After spending two decades in showbiz as an actor, Vivan Bhathena now has direction on his mind. “It’s all about finding the right project,” he says, adding, “I’m finally making the move towards direction and writing for myself.”

The actor does have his plate full at the moment. “I am working on two-three web shows right now. I even have a film coming out, helmed by Ali Abbas Zafar. There are active talks for film from the south industry. So there’s a lot going on currently,” he shares.

Now, with his heart set to get on the director’s chair, he is pitching his ideas actively: “I’m trying to find the right people to work with… Whom I can sell my scripts to and direct it myself.”

Opening up about what pushed him into direction, the 43-year-old says, “It’s always been on my mind. For me, it has been about creation right from the beginning. I have been a photographer for about 10-12 years. Now, I am trying to channel it through another lens.”

According to Bhathena, it all boils down to how well you communicate with your actors. “As an actor, you bring in a very unique perspective. But as a director, it’s all about your ability to communicate with the actors. I think it will be easy for me to handle my actors, as I can completely understand what goes through an actor’s mind, what their insecurities are, and how to tackle them,” the Sooryavanshi (2021) actor says, revealing that it was the initial financial crunch that held him back for a while.

“Now it is time to explore my passion, and see what the future holds for me. I’d like to transition slowly and steadily to different things. But in no way am I going to quit acting. As long as the projects are interesting, I’ll definitely keep doing them. But direction is something that I am really looking forward to try my hands on in the future,” ends the actor, who first made an appearance in the music video Maine Payal Hai Chhankai (1999), and went on to star in shows such as Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Chhoona Hai Aasmaan and movies like Chak De! India (2007), Dangal (2016) and Bimbisara.