The 1996 landmark film Bandit Queen also introduced a young actor named Saurabh Shukla. Three decades on, Shukla has been both a revelation and a revolution: actor, director, writer, lyricist and producer, he has also sung in a film.
Recently applauded for his roles as Judge Sunderlal Tripathy in Jolly LLB 3 and as the menacing Tauji in Raid 2, Shukla has now directed Jab Khuli Kitaab with Dimple Kapadia and Pankaj Kapur that has opened on Z5. The man is extremely articulate and that naturally leads to an interesting conversation.
Excerpts from the interview:
Why was the film’s release when Jab Khuli Kitaab premiered at IFFI, Goa, in 2024 and was much appreciated?
Everything has a time! Applause Entertainment made a marketing decision by giving it to Z5, which has the best penetration for a homegrown audience needed for such a family film. This sweet-and-sour story needed the right audience.
You mentioned at IFFI that Dimple Kapadia and Pankaj Kapur were your dream cast.
Yes, because this film is about an elderly couple. While writing a film, you imagine certain actors, but such casting may not always happen in reality. I was pleasantly surprised when Pankaj-sir, who was my first choice, told me he was in on the fourth day.
And Dimple Kapadia?
I would not have even dared to approach Dimple ma’am as she is a massive star, was very busy and had just completed Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. But my friends told me that I must at least send her the script, and on the third day, she called me and actually said, “I am doing your film, and no one else will do it!”. That was a big high!
Had you worked with them earlier?
You will never believe that I met both of them for the first time in my life! That is why I was a little anxious. Maybe they knew my work as an actor and liked me, but I am not a director on a regular basis, or a filmmaker about whom actors say, “I am dying to work with him!” That told me that it was the credibility of the script that did the trick!
You too must have decided on them after liking them as actors.
Yes, and both were of the right age. My favourite performances of Pankaj sir include Khandhar and Maqbool with Ek Doctor Ki Maut at the top! With Dimple too, she has done all those straitjacketed roles in commercial films but also done strong characters in films like Rudaali and Dhrishti.
And both are like treasuries of talent and so easy to work with as people! With age on your side, you get such vast experiences that you become better actors. Dimple is beautiful not just physically but also as a human being. She understood every tiny nuance of the film.
Various sources placed the film as a comedy and a serious drama.
It’s a dramedy, which is a clear-cut genre by itself. It tackles relationships, love and betrayal in a funny, humorous manner.
Why didn’t you opt for the theatrical route?
Oh, that’s a different battle altogether and never about only a film. Which and how many shows and screens you will get—that’s a whole machinery! But Applause Entertainment that backed my film told me just to find the perfect cast. They categorically said that they were not after “saleable” names. They never asked me, for example, to reduce the age of my protagonists so that known stars could come in, for that would not have worked for my story. I am very happy that Applause worked for the film and did not treat it as a product! They wanted to ensure that my story reached the right audience.
Were you inspired by, or reworked, any real-life story?
Not at all. But, incredibly, sometimes fact follows fiction! My producer, Sameer Nair, sent me a clip of a 95 year-old man from Argentina who wanted to divorce his 92 year-old wife during the post-production! In my film, a much younger Pankaj wants to divorce Dimple! So my story came first and the news from Argentina much later! Jab Khuli Kitaab is not a plot-based film, but a character-based story on their psyche and relationships.
How did you decide on the music?
A new talent named Ritajaya Banerjee is the original composer, and the songs are programmed and produced by Protijyoti Ghosh, who has also done the background score. They are very new but great musicians. Again, there was no pressure from Applause for big names, and they told me to take whomsoever I thought was right. Like Adri Thakur, my very new DOP. He has worked with many noted cinematographers as associate, and this is his first feature. You will see how beautifully he has crafted a visual language that itself is another character of my film. I am saying this very proudly!
Talking of the music again, you have even done the lyrics, which you do off and on.
Look, I don’t consider myself a seasoned lyricist, but I usually do songs for myself and in the context to my film. Also, I guess it saves some money as well as I don’t take fees for that, and also gives me more time to concentrate on the shooting of my movie!
This year you also complete 30 years in cinema. How would you describe the journey?
Let me call it very kind, very hopeful and very, very joyful! It’s never been a bed of roses, but the difficulties that came were so enjoyable. If you win, you just win, but if you lose, there is something extra to learn! It’s been a great journey and I am not done with this journey yet. I am not completely satisfied and still hungry!
Subedaar released just a day earlier to your film’s opening on March 5. How does it feel?
Great! And do you know that March 5 is also my birthday? So it is a long party that is not going to end soon!
What is special about your role here as Subedaar’s friend?
Why I am so happy is that primarily it is a beautiful story and my role is very meaty with many shades. What is interesting is, though at the end all characters are human, is that nobody has ever imagined me as an ex-army person. And I am someone who has not only been disciplined, ethical and principled as an army-man but has now accepted that in this corrupt world, one must adapt to its ways to survive!
