Learned decency from Shah Rukh Khan: 'Luka Chuppi' director Utekar
Director of Luka Chuppi, Laxman Utekar, has worked as director of photography in several big films and says he has learned a lot in his journey from learning decency from Shah Rukh Khan to admiring megastar Amitabh Bachchan's maturity. Laxman has been behind the camera for films like 102 Not Out, Dear Zindagi, English Vinglish and Hindi Medium among others. Here's more.
He knows how to talk to people: Laxman on SRK
"I've learned from all the people I've worked with. There's so much to learn from them. When you work with Shah Rukh Khan, you learn decency," said Laxman. "He's a thorough gentleman. He knows how to talk to people, how to handle them," he said.
Bachchan sahab's maturity reflects when you work with him: Laxman
On working with Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, Laxman said, "Bachchan sahab's maturity and experience reflects when you work with him." "I feel lucky that I've got to work with such talented people," the director further said. Laxman has previously helmed Marathi films like Tapaal and Lalbaugchi Rani. Luka Chuppi marks his Hindi directorial debut, along with his writer collaborator Rohan Shankar.
Laxman's 'Luka Chuppi' features Kartik Aaryan, Kirti Sanon in lead
The film, produced by Dinesh Vijan, features Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon. The filmmaker said he was extremely impressed with his film's leads. "I hadn't seen much of their films but when we started our reading-session, I got to know their sensibilities because the kind of questions they used to ask, the way they used to discuss nuances, it made me happy," said Laxman.
'Realized that Kartik and Kriti are not just glamorous stars'
Laxman said he realized that the lead actors are more than just glamorous faces. "I realized that Kartik and Kriti are not just glamorous stars. They are also very talented and intelligent performers," he said. "There are very few like them. In our industry, you'll find people who are good looking but may not be that good as performers and vice versa," said Laxman.
The film chronicles the story of couple in live-in relationship
The romcom, set in Mathura, chronicles the story of a couple in a live-in relationship and how family dynamics come into play. Recently, filmmakers in Bollywood have trained their lens towards the hinterland and Laxman says the trend is in vogue because the audience was used to seeing romances set in abroad where the most of India that was shown was only Punjab.
Audience changes its choice after every three years: Laxman
"Across the world, the audience changes its choice after every three years. Right now our audience wants to see Indian culture and color, which was absent from the big screen until Aanand L Rai's Raanjhanaa," said the filmmaker. Raanjhanaa was released in June 2013. The film, which was set in Varanasi, crossed Rs. 100 crore mark at their worldwide box office collection.
'Luka Chuppi' is scheduled to release this Friday
Laxman said, "Every after 100km we have a different dialect and culture. People want to see all that today. They're loving it. This trend will go on for three years more, and then the trend might change again." Luka Chuppi is scheduled to release Friday.
