Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 10, 2017)

Actor-singer Ayushmann Khurrana is turning producer with wife Tahira Kashyap directorial debut, a short film titled Toffee. Ayushmann will be co-producing the film with casting director Mukesh Chhabra.

Set in the nineties, the story follows two girls around the age of 11 who chase a conspiracy theory prevailing in Punjab at the time. The 15-minute film has been shot in Basti Sheikh, a small town in Jalandhar, in guerrilla style by DoP Vivek Shah.

Raving over his wife, Ayushmann told Mirror, “Tahira who is already an author, has written a really good script, one that deserves to be seen by people. She’s written scripts for our theatre group and has directed plays before and its time she directed a film now. Despite being a short film, Toffee, will have the look and feel of a feature film.”

The debutant director admits that she’d have loved to have her husband act in the film too but the story did not allow that. “It’s about two young girls. I know Ayushmann loves challenges, but this would have been too big a challenge,” Tahira laughs, admitting that the first time Ayushmann told her that he loved the script, she didn’t believe him. “Both of us are extremely critical of each other’s work. So when he said that he loved it, I actually asked him to repeat it again.”

Tahira points out that even though she liked the way the characters she scripted unfolded on stage in her plays, she never imagined that one day she would actually direct a film. It was only recently that she focussed all her thoughts and actions into directing a short. “I want to direct a full-length feature film some day too, but I need to earn that opportunity. I am confident, I will in due time, with experience and validation,” she signs off with a smile.