Farhan Akhtar on how footage shot by the Chaudharys of daughter Aisha helped him prep for The Sky Is Pink
Sonia Lulla (MID-DAY; September 30, 2019)

Until the trailer of The Sky Is Pink dropped online, many movie-goers assumed that the film would be a poignant chronicle of how a set of parents deals with their daughter's death. Leading man Farhan Akhtar too held similar perceptions before reading the script. "Death is scary, but we treat it with a degree of moroseness. When I read about how, instead of mourning the impending passing of someone they loved, the family focused on making her [remaining] life as beautiful as they could, I was blown away," says Akhtar.

The Shonali Bose-directed biographical venture sees Akhtar and Priyanka Chopra Jonas play Niren and Aditi Chaudhary, parents to Aisha Chaudhary, who was born with an immune deficiency disorder. While movies inspired by real-life events take cinematic liberties to draw viewers to theatres, he credits Bose for staying true to the material. "Everything shown here is what was told to Shonali [by Aisha's parents]. As a father, I could relate to the love the parents felt. Ever since the child was aged one, this family lived with the knowledge that anything could happen to her, anytime."

While he had watched Aisha's TED Talk, he has yet to read her book, My Little Epiphanies, which was published a day before she passed away at 18. "As soon as Niren and Aditi knew Aisha's time with them was limited, they shot her [every waking moment]. They had plenty of footage featuring Aisha and themselves. Those videos gave me an insight into their relationship. Aisha treated them like friends, and would constantly make fun of them. We've also read passages of her book because they've been included in the film."

When we had last connected with Akhtar in April, he was overwhelmed with the all-consuming journey of creating his debut album, Echoes. "After Echoes, I needed a film of this calibre to pull me back to acting. It rekindled the flame of my search for good stories."

DNA (September 29, 2018)

Priyanka Chopra has returned to Hindi films after a two-year break with The Sky Is Pink. The roles she has picked for her last few outings in Hollywood and Bollywood have been strong, independent characters. That has been seen with films like Dil Dhadakne Do and Bajirao Mastani and her international series Quantico.

Her next role of Aditi Chaudhary, mother to motivational speaker and author Aisha Chaudhary, played by Zaira Wasim on screen, is equally challenging. Aisha, who was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 13, wrote the book My Little Epiphanies. After Aisha’s demise at the age of 21, Aditi has been spreading her legacy and story.

The film will also see Priyanka sport four different looks as it will follow her character over a span of 30 years. Though the details have been kept under wraps, people on the sets say that a lot of attention has been paid to the various appearances. A crew member adds that PC is going all out and shooting round the clock for the film in Mumbai.