'Killa' director Avinash Arun: Miss those times of Hrishi-da’s films

Director Avinash Arun with the movie’s cast

Sometimes, a seeming loss turns into an unexpected gain. That's what happened with Avinash Arun. When the production of Paatal Lok's second season was delayed due to the pandemic, the director had no idea that it would lead to the creation of Three of Us. "When Paatal Lok 2 got pushed, I had no work. I got nervous. One night, after meeting director Chaitanya Tamhane, I got so inspired that I returned home and started writing. Within a week, my two friends, Arpita Chatterjee and Omkar Barve, and I wrote the screenplay for Three of Us," recounts the director.

What followed was a smooth ride as lead actors Shefali Shah, Jaideep Ahlawat and Swanand Kirkire, dialogue writers Varun Grover and Shoaib Nazeer came on board quickly, and the film was ready to roll in three months. It reminded Arun that when a movie is destined to be made, things fall in place. "When I sent the first draft of the screenplay to Shefali, she replied, ‘I am on.' After I sent the dialogue draft to Jaideep, he video-called me and said, ‘This is so beautiful. I am doing it.'"

Arun is aware that things are usually harder than this. After all, it took him eight years to get his second feature film as a director, even though his debut feature Killa (2015) earned a National Film Award. But he agrees that the stupendous success of Paatal Lok has given him an impetus. Now, as he presents an unrequited love story with Three of Us, the director wants to bring forth the lost magic of films rooted in simplicity. "I miss those times when Hrishikesh Mukherjee films were mainstream. We have grown up watching films by him, Sai Paranjpye, Basu Chatterjee and Gulzar saab. Such stories are gone. So, this is my attempt to get that genre back to the mainstream."