Actress Divya Khosla Kumar who made her debut in Bollywood with Anil Sharma’s Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyon (2004) has now gone behind the camera as director for the upcoming movie Yaariyan. The actress-turned-director, who is married to T-Series head honcho Bhushan Khumar, speaks to City Express about her directorial debut.
How it started
I had entered the industry with Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyon, where I got the opportunity to act with stars like Amitabh Bhachchan, Akshay Kumar and Bobby Deol. After that, I got married to Bhushan and started about cinematography and editing. I trained in production and worked in music videos for several years. After that I was confident that I would be able to direct a movie and now, finally, my first movie as a director is ready.
The experience
It was very tough but I really enjoyed it. All the creativity and talent I possessed since childhood, I have been able to convey through direction. Being a woman, I was able to bring out the emotions better from my cast. I am of the opinion that women can bring out emotions better than men since they are more sensitive. It is a male-dominated industry but I think women make better directors in terms of sensitivity and expressions.
Choreography
I have worked in a lot of music videos and so, I’m pretty well trained in that aspect. Which is why I decided to choreograph a song myself in this movie. It was great and Yaariyan is receiving a lot of positive response.
Husband’s influence
He was definitely supportive but I didn’t piggyback on his shoulders. I had to prove myself to him first that I’m worthy of directing a film. We have been married for eight years and it’s only now that I’m directing a film. T-Series is in his father’s name and he is very emotionally attached to the company. It was not easy getting approval from him to direct a movie. He was initially very concerned as to how the film would turn out, but after watching , he said he was relieved.
The star cast
Choosing the star cast for this movie was the most challenging part. I wanted to have completely new, fresh characters. I had to choose five actors who did not belong to a film background and have made no mark in the industry. To train them was difficult as a debut director since I did not want to make them appear like newcomers. It was very important for them to look like seasoned actors. I conducted an acting workshop for about six to eight months to get them ready for the movie.
Future plans
Right now I’m too busy with the promotion of Yaariyan to think about anything else, but I would like to start writing my next script once this is completed. As far as acting is concerned, I haven’t thought about it much yet.
Yaariyan is set to release on January 10.