In 2012, Gauri Shinde hit the box office jackpot with her first film “English Vinglish”, a portrait of a housewife who learns English and regains her confidence. And her upcoming second film, “Dear Zindagi” has two of India’s biggest stars as leads (Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt) and is one of the most anticipated movies of the year.
Shinde says she feels no pressure to live up to expectations, but admits that when the film releases on November 25, there will be a knot in her stomach. She spoke to Reuters about the message she wants to convey with “Dear Zindagi”, why it took four years before the release of her second film, and why she doesn’t like being praised.
Q: Your first film came from a personal space. Is “Dear Zindagi” personal too?
A: I think every film is personal, even if it is a horror film. Voluntary or involuntary, whatever your thoughts are, seeps into your films. I remember the day I thought of this film – 2014, in New York. I remember the exact moment. I was so excited I called my best friend, I called my husband and said: “This is it!”
Q: What was the trigger?
A: I don’t know. I was just crossing a street and it hit me. It was the same thing with “English Vinglish”. I was walking, again in New York, and the idea came to me. Maybe you’ve gone to Washington Square Park the previous day, you’ve had a coffee, you’ve watched people passing by, and something just clicks.
Q: It’s been four years since your first film was a runaway success. Do you feel the pressure for your second film?
A: The pressure has nothing to do with “English Vinglish.” Other people say that and then they project the pressure on to you. I didn’t even feel the pressure to make my second film immediately. Everyone tells you, “Your first film is successful; you must make a second one soon.” I didn’t care. I felt that a film is worth making only if it is a good idea that is worth investing two years of your life in. I am not going to do it for a random story idea. I want to express myself in my own way and my own time. Yes, it may have taken more time, but no regrets.
Q: So you might have never made another film if it wasn’t worth it?
A: It was the love for “English Vinglish” that made me want to make another film. Throughout the making of that film, I kept thinking that this was too much hard work. Ye bas ho gaya (This is enough). But after the screening at the Toronto Film Festival, a woman came up to me, hugged me, and said, ”Thank you for making this film.” I remember thinking then, that this feels unreal. If this is the effect a film can have on someone, I should make another one.
Q: Is it the praise?
A: No, not really. It was just that if I could have an impact on people through work, and it was a positive impact, why shouldn’t I do more of it? In fact, I run away from praise. I don’t like it at all. It must be some block (Laughs). It’s nice to hear one-on-one, maybe, but to be caught in a street and praised for your work, I just balk. I wonder if they are saying it just because they have to, not because they really mean it.
Q: What impact would you like “Dear Zindagi” to have in people’s lives?
A: Just that…. (long pause) that it is OK to ask for help. We hesitate to do that. As Indians we reach out more than other cultures. But now we are becoming far more distant and insular, and in the cities especially. We feel that it is beneath us to ask for help. People would like to help you.
Q: We are also a country that loves to sweep things under the carpet and say “sab theek ho jayega” too.
A: (Emphatically) Yes! With this film I want to bring things out from under that carpet. Let’s clean that carpet and dust it and put it away.
Q: We’ve had personalities like Karan Johar and Deepika Padukone talking about asking for help and their struggle with loneliness and depression. Do you think as an industry we are now OK with talking about this a lot more than we were before?
A: Yeah. At least it has become a topic. Deepika was brave enough to say it despite being a huge star. It could have gone any way. This is exactly what I am trying to say – that it is fine to talk about this. And when you talk about it, someone else will say this has happened to me too.
Q: Can you talk about the casting? Did you always have Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt in mind?
A: When I am writing, there is no one in mind. But towards the end, I knew it had to be Shah Rukh Khan. It had to be him. I was crossing my fingers and hoping he’d say yes. I’d have been devastated if he’d have said no. Thankfully, I have never had to consider the ‘what if’ scenario.
Q: Did the fact that you have a Pakistani actor (Ali Zafar) in your film cause you sleepless nights?
A: That’s all in the past now. Poor Karan Johar has solved it for us. But in those days, I couldn’t do anything. I just had to sit and fret. I just focused on my work.
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