‘Sushant is extraordinarily dedicated’

Chanda Mama Door Ke is Bollywood’s first film to explore outer space and playing the lead in the film is Sushant Singh Rajput. A few days into the process of making the film a reality, the actor has already impressed his director Sanjay Puransingh Chauhan. Says the director, “I did expect Sushant to give all of himself to the astronaut’s part, but what he is doing goes beyond my expectations. He takes his character and the film to another level altogether. Both Sushant and Nawazuddin Siddiqui are extraordinarily dedicated to making it something never seen before in our cinema.”

And what exactly is Chauhan attempting? “It is India’s first space film. I don’t want it to be like any of the greats from Hollywood. I know we don’t have the resources to make something like Arrival or

Apollo 13. But we have the passion and I think we’ve an extraordinary concept. And there is our producer Viki Rajani who has complete faith in what we’re doing.”

After Chauhan made his directorial debut with Lahore he took a break and left for the US. “It was in the US that my ambition of making India’s first space film concretised. Luckily everything fell into place. I got a supportive producer and a leading man who surrendered completely to his part.” Chauhan will release the film on 26 January 2018. “It is an ode to India. I am not the least abashed about it being a patriotic film.” The filmmaker with a vision is ready to face the music as and when the film opens. “I know I am dreaming big, but I’ve lived with this dream from the beginning of my career. In fact I wanted Chanda Mama to be my first film. But I couldn’t get the support system to prop up my dream. So I made Lahore instead. Now when I’m living my dream.”

It is India’s first space film. I don’t want it to be like any of the greats from Hollywood.