Hiren Kotwani and Parag Maniar (BOMBAY TIMES; January 8, 2014)

The title Yaariyan was initially registered by Saif Ali Khan. However, Bhushan Kumar thought it suited their subject’s genre and requested the actor-producer for the title. Saif graciously obliged.

Before she started shooting, Divya Khosla Kumar had taken her script to Aamir Khan for his feedback. When he told her that it was a great idea for a film, she was thrilled.

When Himansh Kohli was a small boy, an astrologer had read his palm and told his parents that he would grow up to become an actor.

 Shreyas Pardiwala was approached by the production house on a social networking site. But he thought that it was a fake message and ignored it initially.

Dev Sharma was working as a trainee assistant on Krrish 3 when he got a call from the production house to meet them for a look test.

While shooting in the chilly climes of Darjeeling, the cast suffered frostbites when they had to walk in knee-deep snow at one point of time.

 Himansh had an encounter with a poisonous snake while shooting for a sequence in South Africa. Thankfully, he didn’t get bitten.

 Shreyas, who was still studying in college when they were shooting, used to take his books on the set. Sometimes, Nicole Faria helped him with his studies.

Before the shooting began, Divya devoted almost an entire year to casting and workshops for her actors.

The first-time director took keen interest in every aspect of the film, right from the characters’ looks to the costumes, locations and set.

While several talents in the industry vouch for their ‘Godfathers’, the cast of the film termed their director as their ‘Godmother’, since that’s what she was on the set.

Despite being caught up with the film, Divya ensured that her son was around all the time. She’d even joke that her son Ruhaan (oneyear-old when they started filming), was the real producer as he was more on the set than her husband.

The team also shot a schedule at Lachen, located 13,000 feet above Leh. Of course, Divya’s producer-hubby was very stressed and concerned when she told him that they’d be shooting at the location where temperatures dropped to near zero.

 Gulshan Grover was like an elder brother to the young cast and allowed them to use his plush hotel room as and when they liked it.

During the making of the movie, the principal actors became such thick friends that they apparently were even considering buying a flat together so that they can spend more time with each other.

Yo Yo Honey Singh has done a special song, Sunny Sunny, for the film. The producer wasn’t impressed with the original ABCD number, so he requested Honey Singh to add some rap to it.

Yaariyan, produced by TSeries, releases on January 10.

DIRECTOR’S CUT Divya Khosla Kumar On Yaariyan This film will take you back to days when you experienced all your firsts — first outburst, first challenge, first love, and of course, the first strong bond of friendship.
On choosing the right cast I needed 20 actors in the age group of 21-22, and did not find anyone who would fit the bill among the existing lot. Finally, I chose fresh faces. To me, all the characters were real and I practically lived with them through the filming.
On direction It has always been a dream and I’m here to satisfy my creative thirst. I feel proud that I made this film without assisting any director.
On the music Bhushan and I took personal interest to create an entertaining album with some of the finest artistes in the industry. We also got on board four music directors — Pritam, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Mithoon and Arko Pravo Mukherjee. It has a fabulous mix of tracks — from youthful, peppy and Sufi to romantic and rock.

PRODUCER’S NOTE Bhushan Kumar
I’m sure many felt that it was easy for Divya to make this film. But in reality, she had to really convince me as to why it deserved to be made under our banner. What appealed to me was its simple script with a lot of fun and entertainment. The young generation will instantly relate to it. The film is special to me because it marks my wife, Divya’s directorial debut.