Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari seems to be bitten by the love bug, albeit only professionally. After telling an intense love story in Faadu, the filmmaker is attempting a big-screen romantic drama with a yet-untitled musical. She describes the Jio Studios’ production, which she is writing with Utkarshini Vashishtha, as a dream project.

Tell her that romantic dramas are a departure from her stories of women empowerment, and the director disagrees. “It’s not that there has been a shift towards love stories. [It’s all about] what attracts me. This film will be on a bigger scale, and will help me delve into my artistic and musical side,” she states.

Mounting the musical on a grand scale will need a conscious assessment of the budget, especially when Hindi films are struggling to make a mark in theatres. Iyer agrees, saying, “The pandemic has changed the way we view cinema. As storytellers, we have to tell our stories, but we also have to get the economics right.”

The need to do away with lavish budgets has come in focus this year, with several filmmakers and trade fraternity asking stars to slash their sky-high fees. Iyer emphasizes that actors need to play a role in economizing a film’s budget.

“It’d be nice if we are mindful about it because everyone’s reputation is at stake [in terms of a film’s success]. It’s not just a producer or a director’s film, but also an actor’s film. The younger talent is far more responsible about these things. Mindfully re-looking at numbers is important.”