Sameer Sharma's 'filmi' soul

Imagine growing up with the very stars who have been your heroes on screen. Sameer Sharma, who debuted as a director with Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, had a similar upbringing as he has a film lineage. But rather than work in front of the camera, he decided at a young age to work behind the scenes and tell stories through his films.

“Hanging out on the sets was more of an education than attending classes at Mithibai college,” Sameer confesses and shares that the directors who paid a visit to his house were always his favourite as they had interesting stories to share. As his father was a hotelier, his first film also revolves around the food industry.

“I have drawn inspiration from real life experiences for the film as I have first-hand account of how tough and competitive the hospitality and food industry can be,” he says and adds, “Initially we wanted to make a Punjabi film. But when Anurag Kashyap came into the picture, things got bigger. I am happy that with Rs3 crore investment, we have been able to garner Rs7.5 crore.”

Talking about the takeaways from his debut film, he says, “Any film that has a heart and soul works as we Indians are emotional and getting connected to your audience is the most important thing,” and he adds, “The biggest learning was at the film screenings where I got live feedback from the audience which matters more to me than critics’ opinion.”

He is already working on scripts with Anurag Kashyap’s Jawani Janeman, Kunal Kapoor’s tentatively titled Aakhri Ghulam and Sumit Batheja’s Jugalbandi.