‘Waiting’ is all about the relationship between two people from different fields of life, who meet and become friends with each other in a hospital, while nursing their respective comatose life partners. The story of the film looks into the themes of dealing with grief and discovering hope. Produced by Priti Gupta and Manish Mundra under the banner of Ishka Films and Drishyam Films, ‘Waiting’ released on May 27, 2016 and has already become the talk of the town. Sujata Majumdar in an exclusive conversation with Priti Gupta.
How did the entire idea come through of producing a film on such an unconventional subject?
Actually I do not consider this an unconventional subject. The theme deals with the situations faced by almost everybody in their lives at some point of time. It often happens that our loved one is in hospital and we have to wait outside… we may not talk about it but a stream of tension surrounds us. But nobody ever thinks about the person waiting outside that how one survives the situation. When I read the script I felt sure that I wanted to produce a film based on it. It is an appealing and beautiful movie for not just Indians, but the world audience as well, as it is more or less about the universal human circumstances, which are skillfully represented in a gentle yet humorous manner. The dialogues are in Hindi as well as English which makes the film more natural and real.
Did you ever think the film will get commercial success along with critical acclaim?
I was absolutely confident that the film will get critical acclaim. It has already received critical appreciations at the Dubai International Film Festival 2015, London Asian Film Festival and the Indian Film Festival of Los Angles. It feels great that the film is gaining critical acclaim as well as commercial success after its theatrical release in India.
How was your experience working with Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki Koechlin?
Naseer Sahab and Kalki immediately agreed to do the film after reading the script. They found the subject very realistic and gave their best performances. Similarly, the other eminent actors really acted well. It was a great experience to work with Naseer Sahab, Kalki and the entire team. They are thorough professionals. I was a regular visitor at the sets and really appreciated the teamwork.
Share something about the director of your film.
Anu Menon, who initially directed a film called `London Paris New York’ has done exceptionally good work in `Waiting’. She is also one of the screenplay writers in the film along with Atika Chohan and James Ruzicka. Anu received the Best Director award for this film in the London Asian Film Festival. She is a talented and sensible director and believes in perfect teamwork.
Even the music of your film is being appreciated. Tell us something about it.
I am very satisfied with the music of the film which moves in absolute harmony with theme. It was not an easy job to compose music for a so called offbeat film like this one. However, Mikey McCleary has composed real soulful music. Along with the other tracks, my personal favorite remains “Zara Zara”.
What are your forthcoming projects?
I have been reading few scripts and started working on one of them lately. However, I feel it is too early to declare about my next project. I plan to continue producing meaningful films in future. I also have plans to make full-fledged Comedy films.
