Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; September 28, 2019)

After making films like Amu (2005) and Margarita With A Straw (2014), Shonali Bose is all set to present another heart-wrenching tale with The Sky Is Pink. The film stars Farhan Akhtar, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Zaira Wasim, and is based on the life of Aisha Chaudhary, who was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, and her family. In a conversation with Bombay Times, Shonali spoke about her late son Ishan, narrating an emotional tale on the big screen, shooting the film amidst Priyanka’s wedding preparations and a lot more.

The film sees Priyanka and Farhan share screen space four years after Dil Dhadakne Do (2015).What prompted you to get them on board as Aditi and Niren for The Sky Is Pink? Did it require some convincing on your part or were they on board right away?
Priyanka and Farhan were my first choice and so getting them on board was a dream come true. When I say first choice, it’s not in terms of the stardom, but purely as actors. Frankly, I was terrified and even intimidated with Farhan stepping in as an actor, because he is a director himself and he has even directed Priyanka before (Don and Don 2). I was thinking that I was going to be watched (laughs!) Also, Priyanka has done so many things (as an actress in her past films), so I was really nervous about teaming up with her.

I got a text (from Priyanka) on my son (late) Ishan’s birthday, in which she said that she wanted to meet me. I went to New York to meet her and discussed the film. The plot revolves around the death of a child, and I have been through that grief in my personal life as I had lost my nine-year-old son. She got teary-eyed and she even talked about her (late) father. It was interesting to see that for the first time I was meeting this big star and we immediately connected heart-to-heart.

As far as Farhan is concerned, we had asked him to read the script, post which he was going to meet us to tell us his decision. When I met him, he just stood up, looked deep into my eyes and said that he was terrified of doing this film because he thought it was a raw, emotional and honest script. He knew that I would demand an honest performance from him as a father. Giving such a real performance is much tougher than doing it in the typical Bollywood way. He told me that he was just going to put himself in my hands. I felt happy that he trusted me as a person because that’s what you want from your actors, right?

The film is based on the life of Aisha Chaudhary, what were your interactions with her family like?
Aisha’s parents told me that her brother, Ishaan Chaudhary, didn’t want this film to be made because he was very nervous about a Bollywood film being made on his sister. However, his mother said that she had no problems with the project and that we could go ahead with it. I told her that I wouldn’t make the film if her son didn’t want that. So, when I had the screening of Margarita With A Straw in New York, I invited him for it. He came for the screening. Later, we met at a coffee shop and he wept in my arms. His mother, who was surprised, told me that he had never wept in her arms even when his sister passed away. He cried and talked about his sister with me, and I talked about my son. I asked Ishaan, who is also a music composer, for an original song from him at the end of this film. Thus, the film ends with a song composed by Ishaan for his sister.

It was amidst the shooting of the film that Priyanka got married to Nick Jonas. How was that phase of filmmaking?
I have seen Priyanka’s journey from the time when Nick was not on her horizon, to the time when he became her husband. At the time, I felt like her mother as she would talk to me and tell me that Nick was going to propose to her and whether she should marry him. We have laughed, cried, talked for hours deeply about many subjects. This bond helped me direct her with ease just the way I directed Kalki (Koechlin in Margarita with a Straw) or Konkona (Sen Sharma in Amu).

Talking about the shooting phase, I feel that Priyanka has this ability not to get distracted by anything. That’s her forte as an actor. Once we got to know that she was going to get married and was hosting two big ceremonies in India and overseas, we just supported her. There was a separate room made on the sets where she held her wedding-related meetings. In between the scenes, she would go there, have a meeting about her wedding plans and then come back and give a shot. Initially, I was worried about how she would be able to do it, but, I could see that she did it with ease and that gave me confidence. It didn’t affect her performance at all. Once we were shooting in Chandni Chowk, post which she had to catch a flight, as they needed her to come to Paris to try the wedding gown. The next day she flew back, came to the set and continued shooting. In Delhi, we shot for five days right before her wedding. During Thanksgiving, it was Nick who came to Mumbai to be with her as she was busy shooting for the film. He even visited the sets. As a surprise, Priyanka arranged for a turkey from somewhere. After wrapping up, we had a party with him where we all danced together.

On the last day, we had decided to do a bidaai ceremony for Priyanka. We had called for a cake and champagne. That day, Priyanka had an intense scene, and suddenly, I heard some sniffs on set, I was surprised to see Nick standing next to me and crying seeing Priyanka give the shot.

This subject is close to your heart, was it tough, especially when you were shooting the emotional scenes?
I remember that when I was shooting Margarita With A Straw, there was a scene at the hospital where the mother is dying of cancer. We were shooting at a real hospital and the smell reminded me of being with my son at the time as he was admitted in the hospital during his last days. I started wailing and broke into pieces during the shoot. I was the director and producer of the film, I had 100 people around me and they wouldn’t know what to do when you are the leader and are supposed to be strong, but instead, you break down. As a filmmaker, I could have wrapped up the shoot for that day, but I decided not to give up and continued shooting. I went around hugging everybody on the set. Seeing me, a lot of people on the set opened up and shared stories about losing their near and dear ones. It’s been nine years since Ishan’s death. Shooting for The Sky is Pink was a joyride, and I was just laughing throughout the film. I must say that I have done a lot of grief work in order to process his death in terms of my feelings, pain and loss. I have reached that place where I can feel that he is always with me and I am not disconnected from him.

The day when we shot the death scene, I had called all the ADs (assistant directors) to my room and I did a light meditation where we all held hands. They all were feeling nervous. On that particular day, Zaira, Farhan and Priyanka cried as they had to perform an emotionally tough scene.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. What was that experience like?
I felt so blessed that the project which began on Ishan’s birthday premiered on his death anniversary (September 13). On that day, we walked the red carpet, where there were over 1,000 fans. There was Farhan, Priyanka and the rest of the team with me, and I was surprised to see that people were screaming my name, too. They even took my autographs. Later, we went inside the auditorium, which was a three-tier space with seating for 2,000 people. The size made me extremely nervous, and my heart was beating faster. I told the audience that we were watching the film with them. We all could hear people laugh and even cry loudly. In fact, Farhan was crying, too. After the film ended and the credits rolled, I could see everyone standing up and applauding us. Later, at an after-party Aisha’s family joined us. They said that they felt as if Aisha has been reborn. Now, my terror is about the reaction in India. With The Sky Is Pink, I feel I have done a trilogy. The focus has been on the mother-child relation in all my three films. In Amu and Margarita With A Straw, the mother dies, while in the third one, the child dies. Though I did not set out to do this subject as a trilogy, I feel that I have explored the subject thoroughly. It just happened… Subconsciously, there was continuity in my work.