Yogi D Chopra on Ek Nayi Dor: “The story needed to be told, especially when we talk about representation of the LGBTQ+ community”

Mumbai : Producer Yogi D Chopra, who has backed the recently released short film Ek Nayi Dor, says the project was driven by the need to tell a story about acceptance, representation and breaking societal perceptions. Produced by Mandala Studios in association with Palash Dutta Classic Productions, the film stars Jayati Bhatia, Palash Dutta and Vicky Shinde and is written and directed by Balwani Raajesh, with the story by Palash Dutta.

Speaking about what drew him to the project, Yogi D Chopra says, “I myself am a writer, director and producer. I have worked on a web series called Hankaar and have also done a vertical thriller series with Vidhushi for Pocket Films. I had collaborated with Raajesh Balwani in the past on Notification and Good Girls Including Painted. So, when this story came to us, we already had a great working equation.”

For Yogi, the subject of Ek Nayi Dor was particularly important because of its focus on the LGBTQ+ community and the need for greater representation. “I have worked on various social impact films. I also run a parallel company where we work on different subjects such as child education and senior citizens. We understand these subjects, and when this story came to us, we realised that we needed to put out this message and work towards the issue of LGBTQ+ representation. Vicky Shinde holds a big value in this short film,” he shares.

The producer believes that representation can play an important role in changing how society perceives marginalised communities. He says, “We truly believe that we should tell stories about everyone, especially people from marginalised communities. In the LGBTQ+ community, no matter how many stories we try to represent or tell, it is still less. They need to be represented more and through different kinds of stories and characters. That is the first step towards society accepting them.”

He further adds, “The more we see them in media and in stories, the more acceptance there will be because media is a very powerful platform. We want people to enjoy the film, smile, share it and connect with it.”

Talking about his collaboration with the creative team, Yogi says, “I have worked a lot with Raajesh before. Working with Palash was great because he has his own viewpoint. He himself is from the LGBTQ+ community, so it helped us a lot in getting the right perception. His understanding and insight helped the film a lot. His story, which finally developed into a script, matters the most to us.”

Yogi also believes that the film’s message should go beyond the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. “We have been receiving a good response and are slowly building up. I hope it is not limited to only Raksha Bandhan and that it keeps gaining views irrespective of the occasion. The story is relevant beyond one festival because the message is about acceptance and understanding,” he says.

Speaking about the recent controversy surrounding Kriti Sanon’s Rakhi ad, the producer believes that controversies have increasingly become a part of brand promotion. Addressing the growing trend of using negative publicity to generate buzz, he says, “Controversies are promoted, and sometimes negative controversy is considered better for brands. Even if a film has to be removed, the promotion has already happened. It is unfortunate, but negative publicity has become a form of promotion that brands are willing to use.”

For Yogi, however, the intention behind Ek Nayi Dor remains simple: to tell a meaningful story and encourage people to look at relationships and individuals beyond societal labels. “The subject itself was important and the story needed to be told,” he concludes.