Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; November 23, 2018)

The 49th edition of the International Film Festival of India is rather special for singer Arijit Singh. Sa, his debut film as a director, was screened at the festival and he conducted a masterclass for aspiring singers and composers. When BT asked the singer to elaborate on his newfound love for filmmaking, he said, “From the time we were kids, my friends and I had these ideas that we wanted to express. It all started as a random thought, but we made our film with great passion and pride. It took us two-and-a-half years to make the film. The first one-and-a-half years were spent randomly shooting things. We started with a DSLR camera. I was clear that we would shoot and create the story on the table but when we saw the edit, we didn’t like it. So, we went back to the drawing board because it dawned upon us that cinema is the visual form of a novel and so we need to study it and approach it with a plan. We realised that this needs proper writing, thought and execution. Also, the process involves many people. You are not alone and you have to involve everyone to work cohesively with you. We did our homework, and this time we went back to the floor, shot the film in seven months with a lot of technical guidance.”

The film will see Arijit’s 10-year-old son, Jul, playing the protagonist, Lalu. Arijit said, “When we started shooting, we didn’t have anyone to play Lalu. We were hunting for an actor who would not get affected by what happens on a film set, such people are usually more focused. Someone told me that I should cast Jul. However, each time I was told to cast him, I thought, ‘Woh gadbad karega’. But eventually, he did a brilliant job. My son surpassed my expectations.”