'Not a movie, a life experience': Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari discusses film on Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy, wife, author Sudha

Filmmaker Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari has been working to bring the story of real-life couple, Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy and author Sudha Murthy to the screen for months, and says it is not just a film but a life experience. Iyer Tiwari spent most of last year’s coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown penning the film, with Shreyas Jain, Piyush Gupta and filmmaker husband, director Nitesh Tiwari attached as co-writers. In an interview with PTI, Iyer Tiwari said getting familiar with the story of the Murthy’s has left a deep impact on her personally. “Working on the life story of Mr Narayan Murthy and Mrs Sudha Murthy has been a learning for life. Their story also makes you think about your priorities and what’s your purpose in life apart from the work you do. “It’s not a movie, It’s a life experience and I know deep in my heart this will be my most challenging and cherished film for life,” the director said. The team is currently in the finishing stages of writing the screenplay with an aim to start shooting soon. But before that, the director of acclaimed dramas like Nil Battey Sannata, Bareily Ki Barfi and Panga, would also deep dive into her OTT debut Faadu. Iyer Tiwari said she is “jamming on the screenplay” with writer Saumya Jjoshi for the SonyLIV Original, billed as an “intense love story.” The filmmaker will get into assembling her team and planning for the pre-production in May, waiting it out for the situation to become safe again for shooting, which is currently halted in Maharashtra due to the surge in COVID-19 cases. “We will be working from our homes, thanks to the internet and training in work from home this past year. Also, our learning from this pandemic is to keep doing your work and be ready to go on the floor when the time is right and everyone feels it’s a normal, bright day once again.” The pandemic crisis in the country has also pushed the launch of the filmmaker’s debut fiction novel, Mapping Love, that was due next month While Iyer Tiwari was eager to share the book and her joy with the world, the director wondered if there would be any happiness when “we see ourselves and our loved ones are not in a good space?” “How do you celebrate your happiness when a surprise treacherous virus has hit our lives. Hoping that everything will become alright and we will see brighter days than just normal days. “I would like to celebrate my debut launch as an author with everybody who loves to read, with my mother, my aunts and uncle, my friends and everyone who celebrate the process of creating all kind of art forms. Till then we pray for everyone and heal,” she added. On Thursday, the 41-year-old filmmaker completed five years of her feature directorial debut Nil Battey Sannata. Headlined by Swara Bhasker, the film set off Iyer Tiwari’’s Bollywood journey of chronicling stories of women from small-town fighting for their right to dream and love– as was seen even in her other two features Bareily Ki Barfi and Panga. The director said her biggest takeaway in these five years in the industry has been to not take any opportunity to create art for granted. It also made the director realise that filmmaking—which she described as an extension of her passion for storytelling—was not just one person’s medium. “The journey of movies or any form of medium of telling stories is a long one for creators where everything has to sync in — from the script to actors coming on board to production, marketing, distribution, and an audience reaction. “It’s a cumulative effort of a chain of humans like a relay race who believe in the one idea that you have and make it happen with diligence,” she added. .