As first-time producers, Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal were clear about what they were looking for—interesting voices. Director Shuchi Talati’s Girls Will Be Girls ticked that box. Now, as the film is wrapped up, it’s the perfect time for Chadha to reflect on her learnings from her maiden production. 

“As producers, Ali and I wanted to aid Shuchi. During the jamming sessions with her, we peppered it with things that are unique to our childhood,” she says, as they bring the story of a 16-year-old in a boarding school, to screen.

Since the coming-of-age drama, starring Kani Kusruti, is set in the ’90s, Chadha says it was a nostalgic ride. “[We’ve depicted the practice of] prank calls from boys that came to our landline phones. If the parents answered, the boy on the other end wouldn’t speak. The cell-phone generation can’t relate to it, but it’s a peek into a different time when young love was simpler. Those long phone calls at nights are something that we all spoke about and added to the film.”

Chadha acknowledges that Fazal and she lacked experience when they forayed into production. But she believes it has freed them rather than limiting them.

“We benefit from not knowing what to do. We take several chances that ordinarily, experience may not let us. So far, the successes have been small, and rejections far and few in between. Right now, the internal mandate is to have fun while making movies,” she grins.