Chandan Roy Sanyal, Anand Tiwari and Akarsh Khurana to direct their first feature film

Having done supporting roles in movies like Chef, Jab Harry Met Sejal, F.A.L.T.U, D-Day and Kaminey and directed short films such as 35MM, Hiroshima and Azaad, Chandan Roy Sanyal will make his directorial debut on the screen with RSVP. An absurd comedy about a man trying to kill his father, it features Anshuman Jha and Tannishtha Chatterjee.

Love Per Square Foot, which debuted on February 14 on Netflix, is a quirky romantic comedy about a duo, played by Vicky Kaushal and Angira Dhar, who enters a marriage of convenience to buy a flat in the metropolis. Ratna Pathak Shah, Supriya Pathak and Raghuvir Yadav feature in prominent roles in the feature film, which is directed by Anand Tiwari.

On June 1, South star Dulquer Salmaan makes his Bollywood in Karwaan, a coming-of-age comedy, helmed by Akarsh Khurana, which also features Irrfan Khan, Kriti Kharbanda and Mithila Palkar.

Apart from these films being comedies, the common factor among them is that they are being helmed by first-time self-taught directors, who hail from theatre.

After Hrs finds out how their stage background has influenced their journey in films.

DONNING THE DIRECTOR’S HAT

For Chandan, wielding the director’s baton was a need to take up roles that he wanted to. He says that he had followed the same process during his theatre days when he directed plays such as Sakharam Binder, Ashad Ka Ek Din and Waiting for Godot under his banner Proscenium Productions. He says candidly, “When I was working in theatre, not much work was coming my way. So, I thought of directing my own plays.” Chandan adds, “After helming a few plays, I graduated to movies, did Kaminey and a few other films. But I felt I was not being utilised enough as an actor. So, I started writing for myself and thought of turning it into a feature film.”

He would observe the directors closely on the sets of his films. “I tried to understand how they designed a shot, edited and that’s how I picked up the nuances of filmmaking.” Terming RSVP as a devised piece, he explains, “British director Mike Leigh adapts the technique of hiring actors and giving them a character. They go out into the world, look for the right inspiration for their respective characters’ back stories and come back to Mike, who starts putting together a story. For RSVP, I followed the same process. Now, we have a script that’s  an absurd comedy.”

Anand, who has acted in several plays, including One on One, The President is Coming and featured in films such as Udaan, Kites, Aisha and Go, Goa Gone, admits that he wanted to direct for a long time. He says, “I’ve been acting in films and doing plays.  Throughout, I shadowed the directors I have worked with and picked up nuances from them, hoping that one day, I would get a chance to direct.”

He started this process by working as an assistant director on Barfi! and The President is Coming. “Gradually, I directed ad films as a freelancer and set up a company along with a friend to direct digital ads and corporate videos. Over the last four years, I’ve come full circle,” he adds.

Akarsh, who has spearheaded one of Mumbai’s leading theatre groups AKvarious Productions since the late ’90s and penned as well as directed many plays, has assisted his father Akash Khurana and writer Robin Bhatt on film scripts. Apart from working as an assistant director on Krrish, he has also written the script for Kites. Having directed a few web series, including Boy Giri and a telefilm Real FM, this year, he will make his foray into Bollywood with Karwaan and another small-budget comedy, which features Sumit Vyas, Kumud Mishra and RJ Mantra.

He describes Karwaan as a slice-of-life comedy which talks about finding purpose in life. “It’s a trip that the characters undertake from one place to another but there is also another emotional journey that they undertake while travelling with each other,” he says.

THEATRE AS A TRAINING GROUND

The trio admits that the stage has honed their directorial skills and taught them how to manage actors on sets. Anand says, “Cinema has a lot more technical and complicated processes. For me, it’s about bringing the discipline of stage rehearsals into films. As I’ve acted in plays and films, I knew what goes on in an actor’s mind. So, when I turned director, I knew how to make my cast comfortable before a scene.” For Akarsh, working with the text and staging scenes are his main learnings from the stage. He elaborates, “As a director, you need to focus on telling the story and ensuring that your actors do that well for you on screen. Also, having worked in theatre, I know how to block scenes (working out the details of an actor’s moves in relation to the camera).”  

Directing plays helped Chandan to understand the process of acting. “I saw how directors evolved a film and realised that most of it comes from the theatre. So, my first feature film is about my experience in theatre and even the actors are from the stage,” he signs off.