‘Awards do not make sense’

With two back-to-back hits, English Vinglish (2012) and Dear Zindagi (2016), director Gauri Shinde’s (right) track record and movies have proved her calibre and helped her stand apart. But while most people might want to cash in on their success, Gauri wants to make films at her own pace. Excerpts from an interview.

With your track record, is there any pressure to deliver with your next? Not at all. I didn’t feel any pressure while making the films. The only pressure I feel is from myself; I am dying to tell the story. That is all that drives me. I don’t carry any baggage.

Do you enjoy writing or directing? Both. Writing is great and beautiful. Every day, you struggle with a scene, and then you crack it. It’s great. Shooting gives me an adrenaline rush when I’m working with a group of people. I love to be on a set. In the mornings, I wonder why I chose this profession, as you don’t want to get up and work. But when you shoot scenes to your satisfaction, you feel good.

Do you feel the need to make a film soon after a successful project? In fact, I feel the opposite. I want to relax. I feel that there’s so much of me poured into each film — mentally, physically and emotionally. I need some time to resuscitate and rejuvenate myself. I give my everything to a film. The rest of the world doesn’t matter when I am working on a film. To live like that for one-and-a-half years, while my energy is sucked out, is too much [to handle]. If I miss the set too much, I shoot an ad — it’s not that hectic and is fun. Which other actors do you wish to work with? Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, to name a few. I would also love to work with Sridevi, Alia (Bhatt) and Shah Rukh (Khan) again as well. My wish list is to get a good story first. The rest will then fall into place.

How important are awards for you? Not at all. My award and reward are the personal stories people tell me, about how my film affected them and what they took away from it. Awards would be important if they made sense and were credible.