‘Making A Film Is Like Going To War’

‘I
promise
you,
you’ve
never
seen
her
do
anything
like
this.’
‘It
is
a
complete
reinvention
of
Janhvi
Kapoor.’

Few
directors
have
carved
a
distinctive
journey
as

Sudhanshu
Saria.

After
working
in
the
US
for
13
years,
he
made
his
debut
with
the
queer
drama,

Loev
in
2015.

The
Darjeeling-born
film-maker
has
always
been
fascinated
with
cinema
and
credits
Bollywood
as
his
fodder
during
his
formative
years.

He
continued
to
make
self-funded
shorts
and
features
that
won
him
a
National
Film
Award
in
2021
for
his
short
film,

Knock
Knock
Knock.

Saria
may
have
marked
a
new
phase
in
his
career
with

Ulajh,
headlined
by
Janhvi
Kapoor.

“For
me,
getting
a
chance
to
make
a
film
is
a
rare
privilege,”
Sudhanshu
Saria
tells

Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.com.

At

Uljah‘s

song
launch
event,
you
said
you
were
against
the
idea
of
putting
out
any
promotional
material
for
the
film,
even
the
trailer.
Why
so?

We
care
deeply
about
the
audience’s
experience.

Once
I
decide
to
watch
a
certain
film,
I
don’t
see
anything
(related
to
that).
But
it
takes
a
little
bit
of
work
for
the
person
to
decide
that
I
want
to
see
this
film.

Sometime
that
happens
because
of
a
teaser.

Sometime
that
happens
because
of
a
poster.

Sometime
that
happens
because
of
an
interview.

Sometime
that
happens
months
after
a
film
has
released.

So
marketing
and
getting
the
film
out
there
is
very
important
because
you
want
more
and
more
people
to
try
and
sample
the
film.
I
understand
the
value
of
it.

But
I
am
trying
to
protect
the
audience
experience
where
I
know
they
will
have
the
most
fun
if
they
go
in
with
no
preconceived
notions.

As
an
audience,
I
get
very
disappointed
when
I
see
a
trailer
where
I
feel
like
I
have
seen
everything.

Nobody
can
say
that
about
our
film.

When
the
first
poster
of

Ulajh
came
out,
it
had
Sachin
Khedekar
as
a
part
of
the
main
cast.
I
don’t
see
his
name
in
the
cast
list
anymore.

Yaar,
it’s
my
loss
only.

We
were
very
excited
about
Sachin.
We
were
doing
the
prep
and
I
was
so
excited
that
he
said
yes.

When
we
came
back
from
the
London
shoot,
we
were
supposed
to
shoot
Sachin’s
bits.

I
don’t
know
if
you
remember
last
year
there
were
torrential
rainfalls
and
floods
in
Delhi.
It
was
impossible
to
shoot
anywhere.

Our
schedule
shifted
and
we
were
not
able
to
get
Sachin’s
dates
as
he
had
other
commitments.

I
really
tried
but
when
it
didn’t
happen,
we
had
to
accommodate,
adjust
and
move
on.

I’ll
work
with
him
again,
I’m
very
sure
of
it.

You
like
to
write
your
material.
How
did
you
conceptualise
this
story?

The
script
was
written
by
Parveez
Shaikh.
He
is
one
of
our
best
writers
in
our
industry,
whether
it
comes
to

Bajrangi
Bhaijaan
or

Queen
or

Darlings.

I
received
a
very
engaging
page-turner.
I
had
certain
things
I
wanted
to
do
to
it,
to
make
it
a
film
that
I
was
interested
in
directing.

Not
just
Parvez
and
me,
but
I
also
brought
in
Atika
Chohan
(Chhapaak,

Margarita
With
A
Straw)
on
board
to
do
the
dialogues.

I
felt
it
was
very
important
to
have
a
female
perspective
in
the
creation
process.

Did
you
have
any
actor
in
mind
by
this
time?

By
the
time
we
started
casting,
this
world
was
real
to
me.

For
me,
Suhana
Bhatia
was
a
real
person
and
the
idea
of
someone
playing
her
would
alter
her.
So
initially,
I
was
struggling
with
that.

I
don’t
keep
anyone
in
mind
when
I
am
writing.

We
decided
to
re-write
the
second
version
by
the
casting
decision.

What
made
you
think
that
Janhvi
Kapoor
would
pull
off
this
role?

That
decision
was
taken
by
Janhvi.

Once
she
knew
this
film
was
in
the
making,
she
just
charged
at
it.
She
came
after
us
with
great
passion
that
she
wanted
to
do
this.

What
I
found
in
her
was
a
very
intelligent,
insightful,
passionate,
confident
and
clear
headed
partner.

You
know,
making
any
film
is
like
going
to
war.

You
want
to
embark
on
that
journey
with
a
partner,
someone
who’s
not
going
to
back
off
when
things
get
tough.
That
quality
of
hers
was
very
exciting
to
me.

Beyond
that,
I
feel
like
she
has
crafted
a
very
interesting
career
for
herself
at
such
a
young
age.
The
fact
that
she
was
willing
to
put
everything
on
the
line
and
go
after

Ulajh
also
says
something
about
who
she
is.

She
has
the
option
of
doing
all
kinds
of
films
but

Ulajh
is
what
she
comes
for.
These
kinds
of
choices
reveal
a
lot
about
the
person.

I
was
very
keen
and
excited
that
if
we
are
going
to
work
together,
as
I
am
with
any
actor,
we
are
going
to
deliver
for
the
audience
a
completely
different
version
of
that
actor.

I
promise
you,
you’ve
never
seen
her
do
anything
like
this.
It
is
a
complete
reinvention
of
Janhvi
Kapoor
and
it’s
going
to
take
everybody
by
surprise.

Ulajh
marks
your
transition
from
small
indie
features
to
mainstream
cinema.
How
difficult
was
to
land
such
an
opportunity?

For
me,
getting
a
chance
to
make
a
film
is
a
rare
privilege.

I
have
been
working
in
the
industry
for
22
years
in
different
capacities.

My
first
film

Loev
went
into
production
10
years
ago.
That
was
a
huge
critical
success,
and
traveled
round
the
world.

It
was
one
of
the
first
films
acquired
by
Netflix
for
a
global
release.
This
is
before
Netflix
India
even
had
an
office.

From
there,
I
had
access
to
many
opportunities
but
I
chose
to
make
a
film
called

Knock
Knock
Knock,
which
won
me
my
National
Award.

Again,
it
was
celebrated
critically,
went
to
a
bunch
of
festivals,
and
released
internationally.

In
these
past
few
years,
I’ve
tried
to
pick
different
things
that
challenge
who
I
am
and
shape
my
voice.

I
made

Sanaa
with
Radhikka
Madan,
Pooja
Bhatt
and
Shikha
Talsania
We
will
work
on
the
release
right
after

Ulajh.

Big
Girls
Don’t
Cry
is
a
show
for
Amazon
Prime
that
we
put
out
earlier
in
the
year.
It
has
a
phenomenal
star
cast,
as
we
launched
nine
girls.
But
it
also
had
actors
like
Raima
Sen
and
Pooja
Bhatt.

I’m
on
a
journey
of
reinvention.
As
long
as
I’m
not
repeating
myself,
I’m
good.

When
you
sign
a
film,
you
don’t
know
what
the
budget
or
cast
is.
With

Ulajh,
we
took
the
script,
worked
on
it
and
got
it
here.

The
ambition
of
casting
and
budget
was
driven
by
the
material.

Once
this
film
is
done,
I’m
not
sure
which
way
I’m
going
to
go,
what
kind
of
project
I’ll
pick.

I
might
do
something
in
LA
or
make
a
short
or
an
independent
film
or
even
sign
up
with
a
studio
feature
with
a
traditional
setup.

For
me,
the
only
thing
that
matters
is
if
the
material
will
make
a
difference.
If
there
is
potential
in
this
material
for
me
to
do
something
unique
with
that
no
other
filmmaker
can
do.

If
those
two
boxes
are
being
checked,
maybe
the
third
box
is,
do
I
know
how
to
make
the
film?

If
the
answer
is
no,
I
don’t
know
how
to
make
this
film,
that
makes
it
very
exciting
for
me.

Before

Ulajh,
you
produced
your
films.
Was
it
because
of
a
lack
of
backing?

No.
It
is
about
where
the
material
is
generated
from.

Ulajh
was
a
script
that
Junglee
Pictures
had,
so
I
was
signed
on
to
direct
and
write
it.

When
the
material
comes
from
me,
I
would
like
to
produce
it
because
it
gives
me
greater
control
over
the
process.

There
is
no
doubt
that
the
backing
of
Junglee
Pictures
has
made
a
hundred
things
easy.

The
way
that
the
film
is
being
released.

The
way
it
is
being
put
out.

The
kind
of
media
partners
it
has.

The
kind
of
scale
it
has.

Even
for
an
actor
like
Janhvi,
I
might
be
good
for
her,
the
material
might
be
good
for
her,
but
if
there
is
the
backing
of
a
certain
kind
of
production
house,
she
would
perhaps
feel
comfortable
saying,
let’s
do
this
film.

How
did
you
develop
your
passion
for
cinema
and
film-making?

Growing
up
in
Darjeeling,
I
was
a
big
film
buff.

I
remember
watching

Dilwale
Dulhania
Le
Jayenge,

Hum
Aapke
Hain
Koun..!,

Hum
Dil
De
Chuke
Sanam,

Gupt,

Baazigar,
in
single
screen
theatres.

I
was
the
kid
sitting
on
a
train
station
platform
reading

Filmfare
and
other
movie
magazines.
But
never
did
I
imagine
I
would
be
making
films.

That
happened
when
I
went
to
the
US
for
college.

I
encountered
some
kids
studying
cinema
and
I
understood
that
you
can
study
this.

That
kick-started
my
education
into
the
field
and
my
career
into
the
business.

I
worked
in
New
York
and
LA
for
about
13
years.
Then
I
transitioned
to
making
my
own
films,
which
began
with

Loev.

Was
mainstream
Bollywood
always
the
ambition?

The
agenda
never
has
been
I
need
to
penetrate
mainstream
Hindi
cinema.
I
don’t
think
like
that.

The
audiences
have
really
transformed
this
idea
of
mainstream
Hindi
cinema
into
a
much
more
accommodating,
diverse
space.

Nowadays,
it
is
an
asset
to
do
something
which
is
not
traditional
Hindi
cinema.

It
has
become
more
difficult
to
get
audiences
back
to
movie
theatres.
How
do
you
look
at
this
challenge?

It’s
a
healthy
pressure.

It
should
exist
so
that
we
can
put
our
best
foot
forward.

The
reason
why
it’s
tough
to
get
audiences
back
to
theatres
is
because
we
have
largely
disappointed
them
when
they
have
come
to
theatres.

When
we
make
things
that
are
average,
we
over-market
it
and
fool
people
into
sampling
it.
They
get
disappointed
and
will
be
more
reluctant.

There
has
been
a
market
correction
in
the
last
two
three
years
for
the
better,
where
people
have
become
more
cautious,
more
careful.
That’s
a
good
thing.