One would imagine that her brother Kussh S Sinha is a big reason for Sonakshi Sinha leading his maiden directorial venture, Nikita Roy. But when we sit down with the actor, she busts that myth, stating that the film’s twists and turns drew her to it. Being directed by her brother was a bonus.

“I went on set thinking we might have our sibling squabbles,” she laughs, before saying, “But it was professional. On set, I was the actor, and he was the director.”

Nikita Roy, also starring Paresh Rawal, Arjun Rampal, and Suhail Nayyar, sees Sonakshi as an author whose disbelief in the supernatural is challenged by certain events. The thriller was initially scheduled for a June 27 release, but the makers postponed it to avert a clash with the Kajol-starrer Maa. A decision that the actor stands by.

“This was the producers’ call because, at the end of the day, it’s their money invested. When things are cluttered, there is no point in coming and not getting the shows we expected. It was a wise business decision.”

Do leading ladies have a say in these calls? “It depends from film to film. I can’t speak for others, but I don’t like to get into that space. My work is to be on set, do my job in front of the camera, and go home.”

In the past few years, there has been a distinct shift in Sonakshi’s choice of projects — from headlining masala fare like Dabangg (2010) and R…Rajkumar (2013), she has moved to author-backed roles in Dahaad (2023) and Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar (2024). As she looks forward to the second season of Dahaad and Heeramandi, she is clear what she seeks from her projects.

“I want anything that is different from what I’ve done before and that challenges me. Those are my checkboxes. You pick and choose from what comes your way. But after doing good work, you’re in a position to say, ‘I deserve better than this’. In the past 15 years, I’ve grown up in front of the camera. It’s been a wholesome journey — the good, the bad, the ugly. The good thing is, Bollywood doesn’t have the power to devastate me because I see my work as a part of life. My whole life doesn’t revolve around it. There’s a lot to life outside of work. So, nothing has the power to devastate me in that way.”

For his directorial debut, Kussh S Sinha has crafted a supernatural thriller, Nikita Roy. At the centre of this mystery layered with the occult is actor and Kussh’s sister Sonakshi Sinha, who plays the titular role. Tell the first-time director that very few supernatural thrillers are centred on women, and he says that a lot of effort went into building Nikita’s character.

“Nikita is part of a group of people who want to investigate charlatans. [We set out] by understanding her psychology. What motivates her? Why does she want to be an author? Why does she want to make people realize that they shouldn’t believe in the supernatural? All these layers were kept in mind while designing the character,” he shares.

If he had a complex character on paper, Sonakshi breathed life into it. Having watched his sister on screen over the past 15 years, Kussh knew that playing an investigator adamant on finding the truth would come easily to her. “It was easier to direct Sonakshi because I have studied her as an actor. In fact, at times, my biggest grouse as a viewer was that other filmmakers were not using her talent to the fullest. She is an extremely talented actor with immense emotional range.”

How did the sibling dynamics translate on the set? “On set, she is an actor who has been doing her work for a number of years. So, I treated her as I’d treat any experienced actor — with respect, and I’d take into account what was required from them and what they required from me.”

Directing an eclectic cast that included Arjun Rampal, Paresh Rawal, and Suhail Nayyar was a pleasure for the debutant director. Kussh reflects, “I got lucky that they are all accomplished actors. That helped with bringing the characters to life.”

Carrying the Sinha legacy ahead comes with emotional pressure. But the filmmaker asserts that Nikita Roy is a reclamation of his voice, on his own terms.

He states, “I respect what my father [Shatrughan Sinha] has achieved. But there was no emotional pressure on Sonakshi and I as we did Nikita Roy together. My father has been an actor and a politician for decades. My sister has been an actor. This is me walking my own path. At the end of the day, you have to work as hard as everybody else, if not harder.”

Sonakshi Sinha has collaborated with her brother Kussh S Sinha for the upcoming film Nikita Roy And The Book of Darkness. The film marks Kussh’s directorial debut. The brother-sister duo kept their personal equation at bay during the shoot.

Sonakshi says, “The experience of working together on a set was fantastic. We have never worked together and had to remind each other ki hum ghar ke jhagde yahan pe nahi kar sakte (laughs). I had to remember that he is my director. So, for the first couple of days, it was a bit funny to see us trying to adjust and work around it. However, later, we got into the groove.”

The actress, who was last seen in Double XL alongside Huma Qureshi, says that working with Kussh was quite a revelation. She adds, “It was fun to kind of discover each other as professionals. The shoot went off very smoothly; in fact, he finished it well before time, which was great, especially for a first-time director.”

The film was shot in London and has Sonakshi sharing screen space with Arjun Rampal and Paresh Rawal.

Late last month, Shantanu Deshpande, founder-CEO of Bombay Shaving Company, was slammed online after he, in a LinkedIn post, advised freshers to work 18-hour days during the initial years of their career and “not to do random rona-dhona” about the relentless hours. The post led to a wide discussion on unhealthy practices and toxic work culture.

Among other things, it also put the spotlight on the Indian film industry where a 12-hour shift is a given. More importantly, when a crew is racing against time, it’s not uncommon for the shift to extend to 14 or 16 hours.

In an attempt to course-correct, debutant producers Nicky and Vicky Bhagnani have mandated that the cast and crew will work only 10 to 12-hour days on the set of their next, Nikita Roy And The Book Of Darkness, which is currently being shot in the United Kingdom. While the shift hours align with that of the skilled worker category as per the UK laws, the producers have gone a step ahead to incorporate two-day weekends for the cast and crew.

The thriller is headlined by Sonakshi Sinha, with Paresh Rawal and Suhail Nayyar playing pivotal roles. The film, which marks the directorial debut of Kussh S Sinha, went on floors in Watford in late August. Though Hindi film sets usually practice a six-day work week on outdoor shoots, director Kussh and the producer brothers were certain about implementing a five-day week, encouraging their team to explore the English countryside over the weekends. 

Vicky tells us that the attempt is to break away from the long workdays that is normalized in the film industry. “Old rules have to be rewritten to create work-life balance. A creative industry like ours needs time to rest and recuperate,” he says.

Planning to the last detail has ensured that the past three weeks of shoot were a smooth run. “Right at the start, we decided that we will maintain strict 10 hours of working, never going above 12. [Some countries in] Europe have [tried] the four-day work rule. It’s hard to adopt that on shoot because certain locations are pre-booked, and work has to be completed on time.”

Nicky credits the work ethic to creative head Abhinav Kashyap, who is a mentor to Kussh and the Bhagnanis. “He has shown us the path to do the right thing. Also, our DoP [Anshul Chobey] and Kussh are on point with storyboarding.”

He adds that the production team has kept actors and unit hands on a rotational basis. “Days-off are given to actors and crew members in such a way that work keeps rolling, and yet rest is not compromised.”

Nicky and Vicky Bhagnani