New Delhi: Director Sandeep Mohan has been working with the TV industry since some years. Now he has come up with his first independent film 'Love Wrinkle Free' with Ash Chandler, Seema Rahmani and Shernaz Patel in the lead roles. The storyteller talks about his journey and future endeavours.
Q: 'Love Wrinkle Free' is about a middle aged couple in love. Any particular reason behind choosing this subject?
A: It was one thing that excited me as a writer. Whenever I got the chance to roam around in different cities, I found people dealing with the whole concept of looking good. Newspaper headlines saying 40 is new thirty and all, so, I wanted to understand this trend because I am also in my mid thirties. How does one come to terms with the idea of getting old? I didn't have any answers to these questions, so I wrote a script to get clear about such questions.
Q: Is this your own story?
A: It's not my story, but I am also a part of this society where you are forced to look in a particular way. When I sit inside a pub or cafe, I found people feeling very uncomfortable about their bodies. In fact, when you look at families, you'll feel the pressure of retaining their youth, so, it all made me go for a comedy. Everything was so dark that it couldn't get darker, thus I thought of presenting things in a light hearted way.
Q: Your film says that it's about love beyond the cosmetic barriers. Can you elaborate a little about it?
A: In any kind of relationships, we are getting older. Does love stand a chance in such kind of a situation? Advertisements by the cosmetic companies play havoc in our minds; they suggest if you are going to have wrinkles then your wife will stop loving you, young daughter starts to think that she is not good enough to be loved by her parents. A lot of other issues are put in our minds by the cosmetic companies where we start doubting the concept of real love.
Q: Goa plays the backdrop in 'Love Wrinkle Free'.
A: I don't belong to Mumbai, I am from Trivandrum. It's been more than ten years in Mumbai, but I hang around more in Goa than Mumbai. I have a lot of dark stories about Mumbai but 'Love Wrinkle Free' was dark enough, and I wanted a celebratory kind of mood for my film. I knew Goa and mine was a low budget film, so Goa did fit in my scheme of things. A lot of odd communication is happening, in fact much more so in Goa. A 50 year guy is marrying a 30 year old girl, or a foreigner marrying an Indian girl, it is happening in almost every major city.
Q: Normally Indian films don't feature wives who are older than their husbands.
A: The idea was to make a character that is motherly towards her husband. The film talks about three generations, one teenager, one husband in his thirties, and one wife who is in her forties.
Q: How was Ash Chandler to work with?
A: (Laughs) Ash was a revelation because I had particular image of Ash Chandler like everybody else, but he is a very different guy. He is a very passionate person who loves talking. He said he will put on weight and kind of convinced me. Initially, I wanted to cast him in a different role but he kept talking about the lead actor's role till I offered him Savio's role. On the other hand, Seema was extremely natural. She is intelligent and well travelled actress.
Q: How long did it take you to shoot 'Love Wrinkle Free'?
A: We shot the entire film in 22 days. That was extremely challenging. We were shooting in Goa without speculating about the rain and it happened, so I started shooting in the rain only, thinking I would use it in the film. Completing eight or nine scenes everyday was a difficult task.
Q: You have worked in the TV industry for long. Did it influence your fimmaking style?
A: My first stint in Mumbai was of one and half year when I was an assistant to Sanjay Leela Bhansali on 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', then I got a bit tired up and joined advertising in Bangalore. I again returned to Mumbai and started writing for TV. I conceptualised and wrote fiction and reality shows. If you have a goal, things happen here.
Q: As per a prominent newspaper, you are working with Hrithik Roshan in your next film.
A: That news was funny. I never said anything like that. I don't have any idea how I ended there. They just asked me about my favourite actors.
Q: What are working on then?
A: I am working with the same team again. The shooting will start in December. Currently, I am working on the second draft. The film will be shot in Dharamshala.
####
Comments
0 comment