 "'Audiences have evolved and are ready for more mature, better content': Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa on Gehraiyaan")
Gehraiyaan is an intense ride through the complexity of relationships – romantic and otherwise. Making the film, however, was a blast for Deepika Padukone, Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Dhairya Karwa, and the director Shakun Batra. In this interview, they open up on how Ananya’s family reacted to the film, Siddhant’s learning experience, Dhairya’s journey, and how Shakun is absorbing all the love and appreciation the trailer has got. Read the transcript of the interview here. Shakun, how did you imagine the world of Gehraiyaan? What made you work on the complex side of love, romance, and intimacy? I have always been interested in zooming out from the kind of love stories we’ve seen so far. It often gets oversimplified and romanticised but as I’ve grown older, I’ve realised that there’s more to it – things can get messy and I wanted to explore the complex side of love. Ananya and Dhairya, how does it feel like being part of a film which almost everyone can’t wait to watch? Dhairya: It checks all boxes, and I am grateful to be a part of the film and work with great actors. I game elevated with them. I am excited. Ananya: I could relate to the script and the character. It was complex, chaotic, and messy, and that is what made it relatable. As a budding actor, it’s my fourth film, it was so challenging but exciting to play Tia, which is one of the most layered characters I’ve played. Ananya, when you were offered the role of Tia, you spent like some 20 minutes in the restroom. Why? Shakun: I like how everyone talks about the 20 minutes in the restroom and no one asks me what I was doing sitting in the living area. (Laughs) Ananya: It’s a heavy film. I was just overwhelmed and it took some time to settle in as the script was not something that would have given me the exact guideline to play Tia, but I had to come up with my opinion. It was a yes for me before I heard the script. Dhairya, how was it for you? There were many rounds of auditions. I went well prepared for it – I watched Shakun’s films, watched all his interviews to understand what he likes and what he doesn’t. From the first round itself – it just felt right and I had a good feeling about the film. I hope this will open more doors for me.
Ananya, you are just 23? It’s not easy to play such a layered and complex character. How was it working on it and how did you prepare yourself to play Tia? Would you agree that Tia in Gehraiyaan is the most layered character you have played so far? Thank you. Tia is very similar to how I am as a person. Shakun noticed that and it helped me. I had to dive deep into the emotions that I might have felt superficially but I had put myself in Tia’s shoes to bring out the character. Shakun and his workshops helped a lot. One of the best parts about Shakun is that he is not tied down to his script or dialogues – He let us do things and explore characters in the most natural way. We laugh that he asks for many takes, but that actually helped us. Ananya, did your parents watch the film? What was their reaction? My mother always read my scripts but when she saw the film, she was surprised and said that it was a completely new film from what she read. My dad was blown away. Dhairya, you’ve given us some brilliant performances in Uri, Made in Heaven, and 83. How has Gehriyaan been different for you? Would you call it your launch film, like Karan mentioned? In a way, yes and it’s a continuation of my journey. I am growing in my career and Gehraiyaan has given me more responsibility and a chance to show my skills and talent. It’s been a continuous growing journey and I am fortunate to be getting that. I will keep working hard. There was an intimacy director during the shoots and that’s a thing we are hearing probably for the first time. How did that happen and what does it actually mean? People think just because there’s an intimacy director, there will be an insane amount of intimate scenes – that’s not true. The idea is to normalise it and make it a natural part of filmmaking. I was reading a lot about it and how it is done in the West and I felt we should reform the way we work. Dar came on board and helped the actors to become more comfortable. I hope in a few years, intimacy directors can become as normal as a choreographer, action directors. You want to create a safer and secure space for the actors. Shakun, you’ve given us some good films – be it Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu or Kapoor & Sons. How do you look back at your journey? My journey as a director has been short. I have just started. I have made three films, taken long breaks but I have no regrets. I am exploring new scripts, reading. I have started to get hang of my craft. It’s too early in my career to evaluate my journey. I am looking at growth and learning new things. I have had the best people around me.
