Director Shashank Khaitan: I don't rush into a film

Shashank Khaitan

He started his directorial career with Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania in 2014, and then followed it up with Badrinath Ki Dulhania three years later. Now as his third movie Dhadak is ready for release, Shashank Khaitan prefers being slow and steady in his way of working.

He says it is essential to spend more time on pre-production to finish a film within a given budget.

"I have worked as an assistant for years and I made a film that never released before 'Humpty...'. I lost a lot of money in that. It taught me what are the things one should not do while making a film. Perhaps that is why I do not rush into a film, and rather spend more time writing the film.

"I try to ensure that my producer should not lose money on the film I am directing," Khaitan told IANS in an interview.

"I budget a film in such a manner so that it does not fail. I work on every detail so that when I am going on the film set, it is just about execution," he added.

Both his earlier films are set in a small town, revolve around a boy-girl love story, and it seems the director is trying to find a space in this genre. However, Dhadak is the first time Khaitan has attempted to adapt the story of a successful Marathi film "Sairat".

Is he open to the comparison which is inevitable?

"Yes, I am. The fact is I am trying to contemporise the genre of love stories with my original writing. I have done that in two of my earlier films. But when I watched Sairat, I realised the film that I was planning to write has a similarity with this story. So I thought of making it as an official adaptation.

"There are many elements in Sairat that inspired me and I wanted to incorporate them in my story. Just because I enjoy writing an original story, I cannot be dishonest to the story I am taking inspiration from. So our 'Dhadak' is quite similar to 'Sairat', yet there are a few different elements that the audience will find out once they watch the film," he said.

Dhadak, releasing on July 20, addresses the class issue and honour killing. It features Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor, who are making their Bollywood debut with the Karan Johar production

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