Exclusive | Karan Boolani: Thank You For Coming isn't Veere Di Wedding's sequel

Karan Boolani, poster of Thank You For Coming. Pic/Instagram

"Thank You For Coming is a very small film with a big idea. Hope it connects with the audience," said director Karan Boolani in an exclusive interview with Mid-Day.com and moviegoers have fulfilled his wish. The 'chick flick' starring Bhumi Pednekar, Shehnaaz Gill, Kusha Kapila, Dolly Singh and Shibani Bedi among others is winning hearts at the box office despite a clash with multiple films. The venture is backed by Anil Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor and Rhea Kapoor.

In the exclusive interview, Karan took us back in time when Thank You For Coming was conceptualised. He recalled, "Well, it was about 4-5 years ago, I think, my wife, Rhea Kapoor, had met Radhika Anand for a story and they got talking and she narrated a line about a girl who has never had an orgasm and woke up one morning having it and not remembering who gave it to her. I think she started laughing and from there it started developing."

Reacting to whether the characters in Thank You For Coming were modelled on real-life people, Karan shared, "I think we take everything from our real life, we can't say from whom. We steal from all our friends' lives and other things around us."

Thank You For Coming is a rare film where established actors and popular social media influencers come together to share the screen space. Talking about the casting process, the director said, "A lot of credit has to go to Abhimanyu, my casting director and we have just been working for so long. I have so many friends who have been actors and then stopped acting and following influencers and our world is also now that. We communicate through our phone, we see stories online, we go to the movies, we see stories, we sit at home, we hear stories. So characters I think you are everywhere, it's just what script you have and what the scene is, and what they need. So yeah, I think finding someone experienced, someone inexperienced and I love that. I think there is great energy there."

Karan reacted to the phrase of 'women can only tell women stories through their gaze', and said he doesn't make films to break any 'notion'. The director shared, "I don't make films to break notions. I think I just do it to tell stories. Stories that excite us, stories that make me laugh, stories that make me cry. They move you, you know. And if I find something that moves me, that's what I want to share with people, you know. The male-female, I mean I wouldn't know. I have never made a film about being a female. So I don't need to know what it is to be a female. I don't know this concept."

Karan opened up on the difficulties of making a 'film'. When asked whether it was a challenge to create a story of women, he reacted, "It's very difficult to make 'a film'. And then all these tags like female-oriented, male-oriented, action, film, this film, that film. These are labels that other people put on films. When we make them, we just are telling a story, you know. It can be an ensemble film, it can be a protagonist that's led by a woman who comes through, but I don't think we do it with that in mind, you know."

There were rumours that Thank You For Coming could be a sequel of Veere Di Wedding or be a part of the same universe. Denying it, Karan said, "It's not a sequel to Veere Di Wedding. That film had 4 people on the poster and this one has 5. But yeah, I could imagine how people would assume that, but I don't think it is one."

Will the sequel of Thank You For Coming be made? Karan replied, "I don't know at the moment. I don't think because for me in this film, the story ends where it ends. Let's see. You never know."

Thank You For Coming didn't get a solo release. Sharing his views on box office clashes, Karan said, "This part of the process of filmmaking, which is the receipt, the numbers, the distribution, there are far more experienced people than me to talk about. It's a different part of the business, which I am learning, which I am understanding. But we make films to tell stories and to reach a maximum number of audiences. If your audience connects to the picture, even if there are 2000 films on that day, they will find a way to watch it. That's the strength of the picture. Ours is the little film. It feels like it's a very big film because there are a lot of established names behind it. But it's a very small film with a big idea, you know. I hope it connects."

When asked about his take on censorship, Karan shared, "I have no opinion on censorship. They are there in every country. So every country has a censor board and whenever we look to exhibit it in that country, we have to follow the ideas behind the censor board. They know best about the country."

Karan worked with his wife Rhea and father-in-law Anil Kapoor on Thank You For Coming. Does he plan to do a film with sister-in-law Sonam Kapoor? He said, "I'd love to. Find me one script."