Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; October 1, 2018)

This Friday, while all eyes will be on Aayush Sharma and Warina Hussain, the release of LoveYatri: Journey of Love is going to be just as critical for another newcomer, director Abhiraj Minawala. The young filmmaker takes us through his aspirations and expectations while making a debut with a Salman Khan production. He has honed his skills under the tutelage of prominent filmmakers and is hoping to have a long and successful career ahead. Excerpts…

How do you view your journey from being Ali Abbas Zafar’s assistant on Sultan, to making your debut as a director in a film produced by Salman Khan? LoveYatri: Journey of Love has had its share of controversy and attention, too. What were the challenges?
It has been a long journey from being the first AD to a director. It takes a lot of patience to get this far. It started on the sets of Sultan, where I met Salman Khan and Aayush Sharma for the first time. Aayush was trying to understand the workings of every department on a set. I knew that he wanted to act, but not once did it occur to me that we would end up launching our careers together. I took a year’s break after Sultan and when I finally ran into Salman sir, he asked me for ideas and he was keen that I make a film for his banner. When I started working, I felt Aayush could be a great fit and he liked the script, too.

What advice did your mentor Ali Abbas Zafar offer you?
He had once told me that for your first film, you should work in a space that you are familiar with. Don’t take on too many challenges right away. Take one step at a time and build a strong base for a longer and stronger career as a filmmaker. I stuck to that mantra. As a Gujarati, I could connect with LoveYatri’s story really well. It’s not like I didn’t find great stories before this, but this one excited me the most. My mother’s family is from Ahmedabad. I’ve spent many summer holidays there and I have seen several Navratri celebrations, which are distinctly different from the ones in Mumbai. People go dancing on all nine nights. I wanted to bring out these beautiful things about the state, through a simple romantic story. Aayush plays Sushrut, who wants to start a garba academy, but no one takes his ambition seriously. Warina plays Michelle, a Baroda girl who stays in London. They meet during Navrati, share a common passion for dance and fall in love. Isn’t that sweet and simple?

With the audience’s evolving taste in cinema, even modern love stories have had to reinvent the formula. Do you think a simple love story like LoveYatri, will be able to appeal to contemporary sensibilities?
This film is like a hidden treasure waiting to be found. In late 2000s, films like Khosla Ka Ghosla and Oye Lucky Lucky Oye opened doors for different kinds of stories, which could be set in new parts of the country. You will be surprised to know just how many people want to watch films like LoveYatri. The last time I saw this kind of innocent romance was in Jab Tak Hai Jaan. I had worked on that film, so it was all the more special. Our film has a contemporary style, but it also has the innocence of the 90s films, which is a rarity today. More recently, I felt Bareilly Ki Barfi introduced people to the real texture of Uttar Pradesh with a simple love story. Similarly, through a love story and a set of characters, I’ve tried to introduce the country to the flavours of Gujarat. I’m sure people will savour this film as a romance that I feel has vanished from the big screen.

Launching any newcomer is a huge responsibility for any director or producer. In this case, Salman is launching Aayush, who is his brother-in-law. Do you feel more pressure because of it?
There’s a lot of pressure on me, but it’s not because Aayush is in the film. Salman has shown confidence in me that I can helm a film for his banner, and more so with his brother-in-law. He’s launching a new trio. It’s a lot of responsibility. The fact that he’s confident about us gives us a lot of self-belief.

The Khan family is a tightly-knit unit. Since you have worked with Salman and Aayush, what sort of a rapport do you share with their family?
For me, Aayush is like a brother, but when I am going to his house or Salman sir’s house, I don’t ever forget what I am going there for. Right now, I go there when I have work. The family is indeed very loving and accepting. Like Salim Khan saab saw the film and had only one thing to say, ‘It’s a sweet film. You’ve done justice to it.’ It’s a huge compliment. Previously, Ali has shown his films to him. When Ali heard about this, he said, ‘It’s great because if Salim sir doesn’t like something, he has a lot more to say.’

What was Salman’s reaction?
He just smiled and gave me thumbs up for it.

Now that you have directed a film for Salman’s banner, do you have aspirations of directing him in a film, too?
Yeah! I am hoping for something like that, but there is a long way to go. I need to prepare myself thoroughly before working with a superstar like him. My next film depends on how people receive LoveYatri.