After the (surprise) success of her directorial debut Yaariyan, actress-turned-director Divya Khosla Kumar is back this Valentine’s weekend with Sanam Re, a love story starring Fukrey dude Pulkit Samrat and Vicky Donor stunner Yami Gautam. Team Sanam Re — Pulkit, Yami and Divya — was in Calcutta recently to talk about their Friday film. A t2 chat.
Divya, did Yaariyan’s success push you to move beyond newcomers while casting for Sanam Re?
Divya Khosla Kumar: Yes, it helped but I was confident even during Yaariyan. In fact, I had announced very confidently even then that Yaariyan would be a hit. Before Yaariyan, I struggled for 10 years. I learnt cinematography and editing and made many music videos, so technically I became very strong. But after one film, your confidence does go up. With Sanam Re, I decided to challenge myself as a director.
From the foot-tapping music to the casting, Sanam Re looks fresh...
Divya: This is a pure love story. When I decide to do a film, I try and include all that I haven’t seen on screen before. I also make it a point to make it look different from the films that will release at that time. Sanam Re is a beautiful film where the girl and the boy (Yami’s Shruti and Pulkit’s Akash) are shown in various stages of their lives. It is a story of finding your soulmate. The film has soul, beauty and peace. I think life has become so fast for all of us. There is no time to stop and listen to your heart. Sanam Re is a throwback to love as we knew it before the pace of life overtook us.
It’s not every day that we see a director shaking a leg to an item number! How did Humne pee rakhi hai happen?
Divya: I have acted in Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo (with Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar) and then I went behind the camera. It was very easy for me to do Humne pee rakhi hai. I just rehearsed for a week because I am a good dancer.
Pulkit Samrat: I saw it live... I was the lucky one who got to see her doing her latkas and jhatkas!
Yami Gautam: She looks stunning... I think she is a jack-of-all-trades and a multi-tasker.
How much of Akash and Shruti are you two in real life?
Pulkit: Yami is definitely Shruti in real life. She is very fun-loving. She thinks I am Akash in real life, but I am not! Akash is a guy who has been away from his roots and stuck in the big city. He is chasing a dream that he is not aware of. Most of us do that in our daily lives. We get up in the morning, go to work, come back, have dinner, do certain other things too (smiles cheekily) and then go off to sleep. There is an emptiness in him that doesn’t let him sleep. That is where Shruti comes into the picture, and brings his life back to him. Akanksha (Urvashi Rautela) is the catalyst that spurs the Akash-Shruti chemistry.
In the trailer, you guys look very cute together…
Pulkit: Did you just say we are cute? Yesssss! (Grins)
Divya: Yaaayyy!
Pulkit: Yami thinks I look like a joker in the film and only she looked cute!
How was the crackling chemistry in the songs created?
Pulkit: When there is a level of comfort between two people, the chemistry automatically shows on screen. But everyone else also contributes to the chemistry, including the guy who stands with a pankha to blow our hair during the songs!
Yami: The writing should have depth. Chemistry also depends on the treatment that the director has envisioned for the film. For what she (Divya) has written, unless we became those two people in front of the camera, that wouldn’t have been possible. Once we became Akash and Shruti, we just acted and reacted.
The Akash-Shruti love story starts from school! What are your memories of your school life?
Pulkit: Horse riding! Manav Sthali School (in Delhi) is where I learnt horse riding. When Divya came to know about it, she fought with the fight master and insisted that I will do my own shots and there was no need of a body double.
Divya: We went to the same school (Montfort Senior Secondary School, where Pulkit studied after Manav Sthali School). That’s where I cast him! (Laughs) Iss bachche ki aankhon mein mujhe kuch dikhi…
Yami: See there is no chemistry between us... there’s only chemistry between Pulkit and Divya! Quote me on this. (Smiles) Well, I was one of the disciplined ones in school... monitor type!
You shot in Ladakh, Kalpa, Shimla and Calgary. The cold must have been killing!
Yami: I was born in Himachal Pradesh and raised in Chandigarh so I am expected not to feel cold but I am not a polar bear. It was crazy!
Pulkit: But Divya told us, ‘Main magic create kar dungi’, and we trusted her. I had to take off my shirt in zero degree! We were shooting in Ladakh and Kalpa, which is 9,000ft above sea level. Working out was also difficult. I needed to pump up just before the shots. I would run around and keep doing my push-ups and crunches all the time. I had to throw vinegar and vodka on my body to keep myself warm! Ever since I was a kid, I had this dream of doing a film like this where the hero takes off his shirt and dances in the snow! I got to do all of that here.
Music is one of the big draws in Sanam Re. Pick your fave song...
Pulkit: Is it music? I thought it is me! (Winks)
Yami: The title track. I also love Kya tujhe ab ye dil bataye.
Pulkit: I like Sanam re. Kya tujhe ab ye dil bataye is a beautifully written song. It talks from the heart.
Ratnalekha Mazumdar
What is your fave romantic line?
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