Before this movie, I have directed a telefilm in Marathi, Ganu Rai. We were planning Shobhayatra for the last four years. Our producers backed out, so we had to put in funds from our own pockets.
I am not making a mockery of any leader. I am just using them to tell a story. We are actually looking at the downtrodden Indian youth. After 57 years of Independence, we should have the right to speak. And we have chosen Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose (in the film) as they are the icons of Indian Independence.
We are talking of today's freedom – we have attained freedom but are we really free? Are we in a democratic country or are we chained and bound? Are we free to speak our minds?
In my movie, the characters have worn make-up to look like the national leaders, but they are not the actual leaders. They are people from different professions. Jhansi ki rani (played by Divya Dutta) is a schoolteacher!
I don't think my film will be controversial. I am not taking the side of the Left or the Right, and I am not showing anything derogatory. It is not a political film, and it doesn't deal with any political leader. In fact, all the leaders are positive characters in the film.
The budget of my film was just Rs 1.5 crore, which is why we worked with small stars.
Films like Amu and Page 3 have done extremely well. People want to see different films. There is an audience for small films looking out for some interesting cinema, and I'm depending on that audience.
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