Director-writer Shonali Bose, known for her films Amu and Margarita with a Straw, expressed reservations about telling real-life stories after her experience with the Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar starrer The Sky Is Pink (2019). The film, which depicted the true story of Aditi and Niren Chaudhary and their daughter Aisha’s battle with a rare disease, presented unexpected challenges.

The Sky is Pink marked Bose’s first film to narrate a real-life story.

According to Bose, a significant challenge arose in convincing the couple to accept a portrayal that included imperfections in their relationship. Bose said, “Aditi and Niren resisted the depiction of marital discord in the film. Nilesh Maniyar (co-writer) partnered with me on this journey and the big struggle we faced was to convince Aditi and Niren that it was okay that they don't come across as perfect people and that their marriage had ups and downs. They were very conscious of their image - which is understandable and as a result were extremely resistant to them being shown as anything less than perfect as a couple. While the film acknowledges a disagreement about Aisha’s surgery (as portrayed), the couple didn’t want to show this scene. A film doesn’t work without conflict, and they needed to agree to let us create it.”

Bose further added that just before the shoot, the couple even suggested changing their names in the film.

She said, “Priyanka Chopra, who portrayed Aditi in the film, met with the real Aditi to convince her to let us use their real names, as it was a true story. Ultimately, they had faith in me and Nilesh, which I appreciate. Once they saw the film’s response, they were ecstatic. However, this experience made me wary of working on any other real-life stories without being given absolute freedom in character portrayal.”