After Mumbai leg was called off due to pandemic, Sobhita Dhulipala to resume Sitara shoot in November
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; September 11, 2020)

Only weeks after she had stepped into the make-believe universe of Sitara, Sobhita Dhulipala had to reel herself back to reality as the Mumbai shoot was called off due to the Coronavirus-induced lockdown. Now, producer Ronnie Screwvala has intimated the team that they will resume work in November. It is heard that an extensive month-long schedule in Kerala is on the cards.

Dhulipala, who has been itching to return to work, believes the dysfunctional family drama will introduce Bollywood to a unique voice in the form of director Vandana Kataria. "A film like Sitara is a small step towards a larger newness in Indian cinema. As we go back to shoot in November, we return as a team that is stronger in mind, body and spirit," says the actor.

Kataria, who has previously worked as a production designer on several feature films, says the movie — through the romance of a feisty interior designer and an aspiring chef, and the story of a fractured family — views interpersonal relationships through the lens of humour. "The story shows elements that all modern-day families experience, but are reluctant to confront," she says of the RSVP production that is set to have a direct-to-web release early next year.

Team considering plan B now
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 7, 2020)

With novel coronavirus claiming many lives in China, the Indian government is taking strict measures to avoid an epidemic here, airlifting citizens from Wuhan in batches and putting them in quarantine upon landing. In an attempt to avoid the virus, Bollywood, too, is making changes in its shooting schedules. Mirror has learnt that Ronnie Screwvala’s film, Sitara, was to roll in Kerala from February 12. But the plan now stands cancelled after the Kerala government declared the outbreak as a ‘state calamity’.

Director Vandana Kataria confirmed the news, stating, “Health comes first, so the schedule has been slightly delayed for now. We had been in and out of Kerala for our technical recce and were supposed to return in two days. My art design crew was already there from January 30 but flew back on Wednesday. Thankfully, everyone is fine.”

She adds that they are now waiting to see how things pan out. “Meanwhile, we have a plan B in place and are working towards that,” Vandana informs.

The film features Sobhita Dhulipala as Tara, a feisty, independent girl who recognises a flaw and sets out to redeem herself. In this process she pushes her family into confronting their own demons and forgiving each other. 

Amid Dr Payal Tadvi’s suicide sparking discussion around bullying, Kunal on why his upcoming social drama is relevant
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; June 25, 2019)

“In our films, schools and colleges are sanitised and presented in a perfect manner. This film shows them the way they are — imperfect,” begins Kunal Kapoor, whose next, Noblemen, tackles the issue of bullying through the narrative of a 15-year-old protagonist.

The recent suicide of postgraduate medical student Dr Payal Tadvi has sparked nationwide discussion on bullying and its emotional impact on the victims. Considering the wide reach that cinema enjoys, the actor argues that films should shine a spotlight on such social ills, thereby spreading awareness. “A good film is one which not only engages you, but also forces you to question things. The issue of bullying has not been addressed enough; there is an urgent need to do something about it. While our film [deals with bullying] in a school, that is just the microcosm of what happens in our society. [It also happens] at colleges, workplaces, and even our homes.”

The actor, who plays a drama teacher in the Vandana Kataria-directed vehicle, says he drew references from his personal life to perfect the act. “I [was inspired by] my English literature teacher; she had an unorthodox way of teaching.”

Bullying costs a life
Dr Payal Tadvi, a medical student attached to BYL Nair Hospital in Mumbai, committed suicide on May 22. Her family alleged that three of her seniors — Dr Hema Ahuja, Dr Bhakti Mehare and Dr Ankita Khandelwal — used to rag her and hurl casteist abuses at her, leading to her death. The three senior doctors were arrested soon after. Yesterday, a special court judge PB Jadhav rejected their bail applications.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 28, 2019)

Model-turned-actress Sobhita Dhulipala who had made her Bollywood debut with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vicky Kaushal in Anurag Kashyap’s 2016 thriller Raman Raghav 2.0, will next be seen in Sitara. The slice-of-life film is produced by Ronnie Screwvala.

“Sobhita will play Tara, a feisty, independent girl who recognises a flaw and sets out to redeem herself. In this process she pushes her family into confronting their own demons and forgiving each other. She fell in love with the story the minute she heard it and instantly agreed to be a part of the film,” informs a source close to the development.

The film will be helmed by Vandana Kataria who made her directorial debut with Noblemen, featuring Kunal Kapoor and Ali Haji. Vandana has also assisted Zoya Akhtar on the Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt’s musical drama Gully Boy, besides working as a production designer on films like Dibakar Banerjee’s Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy.

“Vandana has co-written the film with Sonia Bahl. Hussain Dalal known for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Baaghi 2, has penned the dialogue for this one too. Sitara, which is set in Kerala goes on the floors in the next three months,” the source signs off. 

Actor plays drama teacher in a film that tackles the issues of adolescence at a boarding school
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 24, 2018)

After Gauri Shinde’s Alia Bhatt-starrer Dear Zindagi and the Malayalam film Veeram, Kunal Kapoor will be seen in debutant director Vandana Kataria’s Noblemen. The story is set in a posh boarding school and revolves around issues of adolescence, coming-of-age and most importantly, bullying among youngsters. It features the actor in the role of a teacher.

A source from the film reveals, “It is an adaptation of the famous Shakespeare play The Merchant Of Venice. Kunal plays the pivotal role of a drama teacher who introduces the kids to the bard’s work. The teacher has a slightly mysterious past and is someone who wants to bring about a change in the education system with new and sometimes radical ideas on how children should be taught.” The film has been shot completely in Mussoorie.

“This is a film I’m very proud to be associated with. Both my director and the script are unique and have something important to say. What drew me to this script was the fact that it touches upon themes that few films have had the courage to address. And after doing a version of Macbeth in Veeram, it also gave me a chance to dive into another Shakespearean classic,” the actor said.

Meanwhile Vandana, who was in boarding school as a kid, explains why she felt the need to make a film on bullying. “It is a social menace that society is slowly but surely acknowledging and insisting that it is not acceptable at all. Noblemen gives us a glimpse inside the bully’s mind. Having studied and lived in a boarding school, I know how important it is to want to fit in and how easy it is for bullying to flourish. This film is a dramatic representation of that world, its issues as well as adolescence and the loss of innocence,” she signed off.

MUMBAI MIRROR (February 7, 2018)

Entrepreneur and media mogul Ronnie Screwvala, in his first avatar at UTV, backed many first-time directors and pushed the established ones out of their comfort zone to build India’s largest movie studio back then.

RSVP, his new avatar at the movies, is following in the same footsteps if the line-up of debutant directors signed up with them is anything to go by. Diverse and creative talent with strong scripts is the formula for movie going audiences today and RSVP seems ready to disrupt this space again.

“We want RSVP to stand for three kinds of storytelling — stories that must be told, stories that we would love to tell and stories that everyone goes to the movies for. Along with some other exceptional talent we are very proud to associate with some promising debutante directors and writers who see the narrative as we do,” says Screwvala.



THE SEVEN FILMMAKERS

Anand Tiwari
With vast experience in the world of films, advertising and theatre, Anand makes his directorial debut with RSVP’s Love Per Square Foot, featuring Vicky Kaushal and Angira Dhar. It premieres this Valentine’s Day across 190 countries on OTT platforms.

Akarsh Khurana
Akarsh has been a part of theatre for over 15 years and has written screenplays for Anurag Basu and Rakesh Roshan. His directorial debut — RSVP’s Karwaan featuring Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan and Mithila Palkar — releases in theaters worldwide on June 1.

Sneha Taurani
After working as an assistant director with Ayan Mukerji, Milan Luthria, Mohit Suri and others, Sneha, daughter of Tips Music founder Ramesh Taurani, is all set to make her debut as a director with RSVP’s Dance Franchise — the first of which will be a Bhangra film written by award-winning Punjabi writer Dheeraj Rattan.

Aditya Dhar
Aditya has served as an assistant to Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rohan Sippy, Priyadarshan and Vishal Bhardwaj. He has also written story, screenplay and dialogues for the National Awardwinning Short film Boond and lyrics for Kabul Express. RSVP’s URI, which revolves around the landmark moment of 2016 in India’s military history featuring Vicky Kaushal, marks his directorial debut.

Vandana Kataria
Vandana won a FilmFare Award as Production Designer for Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, was selected and participated in the Berinale Talent Campus 2016, and is currently working on Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy. RSVP’s Tara Ki Shaadi, a heart-warming but brutally honest tale about Tara and set around her wedding plans will be Vandana’s first feature film as writer and director.

Amit Joshi
After moving to Mumbai from Nanital four years ago, Amit wrote the highly acclaimed film, Trapped, which recently got nominated for Best original story and Best Screenplay at the Filmfare awards. Amit now makes his directorial debut at RSVP with a comic-adventure about two buddies who embark on a crazy ride.

Vasan Bala
Vasan is an award-winning ad filmmaker, who assisted Anurag Kashyap for a decade, was an associate on Michael Winterbottom’s Trishna and co-wrote The Lunchbox. His first film Peddlers (2012) competed for the Camera D’or at Cannes. He now directs RSVP’s Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota.

In addition to the debutants, RSVP also has some of the industry’s top directors, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, Anurag Kashyap and Karan Johar making four short stories on Love And Lust. Then, there’s Abhishek Chaubey directing Sonchiriya, Meghna Gulzar’s next after Raazi — a biopic on Field Marshall Sam Maneckshaw, Hansal Mehta’s biopic on Ram Jethmalani and veteran Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s kabaddi film for RSVP. Shashank Ghosh (of Khubsoorat and Veere di Wedding fame), Amit Masurkar (Newton), Konkona Sen Sharma (A Death In The Gunj), Anu Menon (Waiting) and Sankalp Reddy (The Ghazi Attack) sum up what promises to be the most exciting slate to come out of a production house in the next couple of years.