He wears three hats, all at the same time. Apart from writing and directing the upcoming Gujarati film ‘The Reunions’, Cchintan Shaah also plays one of the lead parts in it. The writer-cum-director-actor has spent several years honing his skills in theatre and is now ready to narrate stories for the big screen. In this interview, he talks about managing the triple roles of being a writer, director and actor, his debut film, why he would not like to remake it in Hindi and plans to make a Bollywood film.
Apart from being the writer and director of the film, you are playing one of the lead roles in ‘The Reunions’. How do you manage to do so many things together?
It just happened by chance. Initially, I was not supposed to act in the film. We had finalised an actor to play the role of Ishwak but we realised he was not able to understand the character that well and perform according to our expectations. Since I have written the film, I had to narrate the script to several people and thus, I knew the script like the back of my hand. When we realised it was getting very difficult to find the right actor to play this role, I thought maybe I should give it a try. The other members of the cast also felt that I would be able to do justice to this role. So, eventually I ended up acting in the film as well.
Farhan Akhtar had said in an interview that he would never act in a film that he is directing. Clearly, you do not believe in the same.
It is a different situation with Farhan as he started off as a director and then, became an actor. For him, acting and directing are two different entities. I used to do plays and started writing, directing and directing almost at the same time. Since I started off doing these three things together, I do not differentiate between them and treat them as separate jobs.
What do you identify yourself more as – actor, director or writer?
I love writing. I have been brutally honest with my writing. If there is a director I trust, I would happily give my script to him. If not, then I would like to make a film out of my script myself.
Why did you pick this subject for your first film?
It is a very innocent subject. There is no particular agenda behind making this film. I was pitching a couple of scripts to different producers and after this script was locked, I did not think whether this should be my first or second film. I just wanted to bring this story to the audience.
A lot of people say that when a director makes his first film, there are certain autobiographical elements in it. Does ‘The Reunions’ have certain instances from your film?
Yes, but there are several other elements as well. To state that this film is only about friendship would be wrong. It traces the journey of this group of people from the time they were in college to a point where they have all grown up into mature adults. Now, these people have become mature but their relationship is still fragile. The film explores different aspects of friendship and human relationships.
The title of the film ‘The Reunions’ also stands for a musical band that these characters have formed. The reunion is happening after ten years. All these things remind one of ‘Rock On!!’. Are there any similarities between the two films?
When you look at the posters or the promos, you might compare it to ‘Rock On!!’ but once you watch the film, you will realise it is a very different film. In ‘Rock On!!’, the band was the reason why they became friends. In our film, music is not really the binding factor in their friendship. They used to be together in college and just happened to form a band during that period. After the college gets over, they get busy with their own lives and do not stay in touch with each other. They are not meeting again to form the band again. When they meet again, they come across an unfortunate incident and then, they use music as a tool to get over it.
Would you like to make a Hindi film next?
Yes, I would love to make a Hindi film. I have already started pitching my ideas to some producers. Hopefully, something will work out soon.
Would you like to remake ‘The Reunions’ in Hindi?
If a director wishes to remake it in Hindi, I would be very happy about it but I would not like to remake it myself. I do not think I will be able to make this film again with the same kind of conviction I had while making it the first time.