Ship Of Theseus director Anand Gandhi talks of Emergence, his work-in-progress piece since 2015, which he is eerily seeing play out in reality
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; July 12, 2020)

Anand Gandhi has been thinking about "a virus" for as long as he has been making movies. A concrete thought made an appearance in The Ship Of Theseus, his 2012 critically acclaimed film, where he questioned the idea of the alien microbes living in our body, and again in Tumbbad, 2018, a film he set in 1918, the year that the Spanish Flu struck India. "The genre of horror, especially zombie stories, have often been used to tell stories of the pandemic. In the US, these movies are backed by the Centre of Disease Control," he reveals.

Gandhi is also an innovator, systems researcher and co-creator of ElseVR, India's first virtual reality (VR) platform. He is also the founder/CEO of the Mumbai-based new media studio and systems think tank Memesys Culture Lab. It's even more reason to discuss viruses and pandemics now given the Coronavirus outbreak that the world is struggling with. Interestingly, since as early as 2015, Gandhi has been working on Emergence, a film surrounding a virus. The story follows four scientists, as they race against time to fight a pandemic that's threatening to destroy the world.

When we probe the genesis of Emergence, Gandhi says it started with him asking the "Who am I, where do I come from and what I am supposed to do?" questions. "It's the stuff children ask, and philosophers don't answer. I looked for answers in spirituality and history. Then, later, as the questions became more comprehensive, I started looking into evolutionary biology and cognitive sciences. All my previous movies have had hints of the question, what is human identity? We are not monolithic entities, we live in a ecosystem. Not just around us, but inside us. Inside us, there are trillions of bacteria that don't share our genome."

"So, we are a colony of organisms. For example, the bacteria in our gut affects our mood—people who have bad gut health tend to suffer from stress and anxiety issues."

This triggered conversations and Gandhi began thinking about a movie about a virus that changes the way humans behave.

When he started writing Emergence, he says he gave it the working title, 2020. Something he now calls prophetic. He began to seek out and have conversations with public healthcare specialists from around the world. "The more I dug, and the more I developed the story [of Emergence], the more I realised that this was an eventuality. When it did happen, my reaction was paranoia. But we have to live with it. Pandemics are like the stars in the night sky. They started their life a long time go, but have begun to reveal themselves now."

The fact that the Coronavirus pandemic caught up with Gandhi is not reason for him to despair. He is working on the movie even now as you read this, adapting it to the current circumstances. It helps that now, he can get straight to the crux of the story, without handholding the audience on the concept. "It functions as a story of caution, but also as one that celebrates resilience. But the quest is the same as before—to answer the question, what is human identity?"

Gandhi believes that although the virus is forcing us to change, many are not going to, since human behaviour is hard wired. "These emotions have been carried over for centuries. So, there will still be those who believe that the earth is flat and that a vaccine is going against the will of God. The virus is pretty new that way," he says, adding that he does think a policy change will come about, though. "It's a punctuation event in our lifetime—so big that people will die. We need to get the death rates down and and get to a vaccine soon. We have to learn how to live with the virus, and know that this [large scale spread] could recur again."

He admits that he is a year too late, but he is also happy that what he spent time studying about and pontificating on, wasn't off the mark. "That's why, it matters."


Still from Tummbad


Still from Ship Of Theseus

The filmmaker talks to BT about his bond with the late actor
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; June 18, 2020)

Filmmaker Anand Gandhi, known for his critically appreciated projects like Ship Of Theseus and Tumbbad, was looking forward to collaborating with Sushant Singh Rajput. The actor’s sudden death by suicide has left him shattered. Talking to BT about their plans to work together, Anand said, “Sushant was always extremely enthusiastic about working with me, and I really started liking him. I never saw any of his films. I liked him a lot as a person and what he was. I liked him for his pursuit, for his enquiry and his ideas. I thought those need to reflect in the characters he plays. I don’t make a film till I feel it is absolutely necessary to make one. And that is why people who want to work with me end up having to wait for too long. Over the last three months, we had discussed a lot of ideas that he wanted to be a part of, including Emergence. He loved that story very deeply, it was something that he kept bringing up. He told his assistants, managers and friends constantly that he wants to make it happen. Everyone wanted us to work together. I would have been delighted to actually turn our aspirations into something more concrete, into something that everyone could hold on to and look at.”

Anand and Sushant first met in Goa in 2017. Recalling that meeting, the filmmaker said, “I was walking out of a hotel in Goa, where we were both keynote speakers for an event by International Film Festival of India (IFFI). I met him on the steps, outside the hotel. He walked up to me and introduced himself and we started talking right there, and it lasted three hours. We talked about a million things, and exchanged so many ideas. He brought his lens of physics to all my frameworks of cognitive biology. And we shared ideas on possibilities, on the future of life, humanity and pretty much everything. He would draw diagrams on a piece of paper and I would show him the connection that I would see in the systems he would illustrate. That was our first meeting.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the filmmaker had shared an emotional post about his association and equation with Sushant. In his long tribute, Anand had talked about the kind of person Sushant was, and his friendship with the late actor. He wrote, “Sushant was made of flesh, blood and ideas. He played with ideas just like a child plays with toys, and for the same reasons — to discover, to invent and to learn. The distinction between success and failure didn’t matter much to him, because both lead to the same outcomes — discovery, invention and learning. If it did, it was only to the extent of arriving at places nobody else before did, so roads can be paved for the next in line. That’s what brought us together — our desire to create infrastructure and institution for those who sought them, but found no joy in the ones that already existed...”

Tracing Sushant Singh Rajput's four ambitious projects, including Chanda Mama Door Ke, that faced roadblocks in the past few months and their way forward
Uma Ramasubramanian, Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; June 17, 2020)

With Chhichhore setting the cash register ringing last year, one would have expected Sushant Singh Rajput to ride the wave of success. However, trade data shows that four of his projects, which were in the pipeline, hit hurdles.

The announcement of Rajput's Chandamama Door Ke had garnered much excitement, with the leading man even undergoing training at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2017. However, the Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan-directed film was in a limbo for three years due to its high cost. "The sci-fi film was to be mounted on a budget of over Rs 100 crore. Sushant, the director and producer Viki Rajani were seeking investors till late last year. But the movie was indefinitely pushed because of their inability to raise the required investment," says a source close to the project.

Rajput's hopes of collaborating with Shekhar Kapur were also dashed. Their labour of love, Paani, was shelved after three years of discussion and intense prep. Kapur recounted in a live chat on Monday, "When the film was shelved, he cried a lot. I cried too…The producers said, 'We will not make Paani with Sushant. Paani will not be made.' I should have tried to make another film with him, which I didn't. I left India as I was upset."

Rifleman was among the last movies the actor signed. Abundantia Entertainment's project was based on Mahavir Chakra awardee Jaswant Singh Rawat. The film ran into legal trouble last year when the makers of 72 Hours: Martyr Who Never Died claimed they had the original rights for the biopic.

A source close to the studio informs, "We were awaiting legal clearance. The film was merely postponed and would have resumed at some point."

Curious to explore different forms of storytelling, Rajput had also announced a 12-part series about Indian geniuses to be backed by Innsaei Ventures, a content-generating platform launched by the actor with business partner Varun Mathur. "The series was to study the Indian legends Chanakya and APJ Abdul Kalam, among others. Given its vast material, the project was in development over the past two years. However, rumours abound that the series now stands cancelled," says an insider.

As reported by mid-day earlier, Ship of Theseus director Anand Gandhi was in talks with Rajput for his next project, Emergency. The ambitious nature of the movie, which revolves around a pandemic, meant that the development of the script took longer than usual. "In Emergency, Sushant was to play an anthropologist, a human culture scientist. He was deeply engaged with the material since its inception. We had also discussed my web series, Saheli. He was to play a lawyer in the project," reveals Gandhi.

The filmmaker adds that besides the two projects that are currently in the scripting stage, documentary filmmaker Khushboo Ranka had developed a sci-fi film keeping Rajput in mind. "He was to play an astronaut in it. It's too early to discuss how we will take these projects ahead; Sushant was deeply connected with these scripts," adds Gandhi.


Sushant Singh Rajput at NASA in 2017

Conceived before Coronavirus hit the world, Ship of Theseus director Anand Gandhi tweaks contagion drama Emergence to focus on the post-pandemic world
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; May 11, 2020)

Over the past five years, Ship Of Theseus director Anand Gandhi had been writing his next, oblivious that it would turn eerily prophetic. Gandhi's film, titled Emergence, revolves around four scientists who have to find a way to save the population from a pandemic. With the world currently grappling with the Coronavirus, the director has gone back to the drawing board to tweak the story.

"[Earlier] we had planned to give information about the nature of a pandemic [through the film]. Now that we all know what it's like to be in the midst of one, I don't have to educate the audience about its nuances. So, we have had to make some changes in the script," explains the filmmaker.

Since the universe of his story is unfortunately all too familiar to the world at large, Gandhi now intends to take a narrative leap. "I can directly take the audience to the next stage and depict how life could be post-pandemic. That is the new normal we will experience. That was always the crux of my story."

When conceived, the story was set in 2020. The director, who hopes to take it on floors next year, is fast-forwarding the setting of his sci-fi drama to 2025. While he had earlier expressed his wish to cast Irrfan in the film, Gandhi now plans to approach Sushant Singh Rajput. "It's unfortunate that I took so long to write it. I wish Irrfan Khan would have been a part of it. Sushant is a dear friend. So, I always work on the assumption that he will be part of what I create. I have Australian actor Hugo Weaving in mind. I also need four women actors for the principal cast."

Anand Gandhi to kickstart the big-budget project in 2021 with a Hollywood studio; the script revolves around a pandemic
Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 6, 2020)

Stock scenes of Indians praying in front of the Taj Mahal for redemption in superhero and apocalyptic films, like Independence Day and Armageddon, irked a 15-year-old Anand Gandhi so much that he vowed to change the narrative. For the last five years, the filmmaker has been developing a script that revolves around four frontline women scientists, superheroes in their own way, fighting a contagion. Titled Emergence, it explores the impact of microbiomes on the psyche.

“The idea came while working on Ship Of Theseus that tried to answer whether free will exists. I was intrigued to learn that microbiomes (bacteria in our body) play a significant role in our behaviour,” says Anand, whose next film Tumbbad was about how greed can possess and transform a person, much like a pathogen. “With Emergence, I’m taking the parasite-host relationship further.” He cites a parasitic fungus, Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis, that takes over an ant’s body, controls its mind and turns it into a puppet to perpetuate. Trying to focus more on science than fiction, Anand has roped in epidemiologist Larry Brilliant as Executive Producer, and host-parasite relationship scientist Shelley Adamo as advisor. “Larry spearheaded the team that eradicated smallpox and controlled polio.

Like a detective, he figures out the epicentre of a pandemic and calculates the R-naught of the contagion, which is a measure of how many people it can infect,” Anand says, adding that with Adamo’s advice, he has created a fictional microbe, which is a prion.

The script seems eerily prescient, now that a pandemic has brought the world to a standstill. “I started writing it five years ago, with the working title 2020. My script predicted the rise of right-wing politics, storage crisis for scientific data, paleomicrobe releasing from thawing of the Arctic and behavioral changes brought on by a pandemic. But there was so much research required that by 2017, the office joked that the film would have to be re-titled 2025,” Anand laughs, pointing out that futurists Anders Sandberg and Nick Bostrom, in their 2008 survey, had predicted a 60 per cent chance of over a million dying from a pandemic in this century. “The social implications and subsequent changes in the human species are a part of the narrative.” Has the outbreak changed his life? “I’m too privileged to complain. Besides, my team has been working out of our Goa office since two years.”

Anand is putting out video interviews, the latest one with Irrfan Khan, whom he met soon after Maqbool released. “My short film, Right Here Right Now, came around the same time. We drove to Pune once, and became friends over the years. That video is cathartic,” he says, adding that they had an unspoken pact that Irrfan would be in all his projects. “We explored possibility of his presence in Tumbbad before the final script and schedule changed things. He’d have been in Emergence too. I wish I had created something with him.”

Now, Anand will rework his script slightly as there is no need to define a contagion anymore. He plans to take Emergence on the floors next year. “The idea is not to make the first but the most well-researched film about a pandemic. It will be a big-budget project, we are collaborating with an American studio,” he says. How does he plan to shoot it amid restrictions? “A pandemic is the flipside of global mobility, but it won’t stop air travel. After studying the challenges, every industry will make its own social and physical rule-book to work around the situation, till a vaccine and a cure are found,” he concludes.

Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; May 4, 2020)

Given his past few outings, it would be tempting to bracket Vijay Varma as the brooding, serious actor. But Varma is ready to throw a curveball with his next — the actor will be seen tapping into his comic side with Anand Gandhi's yet-untitled sci-fi series. "Experimenting with comedy was a sheer pleasure. It is a sci-fi film that gives an insight into what our future holds. It is probably the most fascinating script I have read in a long time," explains the actor, who caught everyone's eye with his performance in Gully Boy (2019).

The crew had shot a major portion of the six-part series before the lockdown was announced. Besides giving him an opportunity to explore comedy, the Disney+ Hotstar venture has helped him tick an important item off his bucket list. "I had been wanting to work with Radhika [Apte] for a long time. It was a sheer delight to collaborate with such a spontaneous actor."

Sooni Taraporevala's new Netflix-original pays tribute to a dance she learnt as a little girl, and two disadvantaged Mumbai lads who made a life from the art
Anju Maskeri (MID-DAY; February 23, 2020)

Sooni Taraporevala went for ballet classes as a little girl, aware of the sweat and pain it demands of dancers. "But, in all those years of training, I had never seen a boy do ballet," says the director-writer-photographer. More than 30 years later, when she watched Manish Chauhan and Amiruddin Shah pirouetting and arabesqueing en pointe, she found herself well up. "They were extraordinary! In fact, way better than most of us who had done ballet for so many years, and had every privilege, which neither of them did. I wanted to tell their story."

And, she has.

Yeh Ballet, a film she has written and directed, released on Netflix last Friday. The film features Chauhan reprising his own part and actor Achintya Bose as Shah. It's Taraporevala's second stint with the subject. In 2017, she made a 14-minute VR documentary with the same title for filmmaker Anand Gandhi's Memesys Culture Lab.

It chronicled the lives of the two dancers, who hail from disadvantaged families and became among the first Indians to receive scholarships to train at prestigious dance schools. While Chauhan went to London's Royal Ballet Academy, Shah trained at the Oregon Ballet Theatre in the US. The experience whet her appetite. There was more to tell. "Although VR was experimental and exciting, I found myself longing to do it the old fashioned way, where I'm out of the frame and the subject is closer to the camera," she says.

While the initial plan was to get Shah on board, it didn't work out since he continues to be in Oregon. But for Chauhan, who is back in the bay, it was about reliving the experience, minus the agony. "The first time the struggle was real; this time, it was fun. I wasn't sleeping hungry. I was eating delicious food and had a cozy bed to go back to," laughs the 26-year-old, who plays a taxi driver's son. Taraporevala, he says, was a "chilled out" director on set. "She allowed us to explore the role on our own. She'd sit back and observe us while she munched on peanuts."

In the film, you see the bitter rivalry between Chauhan and Bose only for it to eventually thaw. Off-screen, the two are like peas in a pod, arriving together on set and hanging out post shoot. "I see a lot of myself in him [Bose]. He is besharam. He doesn't feel shy to voice his ignorance, and has the same hunger to learn as I did," says Chauhan. He admits that he was beginning to get complacent after having reached a level of competency. Bose made him buck up.

Incidentally, Bose was recommended for the role by their Israeli-American ballet teacher Yehuda Maor, who discovered Chauhan and Shah. British actor Julian Sands plays Maor in the film. "It took about eight months for me to perfect ballet. I would watch videos of Amir training to get a sense of his movement and form," says Bose.

A few months before the shoot, Taraporevala enrolled the cast for acting workshops to ensure they were well-versed with their characters. "I wanted everyone to be confident and know their characters in and out, so that were no surprises on set. You can be confident only when you're well prepared. It's the reason why I could happily munch on peanuts," Taraporevala laughs. That said, the shoot was physically challenging. Filming in crammed spaces across multiple locations in peak summer would sap them of every bit of energy, she recalls. "I remember, our makeup artist telling me that Bose would sometimes nod off during touch ups."

While Chauhan and Shah's admission at a world-class company was, clearly, no easy feat, it was far from a fairytale once they reached that point. "Initially, it was very difficult. If we were good here, we were no good there," says Chauhan. It took them months of intense practice to perfect their moves and be at par with their counterparts.

Taraporevala has ensured the precision is maintained. "Just because people here may not know enough about ballet, I didn't want to pass off something mediocre. The idea was to make it real; it's a beautiful piece of art and should leave an impact when you are watching [it]."




British actor Julian Sands plays Israeli-American ballet teacher Yehuda Maor, who discovered Chauhan and Shah

Gully Boy breakthrough star Vijay Varma roped in for Anand Gandhi's upcoming web show
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; January 21, 2020)

Vijay Varma is continuing his hot streak after Gully Boy (2019) — close on the heels of landing a pivotal part in Mira Nair's A Suitable Boy, he has snagged the lead role in Anand Gandhi's upcoming yet-untitled web series. The Ship Of Theseus (2013) writer-director's show is currently in pre-production. "It's a sci-fi comedy, which requires a lot of research. Since the subject has not been attempted before, we have been having rounds of workshops and rehearsals. It is a long, elaborate process as it requires a lot of CGI as well as robots," says the actor, who was last seen in the Netflix anthology, Ghost Stories.

Earlier relegated to the sidelines despite having delivered powerful performances in Chittagong (2012), Rangrezz (2013) and Pink (2016), Varma caught everyone's eye with the Zoya Akhtar-directed hip-hop drama last year. Thrilled to have finally got the proverbial big break, he has no intentions of slowing down. "The digital medium is proving to be a boon. Earlier, an actor did one or two films in a year, which was followed by a break. Now you can continuously get work and prove yourself."

A booming real estate business back in Rajasthan notwithstanding, Tumbbad's lead actor Sohum Shah and producer talks of what compels him to push the envelope in a creative and volatile field
Jane Borges (MID-DAY; November 4, 2018)

There's an incident from the making of the recently-released fantasy-horror film Tumbbad that director Rahi Anil Barve recounts with part amusement, part reverence. Since rain is an important trope in the movie - shot in nine different locations across rural Maharashtra - Barve had insisted on shooting certain scenes during the monsoon, when the sky was overcast. "But, the region was hit by drought, so rain was often playing truant," he says, over a telephonic interview.

"For days, our set of 200-odd people would wait on top of a cliff, where we had constructed a hill house [for the film], wondering when it would pour. Had it been any other producer, he'd have said, 'F**k these clouds, and let's get on with the shoot. You're wasting my time and money'. But, Sohum [Shah] would sit with us, and watch for those rain clouds."

When we meet Shah, Tumbbad's producer and greedy protagonist Vinayak Rao, we realise that patience is second nature for him. Dressed in distressed jeans and a black shirt over a white tee, Shah doesn't protest when we ask him to move between sofas and rooms, in an attempt for a decent shot at his Versova office. Instead, like a true producer, we overhear him telling the mid-day photographer why he should be watching Tumbbad on the big screen.

For Shah, 37, the last few weeks have been surreal. There's no other word to describe what the critical success of his new production, which has been six years in the making, means to him. Despite essaying central characters in Ship of Theseus (2012) as stock-broker Navin, Talvar (2015) where he played mean ACP Vedant Mishra, and the boy-next-door in Simran (2107), Shah's body of work has gone fairly unnoticed. Tumbbad lifts the veil on another brilliant actor in an industry that is otherwise, star-struck. Shah admits, however, he too, is guilty of venerating icons, and Shah Rukh Khan in particular.

Love for Bollywood
Having grown up in the small Rajasthani town of Sri Ganganagar, 400 km from Jaipur and with a population of 2.5 lakh, Shah, like most kids from the 90s, remembers repeatedly watching Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (KKHH). "The kind of positivity and energy that Shah Rukh brought to the screen, it could fill your life with a lot of happiness," he says. "I remember a doctor friend, who felt that she was going crazy while studying medicine. She told me that KKHH helped her snap out of depression. He has contributed a lot to our culture. To me, he's not just an actor, he is way above. I wanted to be exactly like him."

It's these starry dreams that vacuously occupied most of his teenage years. But hailing from a family, where money was hard to come by - his father was a commodity broker - he decided to assist him in his business, at the age of 14. "As much as I wanted to become an actor, I also wanted to contribute to the family, and improve our financial condition," he says. Two years later, he took over the business. "I went on to dabble in different kinds of commodity trade, including edible oil. Bahut papad bele."

Finally, Shah found success in real estate, and within eight years, he managed to establish himself as a businessman to reckon with, at least in Sri Ganganagar. "When I knew I could run my business on auto-pilot, I decided it was time to make the shift to Mumbai," he says. This was in 2008. Shah hasn't looked back.

Making movies happen
Before Shah moved lock, stock and barrel he had visited Mumbai briefly, somewhere in 2006. "At the time, I thought, I'd make a music video featuring myself and people would take notice of me. That way, I'd get some work. I was so naïve," he laughs. "On a common friend's suggestion, I enrolled in an acting school, but couldn't commit to it, because a lot of work was still stuck back home," he says.

He even befriended Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who hadn't yet tasted success with Kahaani and Gangs of Wasseypur, and took him to Sri Ganganagar for a month, where he trained with him for three hours daily, in between meeting work commitments. When he returned, Shah decided to give himself completely to the movies. "I came from a place, where I had achieved immense success. So, having to start again from scratch, was tough. But, I was not someone who'd live on the streets and survive on vada pav. Yes, Mumbai was a different landscape and initially, I did feel alienated, but I was crazy about the movies and determined to get a hang of it."

Shah first produced and acted in a gangster drama titled Baabarr (2009), which tanked at the box office. A year later, he met filmmaker Anand Gandhi, whom he credits for exposing him to good cinema. He went on to play Navin in the massive cast of Ship of Theseus, which Shah and Gandhi produced under the Recyclewala Films banner.

During the same time, Rahi, who wanted a non-star to play lead in Tumbbad, approached him with the film. "When I heard the script, I jumped. It felt like a grandmother's tale, which was very rooted and Indian," remembers Shah. But Rahi was struggling to get a producer on board. "After seven months of not hearing from me, Shah came back and said he'd produce the film himself," Rahi says.

Even as Tumbbad was in the making, Shah took on side roles in other films. He was last seen in Simran as Kangana Ranaut's love interest Sameer. "Sohum, if cast correctly, comes without baggage. He can easily slip into character and become the person, you imagined. He played the boy-next-door and convincingly," says Hansal Mehta, who directed the film.

That Tumbbad took so long to make, was also because Shah ensured that every aspect of the film, right from the storytelling to cinematography, the writing and the demon god, Hastar, that was first shot in prosthetics before they opted for VFX, was perfected to the last detail. On screen, Shah stands out as the gluttonous Vinayak, and is able to compellingly portray the character's grey shades. That he had to maintain his physique through the many years of shooting the film - he used traditional wooden weights to get the chiselled look - and changed over four coaches to learn Marathi, is reflection of his dedication. "Sohum believed in Tumbbad when nobody else did. It was my baby, but he nurtured it like his own," says Rahi.

Roshni Olivera (BOMBAY TIMES; October 6, 2018)

She chose to tie the knot at 24 when she was at the peak of her career. She could have continued to be a part of the race even post that, but she preferred to focus on her family. That’s Kajol, who believes in setting her own benchmark when it comes to her life and career. And why not? It has worked superbly for her. Even after completing 25 years in Bollywood, she has the zest and enthusiasm of a newcomer. She takes her time to pick and choose just the kind of films that excite her. In a candid chat with BT, the actress speaks about her upcoming film Helicopter Eela, the relationship she shares with her kids and the lessons she has learnt from her mother Tanuja. Excerpts…

Your film was originally supposed to be titled Eela. How did it change to Helicopter Eela? Helicopter parenting is an American concept...
I don’t know about American parenting concept, but it’s definitely Indian parenting. It’s about overprotective parents, who are constantly hovering around their kids, asking them if they have eaten or not, what time they will be back from school etc. That’s just our way of parenting. Eela is probably a little more than that. But whatever she does, stems out of her love for her son.

How did this film come to you? Was Ajay (Devgn) looking for a good script to produce for you?
Nothing like that happened. Anand Gandhi and Mitesh Shah (writers) approached me saying that they had this script, which they wanted me to hear. When I heard it, I thought it was fabulous and fortunately for me, my husband also heard the script with me. He said, ‘If you like it so much, we will produce it.’ It’s one of those films that I instantly liked and said, ‘I am doing it. Nobody else is doing it!’ Eela is adventurously funny. The film has comedy and at the same time, it has a message. It’s about the relationship of a child with the mother, who’s a single parent. That kind of a relationship is deep and you know that it’s just the both of you against the whole world. You may fight with your mother and not like some of the things that she does, but if someone comes and says anything to her, you will be the first one to stand up for her. That’s exactly the relationship between Eela and her son.

In real life, has there been a time when your kids have complained about you being an overbearing mom?
Yes, of course, and I don’t think I would be a good enough parent if I wasn’t overbearing and overprotective at times. Putting it in the nicest way possible, you can’t always look at it from a child’s point of view. When you are in a parent’s seat, you have enormous responsibility on your shoulders and this is something you can’t fail at. You can fail at a lot of things in life, probably even things like your career or marriage and still bear it with some sort of dignity. But if you fail as a parent, it can be devastating. You can’t accept that you have failed at raising your child well. It’s a difficult pill to swallow.

Parenting is not easy, but do you think it’s even tougher in this day and age of social media, when children have so many other distractions? Also, how do you assert yourself as a parent without coming across as overbearing?
It’s difficult, because we can’t accept the fact that our children are different from what we were at that age. If you look at your child and say, ‘I never did this when I was seven years old’ it’s not going to work, because you were not in the same era or circumstances when social media was so dominant. Instead of putting your kids down or trying to put them in their place, you will have to figure out what their place really is. You have to put yourself in their shoes once in a while to understand that they think differently, and the fact that they will not be you. Whether they are watching television or are on the internet, how much can you control that? You will have to take it one day at a time, one channel or one mouse click at a time, literally, to figure out how to work out your relationship with them.

What’s Ajay’s role when it comes to parenting?
One of the biggest roles he plays is that he supports me completely in whatever I say, whatever rules I lay down. Like, if I say no gadgets for the next two weeks, he's very clear and tells them your mom has said it. I have 100 per cent support in that regard. There are times where he turns around and disciplines the kids, too, so it isn’t just me disciplining them. We play good cop, bad cop equally.

We have spoken about you as a mother. What about Kajol, the daughter? Growing up, what was the rapport you shared with your mom?
My mother is wonderful. I had an amazing upbringing and I thank her for it, especially after having my own kids. I always look back at what she taught me as a child, and I tell her that I love the way she handled things, especially simple things like talking to one’s kids about social responsibility, God, death and souls. My mother didn’t sit down to explain to me, but spoke about it freely in front of me. It was something we accepted as a part of life, and hence, as a grown-up, while dealing with certain situations, my reactions are not that of shock or disbelief, because it’s been drilled into me from a young age. I may not have listened to it at that time and even felt like ‘Oh God, she is at it again’. I had that attitude as well, but today, I see how it has helped me. I remember my mother telling me, ‘When you get angry, the other person wins. Do you really want that to happen?’ I used to get so frustrated then, but now when I am older, I can see that what she said, all along, was right. This is just one of the many things. I always tell her that she was gutsy, brave and out-of-the-box as a parent and I really hope that I can emulate her as far as my kids are concerned.

You have been a part of Bollywood for over 25 years. How do you react to comments like, ‘We have grown up watching your films’?
I tell them that I was really young when I started! It may seem a lot to somebody else, but when I look at it, I tell myself, ‘That’s it? You have done just some 30-odd films.’ I should have probably done around 100. But I feel my life has a lot more in it today and it’s not just about movies. It’s about my personal life, having a family and raising two kids. I am more complete and I feel more fulfilled than I did 26 years ago.

It’s assumed that you are not really ambitious…
I’d say that I am ambitious in a different way. I did good work and I still do films that I believe in. It’s all worked out well for me. Honestly, if I had done a film just for the sake of doing it or just because I had nothing better to do, it would have taken the sheen off it. I wouldn’t have liked that. I like the pace I am at and the fact that I can take a break from work and go on a holiday if I want to, look after my family and take care of myself. I like the space I am in.

What about teaming up with Ajay as a co-star for a film?
If we have to do a film together, it will have to be something that suits us both as people. We have been seen on screen and off screen for years now. The fact is that we have been married for 19 years. So we will have to keep all the parameters in mind.

What do your kids think about your performances in films?
My kids don’t talk about my acting abilities! They talk about my acting skills off screen more than on screen (laughs!). According to my daughter, I am highly dramatic, but I say that’s the way I am. It’s not drama, it’s normal. Also, my kids don’t like me crying, even if it’s on screen. I think it upsets them. They don’t like that.

Filmmaker to present Sohum Shah’s upcoming film that is written by Ship of Theseus director Anand Gandhi
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 4, 2018)

Bollywood first took notice of filmmaker-actor Sohum Shah’s Tumbbad, a fantasy-epic-thriller on which he has worked for six years, when Rajkumar Hirani tweeted about it after a screening in May. “I have not seen a more visually stunning film in a long time. Great camerawork, art and costumes, and Sohum Shah, you are outstanding in the film!” the filmmaker had shared.

Now, Mirror has learnt that acclaimed filmmaker Aanand L Rai had caught a screening of the film much before that and is gearing up to present the film under his home banner, along with Eros International. “I watched Tumbbad four months ago, before taking off for the US schedule of Zero,” says the director, who returned last month after wrapping up the film which features Shah Rukh Khan as a dwarf, and Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma as leading ladies. “It was a very instinctive decision. The moment I saw the film, I wanted to be associated with it. I am excited,” he says, adding that he’d gone into the screening with no pre-conceived notions and enjoyed the intentions behind each scene in the story, eventually deciding to follow his gut.

Tumbbad is a horror-mystery-thriller set in colonial India and featuring a non-liner narrative with fantasy elements and a lush, stylised look. “We are looking at an October release,” Aanand reveals.

To write the film, Sohum, who is the producer as well as leading man of the film, reunited with his The Ship of Theseus director Anand Gandhi. Tumbbad, which marks the directorial debut of Rahi Anil Barve, was one of the most talked about projects at Hong Kong’s Filmart earlier this year, where Sohum had been scouting for an international distributor for the film. The actor, who has featured in Talvar and Simran as well, had played a stockbroker in The Ship of Theseus. The 2013-drama had gone on to win the National Film Award in 2014, following a high-profile festival stint in Toronto, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

“It is time we stopped seeing anything new or genre-redefining coming out of India as a festival film. If Newton was released five years ago, it would have been tagged as a festival film. But it did great business for its producers and for me, it was a commercial film. With Tumbbad, I want to reach a pan-India audience. My audience is sharp enough to understand the world in which this story is set,” Aanand says, all praise for Sohum’s talents. “He is a brilliantly creative guy. You need guts to come up with a film like Tumbbad and hats off to him to have stood by it as a producer and an actor. It’s not easy because for a new rule book, you first need to break certain rules and then work on rewriting them,” Aanand explains.

Apart from Zero, his Color Yellow Productions is also producing the Anurag Kashyap-directed romancedrama, Manmarziyan, a sequel to Mudassar Aziz’s 2016-runaway romcom, Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi and Geethu Mohandas’ adventure-drama in Malayalam and Hindi, Moothon. “What I am enjoying right now is being involved with a lot of films that are redefining genres. As a filmmaker, I think it is crucial to redefine certain things and I am very excited about this. It is the beginning of a change at the movies. Our audience is ready to look at different genres in newer light. With Tumbbad, it will be a new world of horror and mystery,” he explains.

Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; January 21, 2018)

Sushant Singh Rajput, who made his film debut five years ago with Kai Po Che! (2013), has had an interesting journey. On his birthday today, we quiz him about the various aspects of his life. Here are the secrets that he revealed...

What do you know today that you weren’t aware of last year?
That I will definitely survive 32 years.

What has changed after you turned 30?
The chance of getting a delayed engineering degree from my college is completely gone (I’m a college dropout).

The word you are never tired of hearing.
Action, in any context (laughs).

You can’t live without...
Dreams.

One thing which you would give your right arm for?
A stronger right arm.

What would you like to change about yourself?
I want to learn to say, no.

One thing you’d like to change about women...
Men’s general perception towards them.

A change you would like to see in the film industry...
A bit more fearlessness and unity.

What is that you love about the film industry?
It goes on...

A constant fear.
Fear of impermanence of everything.

Which phrase do you use often?
WTF.

A person outside your family that you trust implicitly.
Shekhar Kapur.

If you could turn back time, what would you like to relive?
Any moment spent with my mother.

The most cherished item in your wardrobe is...
My underwear.

An actor in the industry that you admire.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

If you need advice, whose number would you dial?
My publicist.

Name the one thing you have that Varun Dhawan doesn’t?
A flop.

A director you wish would offer you a film.
Anand Gandhi.

You want to see yourself paired with...
Tabu.

Which film of a contemporary did you truly enjoy last year?
Newton.

What’s that one thing you wish you had?
A time machine.

Which destination is on your travel wish list right now?
Norway.

You are protective about...
Any newcomer.

You are possessive about...
My nephew, Nirvanh.

A constant need...
The need to be understood.

The person you miss all the time...
My mother.

Which Hollywood actress would you love to hook up with?
Jennifer Lawrence.

The Hollywood actor whose life you would love to lead...
James Dean.

If not India, where would you want to live?
New Zealand.

What’s a prized possession that you have?
None.

Which artist do you admire the most?
Vincent Van Gogh.

Finally, what’s the one thing you want to do before you turn 33?
Get a flying license.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 1, 2017)

Mirror (November 18) had earlier reported that Kajol’s next film has been written by Ship of Theseus director Anand Gandhi and is an adaptation of his Gujarati play, Beta Kaagdo. It revolves around a mother-son relationship with the actress playing a single parent. We have now learnt that National Award-winning filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar, whose last directorial was the Rani Mukerji starrer 2014 crime thriller, Mardaani, will be directing the film which is likely to roll in January.

“I was offered the script around four months ago. It took me a while to understand the Gujarati tone but eventually I fell in love with this extremely emotional story which boasts of some really strong characters and there’s a chance of people getting really close to them,” informs Sarkar, admitting that he has been interacting with a lot Gujaratis of late.

The 62-year-old filmmaker informs that he has already started on the prep and reading sessions with Kajol will begin soon. “She’s an awesome actress who picks up a role and owns it. She has her own style, charm and a particular way of talking that enhances the character,” he maintains, adding that they are scouting for the boy who will play her son.

Kajol’s husband, Ajay Devgn, is producing the film with Abhinav Shukla. Swanand Kirkire, who has earlier worked with Sarkar on Parineeta, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Lafangey Parindey, is writing the lyrics. Amit Trivedi will be scoring the music. The film will be shot on the outskirts of Mumbai.

“I am getting involved in the dialogue and character-building as there are a few insights that I want to incorporate to make the film more endearing. This is not like Parineeta, where everything was detailed, this is more free-flowing, a character and music-driven film,” Sarkar points out.

So what kept him away from directing more films after Mardaani? “Making commercials is my main business. If someone gives me enough money, I would only make films but we have to survive,” the filmmaker signs off with a chuckle.

Anand Gandhi (MID-DAY; August 25, 2017)

Culture is the sieve of the civilization in which we put data, wisdom and epiphanies of the past, and the present, to distill solutions for the future. We can't solve our problems as a society if we censor speech and discourage open sharing of truths. In a community that's increasingly polarised between those who want to learn, and those who want to avoid witnessing the truth, odds are stacked against the lonely truth seeker, the documentary filmmaker. That is exactly what makes the achievement of filmmakers Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla, directors of the political documentary, An Insignificant Man, inspiring.

Khushboo and Vinay wanted to make a documentary about the democratic process because they wanted to know how our democracy works, and record the tryst between idealism and pragmatism, intention and hypocrisy, and integrity and compromise. They wanted to render the veils around political parties permeable, so that we could witness what is going on inside.

Of the three political parties they requested access to, only one agreed to let them in with cameras. That was the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). For a year, the cameras rarely missed a beat, rolling through meetings, campaign planning sessions, rallies, strategy discussions, back offices, arguments, fallouts, in their homes, and even while they travelled. Always a fly on the wall, observant, yet distant.

The material they collected was overwhelming. This made the community that supported the producing of the documentary in a highly successful crowdfunding campaign, a bit restless. But, their trust in the filmmakers never faltered. Khushboo and Vinay found support from a truth seeking audience, from both sides of the political spectrum — left and right.

One day, I was invited to a screening of An Insignificant Man (AIM). What I saw, left me enthralled. I cannot think of another film that shows us real politicians, doing politics. It doesn't patronise the viewer with a pedantic voiceover, but instead, allows him to witness an incredible moment in Indian politics.

I have seen Khushboo and Vinay struggle as first-time filmmakers in India. The contrast of their journey in India and internationally, could not be more stark. The film won fund awards from Sundance, Busan, IDFA and BritDoc. Toronto International Film Festival invited AIM for its world premiere. Festivals, awards, accolades, standing ovations and nuanced critiques unraveled. We started gearing up to show the film to the part of the world, we call home.

Enter, Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). In his astute wisdom, the former CBFC chief (Pahlaj Nihalani) decided, quite arbitrarily, that a piece of journalistic document needs "permission" from its political subjects. Also, in a dire misreading of his position, he thought it prudent to defend the Congress and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) from their names being taken in the film. He would rather a documentary invent fictitious names like Mogambo and Dogaraj for politicians, perhaps.

After having waited for months outside the chief's office, and then being thrown out, Khushboo and Vinay chose to approach the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT). The FCAT judgment is out, and sanity has finally prevailed. The judgment says that a demand for a No Objection Certificate is "wholly unsustainable and not permissible at law."

It's dangerous that the Censor Board can act in an illegal way. Consequences are only meant for filmmakers, who are testing the small mercies of freedom. With the recent reconstitution of the Board, things look hopeful. As long as dialogue is not threatened by violence, and discourse is not silenced by censorship, there is always hope for a better future.

Kajol on working with her husband and her absence from Bollywood
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 26, 2017)

Two years after Dilwale, you’ve surprised many by returning to the screen with a Tamil film.
I wasn’t planning on doing a Tamil film. In fact, after I heard the script of VIP 2, I pointed out to the makers that it was in a language I wasn’t familiar with. They reasoned that 50 per cent of the dialogues are in English and for the rest, it didn’t matter if I spoke Chinese. But on the first day, they gave me three pages in Tamil and insisted, “Let’s try, let’s try.” I’m proud to say that by the third day, I was speaking my lines in Tamil and on the last day, delivered an entire page of dialogue in one shot with only my name written in English. I’ve to thank my co-star Dhanush and director Soundarya (Rajnikanth), who worked with and around me to ensure my transition was seamless.

You did Rajiv Menon’s Tamil film Minsara Kanavu back in 1997…
(Interrupts) Yes, and every night I’d sit up for two hours memorising my lines. It was like going back to school and prepping for my board exams. After that no matter how much anybody paid me, I wouldn’t take on the stress of doing a film in a language other than Hindi.

What’s keeping you from Hindi films?
My home production should roll in September. I’m really happy with the script. Good scripts in any language are hard to come by. I’ve been picky since the beginning and have only done films that interested me. It has worked for me all my life and I don’t feel the need to change it.

Is this film an adaptation of Anand Gandhi’s Gujarati play Beta Kaagdo?
Anand has scripted it but I wouldn’t know if it is an adaptation of a Gujarati play. It’s really funny. I loved it and pounced on it. We are also producing a Marathi film which should roll soon. Another Marathi film is already on the floors. Ajay (husband Ajay Devgn) and I don’t stretch ourselves, but things are happening, slowly and steadily.

Ajay Devgn is so quiet, he doesn’t interact much with the press…
(Laughs) He is like that personally too.

… But whenever we ask him about you or your kids, Nysa and Yug, his face lights up.
(Laughs again) Thank God. It should, na?

Tell us about the marriage that is the envy of B-town...
We have been married for 18 years. You need to work on relationships every day. Both Ajay and I realise that. Both of us want this relationship enough to want to make it last.

Nysa was with Ajay at the London Indian Film Festival for the premiere of Parched. Does she intend to follow in your footsteps?
She’s too young and studying at the moment. We’ll think about this later.

Your last film, Dilwale, didn’t do well. Were you disappointed?
I’m proud of all my work, no regrets. I had a great time making Dilwale.

Any plans of collaborating with Shah Rukh Khan again?
Shah Rukh and I come together once in six-seven years. That’s what we’ve been doing for 25 years so there’s another three-four years to go for our next film.

Do you want to do more women centric films?
I want to do good films, films I’d want to watch. Maybe that makes me frivolous, not serious enough to be a great actress, but I don’t want to watch films that don’t leave me with a good feeling. Performances are fine, but I need to want to wake up in the morning and go to work. This is a fantastic time for all creative people in the industry because finally they have a chance of putting their thoughts, ideas and performances on a stage in front of an evolved audience. But eventually, it’s for the actor to decide what they are attracted to. It’s a personal choice. I’ve had a wonderful time and plan to keep on having a wonderful time. The day it’s no longer wonderful, I will stop acting.

Is Ajay Devgn planning to direct you again after U Me Aur Hum?
I hope so. I have always said that he is one of the most fab directors I have ever worked with.

Are you open to TV and the digital platform?
I have no issues with TV if they give me something mind-blowing. My script is my hero, that has been an unbreakable rule.

You were offered one such television show by Rensil DSilva?
I had a chat with Rensil but I don’t think it worked out.

Your friendship with Karan snapped during the Shivaay promotions. What went wrong there?
Since you are expecting an answer, I am going to give you one. This is not the time or place to clarify. I would prefer not to speak about it.

Ship of Theseus director's mother is the muse for the actress's next role
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 18, 2016)

In a recent interview to Mirror (October 25) Ajay Devgn had revealed that he will be producing a film for his wife Kajol which will roll in January. "The script is locked, it's a humorous, emotional, slice-of-life film," he had informed.

Now, Mirror has learnt that after Rohit Shetty's Dilwale opposite Shah Rukh Khan in December 2015, Kajol's next has been written by Ship of Theseus filmmaker Anand Gandhi and is likely to be directed by Rajesh Saathi. It is a screen adaptation of Anand's Gujarati play, Beta Kaagdo, and revolves around a mother-son relationship with the actress playing a single parent.

Anand who has written and directed well-received plays like Sugandhi, Pratyancha, Kshanotsav, Na and Janashtaru and one more in Gujarati, Chal Reverse Ma Jaiye, shared, "I had written Beta Kaagdo 15 years ago and it is inspired, in part, by my mother's life and her eccentricities. My mother has been my muse for the story. Kajol is a wonderful actress and I can't wait to see her render the part. I believe Ajay Devgn will produce a well-crafted film, which will work for audiences across the board."

Ask him if Ajay will be involved in other aspects of the film and he retorts, "He is producing the film, and he really enjoys the creative process. He brings very surprising and exciting ideas on the script."

Ship of Theseus, Anand's feature film debut, released three years ago. What's kept him away from direction? "I was busy with the documentary, An Insignificant Man, which I produced and Tumbad for which I was the creative director and executive producer. I also produced a couple of shorts and virtual reality documentaries and have spent the last year building Memesys, India's first virtual reality studio," he points out, adding that he will return to the director's chair the moment he writes a screenplay that will be "worth dying for".

While Anand's directorial debut went on to become the toast of the festival circuit while also receiving acclaim amongst cinegoers, his soon-to-be leading lady was recently asked at an event in Mumbai if she was crossing over to "art films" with her next. Kajol shot back saying, "I don't agree with this thinking, nothing can be called a mainstream or art film. There are only good films and bad films. We make films so that the audience can enjoy them, leaving their troubles behind to lose themselves in the story and the characters. I believe I am going to make good films." Touche!

Ship of Theseus director Anand Gandhi returns to the Toronto Film Festival with a drama which traces Arvind Kejriwal's political journey
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 10, 2016)

Anand Gandhi (front row, centre) and the Memesys Culture Lab team at their studio in Versova. Pic/atul kamble

Award-winning filmmaker Anand Gandhi is two months away from launching India’s first mega virtual reality lab. Want to take a tour?
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; May 22, 2016)

The conversation at the Memesys Culture Lab’s studio in Versova oscillates from space — “That’s what Elon Musk’s plan is, to take plants and drop them on the surface of the Red Planet,” says Vinay Shukla — to if monogamy is finally redundant. “It’s a vestigial emotion. It’s like the tail bone,” Anand Gandhi declares.

And, of course, politics.

“You know, there is this regular at Delhi’s AAP rallies who always has an act going — one of his dentures popping. When we first saw him, we thought it was funny. Then, we realised, he does it everywhere!” says Khushboo Ranka. The 30-year-old and Shukla, 30, are makers of a film titled, A Proposition Of A Revolution, that examines the workings of the Aam Aadmi Party.

The lab’s founder, writer-director Gandhi says it’s a venture that brings together several of his passions — science, ancient wisdom, technology, news and creating conversation.

Gandhi has met with success in the past, whether it was with scripting the hugely popular television soap, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, or directing the critically acclaimed in the 2013 film, Ship Of Theseus. A look at organ donation, it won him a National Award for Best Picture, among swooning critics.

The lab, says Gandhi, will use virtual reality to transform the landscape of narrative fiction. It is funded by Round Glass Partners, who pitched with an initial investment of $2.5 million last year. “We are the biggest studio in India yet to provide end-to-end virtual reality/augmented reality/mixed reality solutions and helming the largest projects. We are also creating holographic content, so in a sense, we are future-ready,” says Gandhi.

To prove it, he shares a pair of virtual reality headsets attached to a cell phone. Suddenly, we are on a cricket pitch in the middle of the action. Snap to us standing on stage beside vocalist Tipriti Kharbangar of Shillong’s Blues Rock band Soulmate, watching a stirring audience. Snap to being one with the crowd surrounding rights activist Trupti Desai, who is animatedly arguing for women’s entry into all temples.

We take off the headsets and are handed a phone to point at a sheet of paper. Mahatma Gandhi is seen doing a few stretches as a holographic character.

“It’s all in the developmental space, but it can also be used in education. Imagine opening a text book and watching a holographic Mahatma Gandhi walk out, and sit beside you for a conversation,” says Zain Menon, the inhouse technical wizard. “You open a biology book and watch a heart float out. It slices open to reveal itself and hangs there in mid-air as you watch how the ventricles and auricles receive and expel blood.”

The lab’s core team is working towards the ambitious goal of creating content that is intelligent and cutting edge, not ‘viral’; something that helps you find meaning in everything you do, see and feel. “Why is it a joy to work with Anand?” Ranka asks in mock wonderment. “He finds science, even in everyday situations, and whether he is worried or happy, he is speaking in scientific references.”

The group, which aside from Ranka, Shukla, Menon and Gandhi, includes Neil Pagedar and Pooja Shetty, have as striking a backstory as what they have set out to do. Except Shetty and Shukla, everyone is a college dropout. “I dropped out after Class 12,” says Menon. Suddenly, squeals of “me-too” pour in.

“I am a dropout, too,” says Gandhi, who hails from a Gujarati Jain family from Mumbai. All of us here have self-designed our education. What’s common to us is that we are curious.”

If, like us, you are wondering whether it takes a life of privilege to drop out of college and dream a holographic Mahatma, Gandhi will quote a scene from Sylvia, a film based on writer Sylvia Plath’s life. After poet Ted Hughes is snubbed by Plath’s parents’ rich friends, her mother pacifies Hughes with, “Don’t judge my friends, as they haven’t had your privilege — the privilege of working for what you want”.

“That’s what I have done,” Gandhi says. “I have had to work hard for what I wanted to achieve. And now the plan is to showcase information, science and life in an easy, accessible way.”

The Memesys website will be up and running in two months, he hopes, and will feature content that he terms thought provoking. Coming up is a science comedy, OK Computer, on the lines of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and 30 Rock. There is also a science show that will tackle one Indian historical or scientific subject in every episode. “For example, why and how has the Sanjeevani booti, which finds mention in the Ramayana, become attractive to scientists?” Gandhi asks. “Texts like the Ramayana are treasure troves of botanical information,” Ranka joins in.

There is also a web magazine featuring narrative non-fiction and gets the viewer right in the middle of news, much like the virtual reality clip we experienced of Trupti during the Maharashtra temple row. The lab will also be manufacturing its own cardboard virtual reality headsets, which you will need every time you watch their content on the web or your phone. A holographic app is under deliberation, which explains the stretching national leader.

And keeping with a profit-making model they envisage, the group plans to use the ‘branding’ route. “We will provide virtual reality solutions for all kinds of brands from start to finish. This includes getting into sports which includes cricket and kabbadi, and even music,” says Gandhi.

The first Memesys release though is A Promise Of A Revolution. This happens next month.

But all of this is hardly taking Gandhi away from what he is also bloody good at — movies. He is wrapping up his last film, Tumbad, and says he is working on the next idea, which will be a virtual reality production. “It’s about those south Indian women scientists whose picture went viral after the Indian Mars mission put a satellite into orbit around the planet. Aren’t they amazing?”

Just then Ranka decides it’s time to put the Memesys motto into words. “When Round Glass Partners decided to fund us, they said they did it because ‘they wanted to change the world’. And we said, that’s the plan!”