Shubh Raj.
For a young actor entering the entertainment industry without a film-family background or established industry connections, making a feature project can be a challenging proposition. For 23-year-old Shubh Raj, however, the challenge became an opportunity to understand the filmmaking ecosystem from the inside and eventually build something of his own.
That journey has resulted in âCon Killer', a 63-minute psychological crime thriller produced under independent entertainment banner NovaX Entertainment. Written and directed by Ujjwal Srivastava, the film features Shubh Raj in the lead role of Shiva and also marks his journey as the project's overall producer.
The film is not merely an acting opportunity for Shubh Raj. It represents his attempt to take ownership of the entire filmmaking process, from financing and logistics to talent acquisition, coordination and production management. More importantly, the experience exposed him to the challenges faced by independent creators and became one of the key inspirations behind NovaX Entertainment.
A Psychological Thriller Built Around Human Vulnerability
At the heart of Con Killer is Shiva, a young and ambitious corporate professional whose career seems to be progressing successfully after receiving a major promotion to lead his company's Delhi operations.
Behind his professional confidence, however, Shiva struggles with emotional insecurity, past heartbreak and unresolved trauma. His carefully maintained world begins to collapse after his grand public proposal to his colleague Priya ends in rejection.
The rejection becomes a major psychological trigger for Shiva, leaving him overwhelmed by anger, guilt, disappointment and obsession. Looking for an escape from his emotional turmoil, he travels to Dehradun under the pretext of attending a college reunion.
Instead of finding peace, Shiva encounters memories of his former partner, Tanya. As the past begins to overlap with his present, his perception of reality becomes increasingly distorted. Old emotional wounds, new encounters and his increasingly distorted understanding of protection set off a dangerous chain of events.
The narrative gradually moves toward a tragic and heart-wrenching climax, forcing Shiva to confront the most dangerous opponent he could face-his own mind.
Rather than presenting Shiva as a straightforward hero or villain, the film attempts to explore the grey area between the two.
"Shiva is an intricate character-he isn't framed as a traditional hero or villain, but rather as a deeply flawed individual struggling against his own mind. Director Ujjwal Srivastava has crafted a story that strips away traditional tropes to look at human vulnerability at its rawest," says Shubh Raj.
Building a Film Without an Industry Legacy
One of the most distinctive aspects of Con Killer is the story behind its production.
At only 23, Shubh Raj is taking on the responsibilities of both lead actor and overall producer. Coming from a non-film background and without conventional family connections in the entertainment industry, he had to approach the project through a largely self-reliant path.
His responsibilities extended well beyond acting. He was involved in financing, logistics, talent acquisition, coordination and production management, while remaining connected with the project from pre-production through post-production.
The process came with several challenges, including limited access to verified cast and crew networks, location clearance procedures and fragmented production vendors. Instead of allowing these difficulties to derail the project, Shubh Raj worked through them independently.
The production eventually secured official permissions and support from the Uttarakhand Film Development Council (UFDC) to shoot extensively across Dehradun. Several sequences were filmed at prominent educational institutions, including DBS Global University and Saphience School, adding authenticity to the film's setting.
The visual identity of the thriller has been shaped by Director of Photography Jaidev Bhattacharya, whose moody cinematography complements the psychological nature of the narrative. The supporting cast includes Gunjan Nailwal, Anamika Raj and Ansheikaa Sharma.
How âCon Killer' Inspired NovaX Entertainment
The problems Shubh Raj encountered during production eventually led to a larger realisation: independent creators often struggle not because of a lack of ideas or talent, but because of limited access to reliable industry resources.
Finding verified actors and crew members, suitable locations, production resources and dependable industry networks can become a major challenge for newcomers.
This experience became one of the driving forces behind NovaX Entertainment, a New Delhi-based startup envisioned to address some of these gaps and create a more structured ecosystem for emerging creators.
The company is also developing an upcoming media platform app intended to connect independent creators with verified cast and crew, locations and production resources. The proposed platform is also expected to explore direct creator-to-fan engagement, behind-the-scenes content and interactive character backstories.
"When you don't come from a film family, the biggest challenge isn't the craft-it's getting access to verified talent, permissions, and production pipelines. Building Con Killer from scratch showed me the exact friction points independent creators face. NovaX Entertainment was born out of that necessity-to build a structured pathway for ourselves and future storytellers," says Shubh Raj.
A Film, and the Beginning of a Larger Journey
With Con Killer, Shubh Raj and NovaX Entertainment are attempting to create more than an independent film. The project represents a young creator's effort to establish himself outside conventional entertainment-industry pathways while using his own production experience to develop a larger vision for emerging storytellers.
Creatively, the film combines Ujjwal Srivastava's psychological storytelling with Shubh Raj's multi-dimensional performance and production leadership, supported by Jaidev Bhattacharya's cinematography and performances from Gunjan Nailwal, Anamika Raj and Ansheikaa Sharma.
Ultimately, Con Killer examines the dangerous intersection of love, rejection, guilt, obsession and unresolved trauma. But behind the thriller lies another story-one of a 23-year-old creator who transformed the difficulties of making an independent film into the foundation for a broader entrepreneurial vision.
Website links :- Www.novaxentertainment.com
