Ahmedabad is my karmabhoomi and I want to do my bit for Dhollywood: Manish Saini

In 2002, a young boy from Haryana came to Ahmedabad to study. And by the time he completed his graduation from the

NID

in 2009, Manish Saini, like so many others before him, had fallen in love with the city. So much so, that he felt the need to give something back to Gujarat and its people. So, he wrote a film in 2011 and approached a number of producers, only to be told that he was too young to helm it. Not the one to give up, Manish believed in his dreams and in 2016, he reworked on the script, before getting started with it. His perseverance has paid off, and how! Not only did

Dhh

win the National Award for the best

Gujarati film

earlier this year, it also did India proud at some prestigious international film festivals. Manish, who has been busy promoting the film, spoke to us about his journey so far. Excerpts:

How tough was it to cope with the phase when you failed to find a producer?
When I wrote the first draft in 2011, I was pretty young. I approached a few producers and I was asked to sell the script. They felt that I was too young to direct a film and so, they wanted someone more experienced to helm it. One of them even said, ‘Let us shoot a few scenes abroad. Switzerland mein shoot karte hai, subsidy mil jayegi!’ But that wouldn’t have worked for this film, as we were showing the story of a small town. Also, I was very clear in my mind that I wanted to direct it. I had gone to watch a magic show in Ahmedabad and the way three kids, who were seated next to me, reacted to the magician’s tricks gave birth to the idea of this film. Childhood, as a subject, has always fascinated me and even my diploma film at NID was about the story of a brother sister duo. I was very passionate about the story because all the characters are based on what I have seen around me in Ahmedabad. So, I wasn’t sure if another filmmaker could feel the film in the same manner, or feel as involved with the story. That phase wasn’t easy, but I didn’t give up hope. In 2016, we reworked on the script because I felt that it was becoming too serious. We wanted to make a light-hearted film. I also thought of about 40 titles, but nothing seemed to click. One day, while going for chai with my wife (Amruta Parande), I told her that I wasn’t getting a good title that would do justice to the film. She was like, ‘Haan yaar, kuch Dhh jaisa hona chahiye.’ I immediately stopped my scooter and told her, ‘Aaj do chai pilaunga tujhe!’ She is the creative producer of the film and her involvement with this dream project of mine has been a huge source of strength.
How was it to work with Naseeruddin Shah?
I am a huge fan of his work and he was my first choice for the role. We needed someone to play the larger than life character with conviction and who better than Naseeruddin Shah to do it? He is a very flexible actor and a delight to work with. He learnt a few magic tricks also from Atul Patil (magic director) and all those shots were okayed in the first take. 90% of my crew consisted of newcomers and even two of the child actors (Kuldeep Singh Sodha and Kahaan Babariya) were complete newcomers. I would go to schools at 6 am and spend hours there, requesting the teachers and the principal that I wanted to audition a few kids. With so many newcomers around, there was a very positive energy on the sets. We have worked very hard for this film and it felt fantastic when it was appreciated at international film festivals and won the National Award.
So what next? And your thoughts on the future of Gujarati cinema?
I am ready with my next script and that story is based in Ahmedabad. This city is my karmabhoomi and I want to do my bit for Gujarati cinema. This is a very happening phase for the Gujarati film industry and the best part is that all kinds of films are being made, be it remakes, serious subjects or comedies. All kinds of movies need to be made. If you look at the history of Hindi cinema, alongside commercial films, there have been filmmakers like Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee, who have given us some unforgettable films.