‘I Couldn’t Give Him More Than 2 Takes…’ – Exclusive

‘Aliya Basu Gayab Hai’ is a suspense thriller film featuring Vinay Pathak, Raima Sen and Salim Diwan. The director Preeti Singh exclusively speaks with us shedding light on how Diwan used to get less number of takes.

The intrigue and curiosity is what makes suspense-thrillers edgy and widely consumed genre. In an attempt to find her groove in this mould, Preeti Singh is here with her debut feature film called ‘Aliya Basu Gayab Hai’ starring Vinay Pathak, Raima Sen and Salim Diwan. In an exclusive conversation with India.com, Preeti Singh opened up about her journey as an individual Indie producer. She spoke about directing and casting these amazing actors and how Salim used to get mere two takes while more screen time was given to Vinay and Raima.

Preeti Singh is a passionate director who chose to come up with a woman’s perspective in the genre of crime-thriller. Singh spoke about how she is happy to have cast these three talented actors who primarily drove the film. While reminiscing the time on set during shoot, in a jest, Singh mentioned how Salim Diwan used to get “bullied”  because he was the youngest and relatively new in comparison to Vinay and Raima. “Many times for example, it is very basic, when I am taking a three shot and all three actors are there so my priority is Vinay, Raima and then him. So, he is always rushed in the end and I can’t give him more than two takes. You have to perform in two takes. So he was always the one sacrificing,” Singh said with a smile.

However, Singh praised Diwan’s passion and dedication towards his characters. “He comes with a very thorough professional training and does not come with any baggage,” she adds.

Preeti Singh’s Experience on Directing Vinay Pathak, Raima Sen and Salim Diwan

The thriller finds it axis on only three characters. The entire plot is supposedly on the shoulders of Vinay, Raima and Salim who each come with nuanced and different shades. Speaking about the USP of her film, Singh elaborated how the casting plays an important role. She says, “Salim is completely fresh. Vinay is very stereotyped as a comedian and Raima is again a domestic character. So, I wanted to cast actors who are not watched before in such genre.”

A debutant feature filmmaker, Singh  believes in the power of storytelling. She passionately talked about her experience wherein she mentioned that the ‘Special Ops’ actor, “Vinay Pathak, takes a lot of pre and then he performs. Raima on the other hand is very intuitive and performs instinctively. Salim is also very method driven and likes to prepare  and then perform just like Vinay sir. So, when you have such different method driven characters then maintain tat equilibrium is a challenge.”

Preeti Singh on Challenges of Individual Filmmaker in Bollywood

Preeti comes with an experiencing of directing creative ad films and more. In the like of woman who speak their mind, Preeti did not hesitate in unravellling about the challenges of individual producers. Singh says, ” When you are an indie producer, it is not easy. Bog banners have strong associations because they have big star values. Unfortunately, India is still star centric country unlike South Korea or Japan which are story driven.”

“India abhi bhi star-studded hai. So, sahi star cast lana, deliver karna hai zaroori hai.” Speaking about different challenges at different levels, Singh also highlighted that OTT is seemingly ebbing away and cinema is coming to fore again. “People need to start going to cinema and watch more such films and not just a ‘Bad Newz,” she continued.

Singh has attempted to bring forth a female gaze, a woman’s perspective towards crime in this film. The movie is set to release in theatres on August 9.