'Aamir Khan Does Not Interfere', Sitaare Zameen Par Writer Divy Nidhi Sharma Reacts To Rumours Of Actor's Interference In Creative Aspects (Exclusive)
Aamir Khan starrer Sitaare Zameen Par has been receiving an amazing response from the audience, and the movie is also performing quite well at the box office. The film is directed by RS Prasanna and written by Divy Nidhi Sharma.
The Free Press Journal recently interacted with Sharma, and spoke to him about the response SZP is getting, Salman Khan being the first choice for the movie, rumours of Aamir interfering in creative aspects, and a lot more...
When you were writing the movie, did you expect such an amazing response from critics and the audience?
There were no expectations, but I just hoped that it would happen. And now, when it has happened, it is overwhelming.
Sitaare Zameen Par is an adaptation of the Spanish film Campeones. So, how did the film come to you, and whose idea was it to adapt the movie?
RS Prasanna and I have been friends for many years, and when we used to meet, we would talk about doing something together. So, earlier, another studio had the rights of the film, and they had approached Prasanna for it. He told me about it, and the promo was sent to Aamir sir. He liked it, and then I wrote the script. This was during the first lockdown in 2020. Prasanna couldn't travel because of the boundations, so I went to Panchgani to Aamir sir's farmhouse to narrate it to him. He heard it for the first time and said it's very good; I will do the film, and from there the journey started.
How difficult was it to adapt a Spanish film for the Indian audience?
I would like to believe that I am one of the audience. I am the primary audience, and I have grown up on a steadfast diet of commercial Hindi potboilers. So, my taste buds are the same. I do the same type of stories. So, while adapting, the soul remains the same, but the body changes. When the cultural context changes and nuances change, then the nature of the relationship changes. We try to express our emotions. A son does not accept that his mother has a boyfriend (in the context of the film). We need a follow-up scene for the audience to live with the fact. How can a mother have a boyfriend at the age of 65? Gulshan's (Aamir's character) reaction to that is necessary to make it look palatable and believable.
Earlier, there were reports that Salman Khan was approached for the movie to play the lead role, and Aamir was just going to produce. So, is that true?
Yes, it is true! Salman was going to do it, and even Farhan was going to do it, because that was the time when Aamir sir, after Laal Singh Chaddha, wanted to take a break from acting. He loved the script so much that he wanted to produce it. But, we were hoping that Aamir sir would eventually do it whenever he decides to come back, and the faith was rewarded.
We have heard earlier, and even Aamir has joked about the rumours of him ghost-directing movies and interfering in the creative aspects of a film. So, during the writing process or at any other time, did you feel that he interfered in the creative aspects of Sitaare Zameen Par?
Everything is false. Of course, he is very involved. He is involved in every aspect. But it is also true that he does not interfere in any aspect. There is a slight difference. He is involved in everything. But there is no interference. For example, the process of writing the script. I was sitting in a closed room in isolation. I wrote the script and narrated it to him. It is more or less the same script. Of course, he is a legend, and when he says something, it comes from a certain place of experience. Like he will say, in this scene, we should do this instead of this. Of course, we would be idiots to let our ego get the better of us and say that we will not listen. But thankfully, this was not the case in this film. There were minor changes in this. Apart from that, the way Aamir Khan commits to the director and the writer, it is a writer and director's delight. Even if he changes a word, he will speak to the writer before changing it.
When the trailer of Sitaare Zameen Par was released, people on social media started comparing it with Campeones, stating that it is just a copy-paste remake. So, when people start criticising a film even before it is released, does that feel dad?
You are talking about after the trailer, people start criticising before the trailer is out (laughs). People don't even wait for a film to be announced. You know Bakshi Sahab (Anand Bakshi) wrote the song, 'Kuch toh log kahenge, logo ka kaam hai kehna'. If you start getting upset with these things, then you won't be able to work. When we are putting our work in the public sphere, we should be ready for all the bricks and all the bouquets.
Aamir for Sitaare Zameen Par has taken a different route by not selling the movie to an OTT platform before the release. Do you think that other filmmakers should follow him because maybe this will get the audience back to the theatres?
I grew up in small towns. For us, the meaning of a film was to go to a theatre. The joy of watching a film in the theatre, with everyone laughing and crying together, we have lost out on that experience. So, I feel that there's nothing important than a theatrical experience for me as a viewer. So, hats off to Amir sir! He has stuck his neck out. He has risked so much money. He refused OTT deals just to revive the theatres. He is a true cinema lover, and I salute him for that. You can't tell other producers, but I really hope that they do something like this. We should all try to bring people back to theatres. Only when theatres are in good health, OTT will be in good health. If a film does well in theatres, it does even better on satellite and OTT networks.
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