'It’s a new kind of an experiment in a way': Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor shares his experience of producing and acting in Thar

After wowing the audiences with his performance in the critically-acclaimed web series, Ray, Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor is back on OTT with a new offering. Titled Thar, the movie, bankrolled by Anil Kapoor Film Company, stars Harsh Varrdhan and Anil Kapoor and is directed by Raj Singh Chaudhary. Raj has also written the film, which is a revenge noir thriller, and penned the dialogues with Anurag Kashyap. The movie will stream from May 6 on an digital platform. In conversation with The Free Press Journal, Harsh Varrdhan opens up about the film, and more. Excerpts:

Tell us a bit about the movie.

The film is a western noir set in the deserts of Rajasthan. The desert is a mirage and somewhere people are like that too. The closer you move, you notice people are not what they appear to be from a distance. Layers unravel when you get to know them. It’s a new kind of an experiment in a way. The idea is to try something progressive. We want the viewers to decide for themselves about the characters and not underline or spoon-feed them by clearly outlining who is good or bad. We have a very progressive and diverse audience and it’s time that they are given content that is still within the construct of the mainstream but they get to use their perspective when they look at things. They can decide how they feel.

You are acting and also donning the producer’s hat for the film. How did you manage to pull off both?

A production house has different departments and there are people in charge of different aspects. Like in our company we have Udhyan Bhatt, who’s the CEO and handles daily affairs. That’s not my job. My job was to protect Raj’s vision and make sure that his vision was not watered down by external influences for whatever reasons. He has been an actor for a long time and has written several screenplays. He is from Rajasthan and his vision on the page was unique. Sometimes, what happens to the people who have a unique vision in this business is that they are not allowed to flourish. I wanted to bring out his vision as we had aligned creatively. 

What was your job as a producer on the film?

My job as the producer was to see that he (Raj) gets all the resources he needed — whether it was a specific camera he wanted to shoot with or other things he needed for the film. From equipment requirements to finance, I kept a vigilant eye on everything. 

You have worked with Anurag Kashyap in the past, what has been your learning from your association?

Anurag and I worked briefly on Bombay Velvet. Then we collaborated for Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, AK vs AK, and now Thar. It’s been a long journey. He is an honest man and doesn’t mince words. When you do well, he praises you, but when you don’t, he is very critical. There is a lot of truth and merit in what he says. If you can be thick-skinned then you will only gain while working with him.

Did you face any hurdles while making Thar?

I went around with this script for almost a year and a half and nobody wanted to put money into this film. Then Bunty Walia came to me with a film, which was a love story. I didn’t want to do it and I told him about Thar. He read it and liked it. Then we did a test shoot, which was being circulated. That’s when Netflix came on board.