After directing films like Tere Bin Laden: Dead or Alive (2010), Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran (2018) and The Zoya Factor (2019), Abhishek Sharma’s next, starring Manoj Bajpayee, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Diljit Dosanjh, titled Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari, is a family comedy. It will also be one of the first films to release in a theatre in the post-lockdown era. In a conversation with BT, the filmmaker shares his thoughts. Read on…

I always wanted my film to be released in the cinemas. I didn’t want an OTT release. I have grown up on the idea of watching movies in cinemas, not on phones and tablets. Cinema does not belong to the OTT space; it can go there, post release. I am glad the studio felt that my film deserved to be seen in theatres. I am sure theatres will gradually open across the country; they’re already working in some parts. Yes, my film is among the first few to take that leap of faith, and I sincerely hope it goes smoothly. It’s definitely a risk, but one worth taking. When you are among the first to test the waters, you don’t really know what’s coming your way. For years, going to a cinema hall has been a part of our habit. It’s time we went back to it.

Every film is important and special for me. I was fresh out of Paramanu: The Story of Pokhran’s success when I made The Zoya Factor. The film before Parmanu... was The Shaukeens. The point is — it’s a roller-coaster that we are on to. Whether an audience will warm up to what you place before them is not in your hands, doing your best to make it well is. I feel the same pressure for all the films irrespective of whether my previous one was a flop or a hit. I try to not get affected by the outcome as much as possible. In fact, the outcome of my films has never dictated my equation with the people I work with. I deal with it as a professional: after every film, I look at what worked in it and what didn’t, make my notes and move on. You should not be dwelling on these things too much. In order to keep working, you have to have faith in your craft. The actors I have worked with have put their faith in my ability to deliver. And whether my previous film was a hit or a flop does not guarantee that my next will follow into its footsteps.

The original draft was not set in 1995, but it had heavy pop culture references dating back to the 1990s. The innocence of that era is charming, and that was a big factor in setting this story in the 1990s. The absence of social media made life so different. People had privacy and the cat-and-mouse chase between people happened in the open, not on a virtual playground. Today, even kids are on social media, and there is no privacy. Setting the story in the 1990s added a layer of humour emanating from real circumstances of those pre-social media days. If a wedding detective was working today, he probably would discover things even without stepping out of his house. Where’s the fun in it? The build-up became more interesting when we pushed the story back to the 1990s; it’s got that Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee flavour in its humour.

I call Manoj our national treasure. He found the character interesting from the word go. He had really liked Tere Bin Laden... for its humour. So, he trusted me with this film. He felt that I had the right sensibility to present him without making it look bad — with all the get-up, dancing and the works. After working with him, I know why he is one of the finest we have in India. He believes in following a process. He spoke to me about the character at length. He gave it flesh and blood. In fact, we even created a background for the character, which later helped the story. It was fun working with someone so invested in his process and the film.