Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; February 27, 2019)

After helming two successful Marathi films and working as a cinematographer in many Hindi movies, Laxman Utekar is now gearing up to make his directorial debut in Bollywood. His romantic comedy, Luka Chuppi, revolves around live-in relationships in small towns, and features Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon in the lead. In a conversation with BT, he offers his take on livein relationships and making a debut with a hatke love story. Excerpts:

Luka Chuppi is set in small-town India, while live-in is a relatively modern concept in relationships. Did the story happen organically or was it a deliberate attempt to do something different?
After directing two films in Marathi, I wanted to do something different for my directorial debut in Bollywood. As someone born and brought up in Maharashtra, this was my chance to engage with something I know less about. Having said that, the story of Luka Chuppi is based in Mathura (Uttar Pradesh). After writer Rohan Ghoge approached me with the story, we spent about 18 months fleshing it out. On several occasions, we even stayed in Mathura to infuse the flavour of that place into our story. Maine kaam hamesha aisa kiya hai jisse taali milegi ya gaali, nothing in-between. I’ve never made a safe film and I never will. Also, no director has an inbuilt approach to filmmaking. The taste of the audience changes every three years, so the idea is to make something that works best in the given scenario.

Your film has an interesting story — it revolves around the chaos that ensues when the families of a live-in couple start staying with them. Where did the inspiration for this story come from? Were there any personal reference points? Live-in relationships are getting increasingly common these days...
(Laughs!) I have lived in a joint family, and have been married for years. However, my writer (Rohan Ghoge) has experienced a live-in relationship. I don’t think live-in relationships are that common, even in metros. It’s difficult for an unmarried couple to rent a house. Also, the way people perceive you is not very respectful. Not many people understand the emotion or the logic behind it. In smaller cities, it’s very difficult for girls to freely move around on a bike, even with their brothers. Log agar nahi jaante, toh baatein banate hain. You can’t escape these realities while crafting hypothetical situations with two characters.

So many films have used live-in relationships as their backdrop. Do you think that cinema can change the social imagery of these relationships?
I don’t know if anything will change and I’m not sure if that is the intention behind making these films. Usually, we’re only aiming to entertain. Through my film, I’m not trying to lecture anyone about marriages or live-in relationships, advocating one over the other. We have only tried to say that today’s youngsters know what they want from life, relationships and career. They don’t need guidance or moral policing. Agar aap kisise pyaar karte hain, toh live-in mein raho ya shaadi karlo, it’s your choice. Aur agar pyaar nahi hai, to kisiko uss nigah se dekhna bhi nahi chahiye (laughs!).

While you were working on Luka Chuppi, there were rumours that Kartik Aaryan had developed airs about himself…
(Cuts in) I have shot two Marathi films and actors from that industry spoil you. Even artistes in small roles deliver terrific performances. That was my worry while getting into Bollywood, because I can’t deal with tantrums and entertain actors post pack-up. Thankfully, I found actors who were professional from the word go. I would meet my team only on the set. Both Kartik and Kriti are sharp performers and they know how to handle their roles well. And not once did any of them give me any trouble throughout the film.

Also, Kartik has worked in comedies like Pyar Ka Punchnama before. While trying to do something different with him, you’ve still kept him in the funny zone. Was that challenging?
This is a situational comedy where you don’t have to force yourself to be funny. No one is trying to be funny, it’s the situation and their reaction to it that’s inducing laughter. It’s more like a Hrishikesh Mukherjee film, which has subtle humour. I’ve played on the fact that Kartik has great comic timing and it comes naturally to him. Comedy is the toughest genre and Kartik is good at that.

MUMBAI MIRROR (February 26, 2019)

The director of Luka Chuppi, Laxman Utekar, who has worked as a DoP in several big films, including 102 Not Out, Dear Zindagi, English Vinglish and Hindi Medium, says he has learnt things from everyone he’s shot with. “When you work with Shah Rukh Khan, you learn decency. He is a thorough gentleman, knows how to talk to people and handle them,” he asserts, adding, “(Amitabh) Bachchan saab’s maturity and experience reflect in his behaviour too.”

Laxman, who has helmed Marathi films like Tapaal and Lalbaugchi Rani, makes his Hindi debut with Dinesh Vijan’s Luka Chuppi. He’s very impressed with his lead actors, Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon as well. “I hadn’t seen too much of their work before our reading session but I understood their sensibilities from the kind of questions they were asking and the nuances they would discuss. It made me happy. In our industry, you will find actors who are good looking but not good performers and vice versa,” he points out.

The romcom, set in Mathura, chronicles the story of a couple in a live-in relationship and how family dynamics come into play. Recently, filmmakers have focussed their lens on the hinterland and Laxman reasons that across the world, audience’s choices change every three years. “Right now, they want to see Indian culture and colour which was absent from the screen until Aanand L Rai’s Raanjhanaa,” he asserts. “After every 100 km we have a different dialect and culture in India. People want to see all that today. This trend will continue for three years, then, could change again.”