Man With A Mission: Karnesh Ssharma

One of the most popular names in production today, Karnesh Ssharma talks about Clean Slate Filmz, his transition from Merchant Navy to movies, and his latest move of launching his own OTT platform

- Jigar Shah

One of the most prolific producers in the industry today hasn't grown up on the diet of DDLJ romance or the pyaar dosti hai funda like the rest of us. And that didn't stop him from delving into the industry with his own idea of content. Karnesh Ssharma heads Clean Slate Filmz, and has delivered hits like NH10, Paatal Lok, and Bulbbul. He recently signed a production deal worth Rs 400 crores with Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix, and has no plans of stopping there. He is set to launch his own OTT platform, called Clean OTT, in the first quarter of 2023. Clean OTT will focus on original content featuring stories of women, for women, and by women, at the heart of the service. It seems the sailor-turned-producer is finally on his feet in the business, and is planning a long one on the Bollywood pitch.

A decade of being a producer, Ssharma believes that every job he's done before has helped him become what he is today. He has been a cricketer, a Merchant Navy officer, an assistant director, and a unit manager at Yash Raj Films. He reminisces, "I was a professional cricketer in the beginning. Cricket made me realise that you need to back your strength, play on the front foot, and work with others. The Merchant Navy was a thrilling experience because it exposed me to many cultures when I was 16 years old. I got to travel around 60-70 countries across the globe, so I met people across countries, languages, and cultures, and saw their content from Scandinavian countries to Latin America. In the early 2000s, the internet and broadband weren't as advanced as they are today, so watching films from the ship's library was the only source of entertainment. Those films were very different from Indian films.