MUMBAI: Masterchef Vikas Khanna, who is now a feature-film director, feels the OTT platform in India is blooming.
“When I’m in-between projects I have time to watch movies. What I’ve seen on the OTT platform has really impressed me. Lots of serials from India are so good. Recently, I watched the series Scam 1992. It is just brilliant. It’s a world-class show. I’ve been a fan of Hansal Mehta’s work for years. Delhi Crime deserves every award. I was so proud of Scam and Delhi Crime. People like Hansal and Apurva Asrani are putting Indian cinema on an international platform.”, Vikas expressed.
Speaking about his beautiful directorial debut The Last Color, Vikas says, “I had written a short story called Colorless in 2011 about a widow in Vrindavan, who yearns to play Holi. It was a dark intense story based on my experiences in Vrindavan while shooting for Holi. It stuck in my mind because had seen widows close to me. It really moved me.”.
The short story became a novel and then a film. “I wove a novel around the characters of the widow and a little girl who’s a tightrope walker. After that everything began to fall in place. When the novel was released in 2013, my publisher suggested I make a film based on the novel. After that, everything fell into place.”.
Vikas is rightly proud of his film. “Yes, I am very proud of the film. Many thought I was making a mistake. But I knew what I was doing. There’s a silent love story in the background. But I wanted to focus on the relationship that grows between the widow and the tightrope walker.”.
Wasn’t it risky to turn a director at this stage of your life? “Of course. But hey, look, what could be more courageous than me leaving everything behind in India to come to America to become a chef.”.
Luckily for Vikas, Neena Gupta said ‘yes’ to The Last Color. “I got the courage to turn a director when Neenaji (Gupta) said yes. It was a step-by-step process. I learnt how to make a film on the job. I am proud of all the vulnerabilities that went into the process. It may not be a great film, but it resonated across international film festivals because of its originality and the message on how important it is to educate the girl child.”.
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Vikas revealed that Neena Gupta was his first choice. “Even when I was writing the novel I thought of Neenaji in the widow’s role. I liked her discipline as an actor imbibed from her experience in theatre. Also, she’s a director. She had directed Saans.”.
Vikas asked his friend Anupam Kher to connect him with Neenaji. “Anupam was kind enough to do so. Neenaji is everything I imagined her to be. She was shooting simultaneously for Badhaai Ho. Who knew she would shoot into a second innings after that? But when I signed her, it was because I wanted her only to play the widow.”.
Finding the little girl to play the tightrope walker was much tougher. “We auditioned hundreds of kids. I zeroed on Aqsa Siddiqui. The moment I saw her, I saw my ‘Chhoti’ in her, the same spirit and determination. Aqsa was also a topper in her class. This meant she listened to her teachers carefully. I was a first-time director. I needed actors who would take instructions well.”.
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Credit: SpotboyE
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