Ashish Chanchlani Ventures into Sci-Fi with 'Ekaki', Achieving Massive Viewership
Digital creator Ashish Chanchlani, renowned for his popular YouTube comedy sketches, has embarked on a significant new journey with his sci-fi series 'Ekaki'. Known for experimenting with various formats on his channel, Chanchlani has now embraced large-scale storytelling, taking on roles as actor, director, and producer for this ambitious project.
Unexpected Success and Audience Response
In a recent interview with Hindustan Times, Ashish opened up about the overwhelming response to 'Ekaki', the risks associated with creating long-form content online, and the surprisingly substantial budget behind the series. He expressed gratitude for the strong viewership, particularly noting that the finale episode crossed an impressive 20 million views in a short timeframe, which came as a welcome surprise.
Reflecting on the performance of long-format content on digital platforms, Chanchlani stated, "The only thing that came to my mind was how grateful I am because long form in India, and actually everywhere in the world, is not working right now. If you compare the numbers, except creators like MrBeast and IShowSpeed, not many are killing it with long-form videos." He added that in India, only a handful of creators successfully attract audiences to longer videos, making 'Ekaki''s success even more notable.
Budget Challenges Comparable to 'Tumbbad'
While the series has been praised for its scale and visual effects, Ashish revealed that producing 'Ekaki' was financially demanding. He shared that the project's budget eventually reached a range similar to the critically acclaimed film 'Tumbbad', which was reportedly made for around Rs 15 crore. "Yes, if we look at the budget of 'Ekaki', it is in that range where 'Tumbbad' was made," he confirmed.
Recalling production hurdles, Chanchlani explained how the team meticulously planned expenses, but costs escalated quickly once filming began. "We printed a sheet and wrote down the cost, calculating how much it would take to shoot each day. But even if one extra day gets added to the shoot, it costs at least Rs 5-6 lakh per day. We had made a detailed cost sheet for each day of shooting, but our budget went out of control in the very first schedule," he shared.
Collaboration with 'Ramayana' Action Team
To ensure high-quality action sequences, Ashish collaborated with Force Square, a professional stunt team currently working on the highly anticipated film 'Ramayana'. He revealed that the team found the action choreography in 'Ekaki' surprisingly challenging. "They told me that the wire work in 'Ekaki' was just as challenging as what they were doing in 'Ramayana'. On some days, my action director would say it felt even more tedious here because we had to lift seven characters into the air, throw them from one side to another and coordinate everything perfectly," Ashish explained.
This collaboration pushed Chanchlani to undergo physical training to perform the sequences convincingly. "I learned action myself during the process. I used to be a motu sa baccha (a chubby kid), I didn't even know how to kick," he said with a laugh.
Emphasis on Authenticity and Future Risks
Ashish emphasized that authenticity remains crucial in online content creation. "If you have a loyal audience and you work very hard to give them something new, the result always comes. The only thing that has changed for me now is that I will take even more risks. Risk always rewards you. It's a big gamble, but success doesn't affect me in the same way that failure does. If you lose honesty towards your work even for one day, it shows up in your content, and people notice that," he stated.
With 'Ekaki', Ashish Chanchlani has ventured beyond short comedic sketches into a more cinematic style of storytelling. By investing heavily in production scale and experimenting with sci-fi elements, he believes this marks only the beginning of exploring the potential of long-form digital content.
