Director Shree Narayan Singh rewinds to the time his upcoming film, Batti Gul Meter Chalu came to a standstill and the lessons he has learnt from that phase
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; September 17, 2018)

In less than a week, Batti Gul Meter Chalu (BGMC), starring Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor and Yami Gautam, will be out in cinema halls. The film has seen a rather tumultuous journey to get this far. The shoot came to a screeching halt in just a few weeks of it going on the floors in February this year. Reason: reports attributed it to a lack of finance and other complications. The shoot didn’t commence until the beginning of June. Precious time and actors’ dates were lost in the interim. Director Shree Narayan Singh’s hopes dwindled with every passing day, until the issues were resolved and the shooting was reinstated.

Recalling the phase, the two-film old director says, “I am emotionally attached to my work. If the film hadn’t started rolling again, I would have slipped into depression. Those three months when we couldn’t shoot, Shahid and I would talk to each other every day; we would share our anxieties and worries over the film. Each time we saw an article or heard something from here and there, we made it a point to call each other. That phase strengthened the bond I share with him. My wife, on the other hand, stopped asking me questions because she realised I might flare up if prodded too much. I almost stopped talking to everyone at home. I couldn’t sleep and would just spend the nights sitting in the puja room of my house, hoping for a miracle. Ek time aisa aa gaya ki main socha suicide kar loon. But when we started shooting again, things slowly returned to normal. The project was salvaged in time. I just think that no one ever starts a film to bring it to a halt midway. Circumstances were such ki jo hua, uska bill phat gaya hamari film pe.”

Shree now looks at the entire episode as a learning experience. Ask him to elaborate on the ‘lesson’, and he says, “I picked up the dos and don’ts of this business. Main toh uss zamane ka aadmi hoon jiske liye film sarvopari hoti hai, paperwork etc bas naam ki cheezein hain. But today, I’ve learnt that whenever you get into co-productions, you have to first get your money in. Dosti aur emotions mein aake I didn’t give credence to paperwork. But now I know that I have to keep my emotions at bay and get everything in writing. I will work by the book and not repeat these mistakes.”

The director admits to spending sleepless nights even now, albeit with a difference — and that is because he’s adding finishing touches to his film. Shree, once an IAS aspirant, hasn’t gone home for days, trying to complete the last leg of post-production. When asked what draws him to socially-relevant subjects, given that both his films — BGMC and Toilet - Ek Prem Katha — are set in small-town India and have underlined important issues, he says, “I belong to Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh. People living in metros are not aware of half the issues that people like me have faced while living in a small town. Sheheron mein logon ko nahi pata ki ghar mein 15-18 ghanta bijli nahin hona kya hota hai. I know what it is to virtually survive without electricity in the middle of summer. I’ve seen how difficult life can be for women, whose houses don’t have toilets. So, when someone narrates a story like Batti Gul Meter Chalu or Toilet - Ek Prem Katha, I get drawn to it. I feel that I’ll be able to put my heart into films like these.”

Shree may not be the first filmmaker to attempt socially-relevant films, but he has contributed to making contemporary Hindi cinema more socially aware. Bring this up and he says, “Earlier, people had set their minds on a particular kind of films, but today, they watch different stuff. With A-list actors also happy to work in films that have an underlying theme or have something more to offer, it increases the reach of such stories. When big stars like Akshay Kumar or Shahid Kapoor say something, people pay more heed and become aware of small town India and its problems. As a filmmaker, you feel you have done something for society while trying to entertain.”