Sudhanshu Saria: ‘She came after us, there was no getting away’

Janhvi Kapoor

Some directors are a ball of nerves days before a film's release. In contrast, Sudhanshu Saria enjoys this window, as his Ulajh is little over a week away from its release. "Right now, I feel the same joy that I felt when I first read the draft that Parveez Sheikh wrote. Ulajh belongs to a genre I have not worked in before. The setting of Indian Foreign Services [IFS] was so compelling. Bravery and patriotism come in all shapes and sizes; that was the idea of the story," he smiles.

Ulajh revolves around a young IFS officer who becomes a pawn in a high-stakes conspiracy. While the spy thriller includes a fine cast of Gulshan Devaiah, Roshan Mathew, Adil Hussain and Rajesh Tailang, it puts Janhvi Kapoor front and centre. The National Award-winning director underlines that he consciously tells stories with women protagonists - be it his series Big Girls Don't Cry, or his upcoming film Sanaa. "I like the idea of a balanced world when it comes to gender politics. In Ulajh too, this is her story, and yet little is affected by her gender. She is a hero who happens to be a woman. Parveez made the original choice, and I took it forward.

The traditional notion is that action is about muscles, so, it is a male category. But spy films are about smarts. Movies like these expand the idea that there cannot be a gender lens in genres. All genres can belong to all actors." For Saria, the film's highlight is Kapoor, who matched his passion every step of the way. "Janhvi got wind of this script existing. She came after us, and there was no getting away from her. I was excited that I found a passionate partner.

When I met her, I loved that she was willing to be a part of my process; nothing scared her. We did extensive workshops to make sure the part and the film fit her like a glove." In a much-needed change, Ulajh also features names of all writers prominently on the poster. Saria credits the studio for taking that rare call. "It's wonderful to see Junglee Studios pamper their creative talent. We collectively felt the important thing in Ulajh is its story. I laud the studio for doing its bit in correcting the fact that historically writers' work is undervalued."