Exclusive: After ‘Tejas’ I became a bigger fan of Kangana Ranaut: Sarvesh Mewada
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Kangana Ranaut’s much awaited film ‘Tejas’ will be in theaters next Friday. In this, Kangana plays the lead role of an Air Force pilot, who fights against terrorists. This film is written and directed by Sarvesh Mewada. Sarvesh has been struggling in the industry for 17 years and this is his first directorial film. Debutant director Sarvesh is very happy and excited that producer Ronnie Screwvala has given him this opportunity. Urmila Kori had a special conversation with him on the making, challenges etc. of this film.
Tejas is being compared to the film Uri. Its pressure? How did it start?
No, what’s the pressure? On the contrary, I would say that it feels good when someone compares your film with a good film. Talking about film making, there were preparations to do the film ‘Gulab Jamun’ with Ronnie sir, but due to some reason it could not be made and we started casting for another film. She too was not able to make it. Then Ronnie sir said that we want to make a film on a female fighter. This will be a good start for you. The idea was his, but I wrote the story. When the story was narrated to Ronnie Sir, he liked it. Our first choice for this was Kangana ma’am. He also liked the story and ‘Tejas’ started from there. This film is inspired by real events, although the character of Tejas is fictional.
How much support has there been from the Indian Air Force?
He was very helpful. When we finished the script and sent it to the Defense Ministry and the Indian Air Force, good feedback came from there. Former IAF officer Wing Commander Gokhale was associated with our film from beginning to end. I sat with him and wrote a draft of the script, so that everything seemed authentic. He explained in detail what kind of language a fighter pilot uses when he is in the cockpit. We saw and understood everything by going there in Bengaluru where Tejas has been designed. Gokhale sir helped a lot in the research. In our film we have taken special care of everything from uniform to badge. There were two people from the Air Force on the set just to ensure that there were no mistakes in the character and it was as per the discipline of the Air Force.
How was Kangana’s training for the film?
Many workshops took place. Physical training took place. Kangana also met many Air Force officers. Still there were many questions in his mind. For this, Gokhale sir and I also went to his house in Manali. There were many discussions with him on body language and mental condition during the war. Kangana had trained for four months to prepare for the female pilot (Tejas Gill). He learned all the combat techniques which are used in Indian Forces.
Kangana herself is a director now, so did she also give her input?
She did not give forced inputs. Yes, if something was needed for the betterment of the scene, she would tell. I would say that he gave me complete freedom in direction. He supported my vision. She is a good artist and director.
You also visited the sets of Kangana’s film ‘Emergency’, were your pictures seen on social media?
It is four years old. She was shooting ‘Thalaivi’ in Hyderabad. I went there and narrated this story. I have always been his fan. After knowing him personally, I have become a bigger fan. When he went to the sets of his film Emergency, he also showed the footage of the film. Both direction and acting are amazing. I am eagerly waiting for that film.
The film was shot during Covid, so what problems did you face?
It was not easy to keep a unit of two-three hundred people motivated. Meetings were held on Zoom calls. The location chosen was not available many times. A scene was thought of with 500 people, then it had to be shot in a different way, because it was not possible in Covid. But with everyone’s cooperation everything went well in the end. The good thing was that there was no difference in the quality of the film.
There was news that the film was initially scheduled to release on October 20, then it was changed. Is it because of the film ‘Ganpat’?
Kangana ma’am and Ronnie sir together decided to release the film on 27th October. I think this is the right decision. It is a good thing that there is no clash. It is important that all films get a chance to do business.
This is your first film as a filmmaker. You have waited 17 long years for this. How difficult was this struggle?
Mumbai came in 2006 and 17 years have passed since then. No doubt the period of struggle has been long. But I took that also in a positive manner. I think of it like how to deal with pressure. Many of my films stopped on the shooting floor. Sometimes there was a financial problem, and sometimes the producer said just before the shooting that he would not be able to do the film. My father was an IAS officer and I studied in a military school, so frustration or depression never surrounded me. The credit for this goes to my parents, sister and wife only. If you have positive people who support you, your struggle doesn’t seem like a struggle.
Do you have a three-film deal with producer Ronnie Screwvala?
We have a deal for two films. What will be the next film is not decided yet. During my struggling days, I have written scripts of many films. It could be one of them or it could be Ronnie Sir’s idea, as he gave for ‘Tejas’.
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