Content material creator and actor Ashish Chanchlani has stepped into the sci-fi area together with his YouTube collection Ekaki, which he has written, directed, produced and acted in. The formidable challenge blends horror, comedy and extraterrestrial components, one thing not often explored in Indian digital content material.
In an interview with Hindustan Instances, Ashish revealed that the concept for the collection got here from his long-standing fascination with aliens and the concern of the unknown. He addressed comparisons between the finale episode’s ending with Stranger Issues and talked about being supplied cash from OTT platforms.
How Ekaki got here into existence
Ashish revealed that he at all times wished to carry aliens to India, however in a manner no one has completed earlier than. “The concern of the unknown is an excellent matter, probably not explored properly. Each time we discover one thing uncanny or mysterious, we at all times say it’s a ghost, however we by no means query the truth of it,” he mentioned.
He recalled that the idea struck him throughout an off-the-cuff dialog with buddies. “At some point, I used to be with my buddies, and I mentioned, ‘You say there are ghosts right here, however it will possibly even be aliens.’ That’s how the concept got here that first we’ll make an setting to make individuals consider that there’s a ghost right here, however in the long run we’ll reveal it was an alien all alongside.”
Based on Ashish, the screenplay took a very long time to develop as a result of the idea needed to stay easy regardless of being science fiction. “So it took us a whole lot of time to write down the screenplay as a result of it was very difficult. And my at the start rule of penning this style was that we’ll not complicate it. Sci-fi is a subject which is never touched on in India. However we’ll embrace it totally, but in addition make certain it’s not nearly shock worth.”
The story centres round a harmful alien whose mission to extract his minerals threatens Earth. Ashish mentioned he deliberately reversed the acquainted alien tropes seen in Koi… Mil Gaya. “We have now seen good aliens lots in India. I wished to do all the pieces reverse to what occurred in Koi Mil Gaya. Within the movie, Jaadu wanted the solar; in our story, we made positive he hates the solar. Within the movie, Jaadu is cute, however in our story, we wished it to look harmful. So it took us three years to make.”
Ashish Chanchlani admits dealing with loss
For the creator, the challenge additionally represented a turning level in his profession. Identified largely for relatable comedy sketches about on a regular basis conditions, he felt the necessity to experiment. When requested if he had been requested to not take such an enormous threat by his mother and father and well-wishers, Ashish agreed that he had been listening to this for a very long time. “And I used to be like, ‘Now I’ve turned 30, if I don’t take threat now, then when will I take threat?’ Until when will I maintain making content material about Holi, Diwali and tuition lessons?” he mentioned.
He added that audiences finally develop bored with repetitive content material and begin bashing you in case you give them the identical content material. Whereas the present has gained vital traction on-line, Ashish admitted that it has not been financially rewarding up to now. “If we see monetarily, I’m in an enormous loss, however emotionally and mentally, I’m in a whole lot of revenue at present. Paise kama lenge aage chalke 100% (we’ll earn cash sooner or later 100%),” he mentioned.
Why Ashish Chanchlani rejected OTT’s provide for Ekaki
He additionally revealed that a number of OTT platforms had been initially unable to know the format of the present, which blends YouTube-style sketch comedy with long-form storytelling. “There have been a whole lot of OTTs that didn’t perceive what I used to be attempting to do. This style, which I’ve made, is a sketch comedy solely; it has that YouTube really feel however combined with storytelling. It’s a brand new factor we had been attempting to do, and so they weren’t in a position to perceive it,” he defined.
Curiously, Ashish shared that he even acquired a profitable provide shortly earlier than the present’s launch, however determined towards it. “Sure, we had been supplied a very good sum of money. Simply 10 days earlier than the discharge, an excellent platform supplied me cash, and I might have simply cashed out. However I wouldn’t have been blissful,” he mentioned, including that releasing the collection on YouTube allowed it to achieve a a lot wider viewers.
“The quantity of viewership that Ekaki has generated on YouTube is loopy. It’s 10X greater than it will have been on another platform. Each chapter turned an occasion, and folks saved speaking about it for months,” he mentioned, calling the present a present to his loyal viewers.
Ashish Chanchlani on writing Stranger Issues-like finale
Ashish additionally addressed comparisons between a scene in Ekaki and the finale of Stranger Issues. Within the collection, his character makes use of telekinesis to raise the alien, a second some viewers felt resembled a scene from the favored present. Nonetheless, he insists the similarity is only coincidental. “Stranger Issues finale got here on January 1, 2026, and we had shot Ekaki in 2024. The scene the place I exploit telekinesis and raise the alien up is precisely related, however we wrote that scene three years again. I’m truly pleased with the truth that we might match the concepts of the Stranger Issues crew,” he added.
For Ashish, the collection additionally pays homage to Rakesh Roshan’s Koi… Mil Gaya, which he believes was a uncommon second of daring experimentation in Hindi cinema. “I really feel nobody after Rakesh sir and Rajkumar Hirani sir actually dared to take up this matter of aliens. It’s loopy as a result of Bollywood used to experiment far more earlier. In 2003, they made an alien and spaceship movie.”
Trying forward, Ashish revealed that he has a number of concepts for increasing the world of Ekaki. “I might love to start out a universe out of it. I even have some wild concepts, and I’m pondering of a spin-off,” he mentioned. Nonetheless, he believes making a cinematic universe ought to at all times come after a robust story. “Universe is a really difficult factor to do. It shouldn’t be like a gimmick. As we speak, individuals take into consideration making a universe first, with out even deciding the story. It ought to be simply the alternative.”