi Singh, and Ram Kapoor among others. The film tweaks the idea of a heist caper and follows two students as they ideate to pull off a fool-proof robbery. Directed by Ashish Shukla and the film is set to launch on Disney+ Hotstar VIP on 2nd October 2020.
'Comedy Couple' – starring Saqib Salim and Shweta Basu Prasad and directed by Nachiket Samant, is an insightful look into the lives of two stand-up comics in the metro and is being touted as ‘com-rom’. The Film will premiere on Zee 5 Premium on the 21st of October.
'Zombivali,' is a unique Marathi horror comedy, featuring zombies for the first time, is directed by Aditya Sarpotdar and stars popular actors Amey Wagh, Lalit Prabhakar, and Vaidehi Parshuram.
Vikram Mehra, MD Saregama India, says: We are passionate about telling interesting stories in Yoodlee Films. We had set out three years back, as a rank outsider, with a thriving desire to create cinema that affects and engages and to bring some order and method into the madness of film-making. Today we have proved ourselves to be the fastest-growing movie studio in the business, ready to take up challenges (such as we faced in the last few months) and create a new work principle, which is both effective and economical. Our success proves that the tenets of good management work even in the film industry if applied with reason and sense.
Zombivali is looking at release next year when theatres will be operational, while Agra will soon be setting out to do the festival rounds all over.
In a music industry that often rewards speed, spectacle, and instant recall, Navjot Ahuja’s journey feels refreshingly different. His story is not built on noise. It is built on patience, discipline, emotional honesty, and a quiet commitment to becoming better with every passing year. After 14 years of struggle, learning, performing, and writing, Navjot stands today as an artist whose success has not changed his centre. If anything, it has only made his purpose clearer.
For Navjot, music has never been about chasing fame alone. It has always been about expression. It is about writing more truthfully, singing more skillfully, understanding himself more deeply, and becoming a kinder human being in the process. That rare clarity is what gives his journey its beauty.
Where It All Began: A Writer Before a Singer
Indian singer and songwriter Navjot Ahuja’s musical journey began in the most familiar of places: school assemblies. But even then, what was growing inside him was not only the desire to sing. It was the need to write.
Long before he saw himself as a performer, he had already discovered the emotional release that writing offered him. For Navjot, words became the first true channel for feeling. Songwriting came before singing because writing was the only way he could let emotions flow through him fully. That inner pull shaped his artistic identity early on.
Like many young musicians, he sharpened his craft by creating renditions of popular songs.
Those experiments became his training ground. But the turning point came in 2012, when he wrote his first original song. That moment did not just mark the beginning of songwriting. It marked the beginning of self-definition.
A Calling He Did Not Chase, But Accepted
What makes the latest Indian singer-songwriter Navjot’s story especially compelling is the way he describes his relationship with music. He does not frame it as a career he aggressively pursued. In his own understanding, music was not something he chose. It was something that chose him.
There was a time when he imagined a very different future for himself. He wanted to become a successful engineer, like many young people shaped by ambition and conventional expectations. But life had a different script waiting for him. During his college years, around 2021, music entered his life professionally and began taking a firmer shape.
That shift was not driven by image-building or industry ambition. It came from acceptance. Navjot embraced the fact that music had claimed him in a way no other path could. That sense of surrender continues to define the artist he is today.
An Artist Guided by Instinct, Not Influence
Unlike many singers who speak openly about idols, icons, and musical role models, Navjot’s creative world is built differently. He does not believe his music comes from imitation or inherited influence. He listens inward.
He has never considered himself shaped by ideals in the traditional sense. In fact, he admits that he does not particularly enjoy listening to songs, especially his own. His decisions as a songwriter and singer come from instinct. He writes what feels right. He trusts what his inner voice tells him. He positions his music according to what he honestly believes in, not what trends demand.
That creative independence gives his work a distinct emotional sincerity. His songs do not feel calculated. They feel alive.
The Long Years of Invisible Struggle
Every artist carries a chapter of struggle, and Navjot’s was long, demanding, and deeply formative. One of the biggest challenges he faced was building continuity as the best new indian singer songwriter in an era where musical collaboration is increasingly fluid.
For emerging singers, especially those trying to build with a band, consistency can be difficult. Instrumentalists today have more opportunities than ever to freelance and perform with multiple artists. While that growth is positive and well deserved, it can make things harder for singers who are still trying to establish a steady team and sound around their work.
For Navjot, one of the most difficult phases came during 2021 and 2022, when he was doing club shows almost every day. It was a period of relentless performance, but not always personal fulfillment. He was largely singing covers because clubs were not open to original songs that audiences did not yet know.
For a new Indian singer and songwriter, that can be a painful compromise. To perform constantly and still not have the freedom to share your own voice requires not just resilience, but restraint.
“Khat” and the Grace of Staying Unchanged
After 14 years of effort, Navjot’s new love song Khat became a defining milestone. Professionally, he acknowledges that the song changed how society viewed him as a musician. It strengthened his place in the public eye and altered his standing in meaningful ways.
Yet personally, he remains unchanged.
That is perhaps the most striking part of his story. Navjot says his routine is still the same. His calm is still the same. His writing process is still the same. He does not want success or failure to interfere with the purity of his art. For him, emotional detachment from public outcomes is essential because the moment an artist becomes too attached to validation, the writing begins to shift.
His joy comes not from numbers, but from the attempt. If he has tried to improve his skill today, if he has written his heart out more honestly than before, then he is at peace.
Growth, Not Glory, Remains the Real Goal
Even now, Navjot is not consumed by labels such as singles artist, performer, or digital success story. His focus remains deeply personal. He wants to sing better. He wants to play instruments better. He wants to understand himself more. And he wants to become a kinder person.
That is what makes Navjot Ahuja’s journey so moving. It is not simply the story of a musician finding recognition. It is the story of an artist who continues to grow inward, even as the world begins to look outward at him. In an age obsessed with applause, Navjot reminds us that the most meaningful success often begins in silence, honesty, and the courage to remain true to oneself.
