We have often seen Akarsh Khurana directing some of the classic plays or some of the most entertaining shows on OTT platforms, but this time, the director is bringing the best of both worlds through his latest project 'Gunehgaar'. Khurana, who was in the city for his play, says the story is an impact of all the exposure to Hitchcock and Poirot in his growing up days.
The show, which released on September 24 on Zee Theatre, is a teleplay that could remind one of the programmes played in the early ‘90s, which were made in a similar format. That was one of the biggest selling points for Khurana to pick up the project. “It’s a format by itself. It is teleplay. It is kind of like a film but it is not shot like a film. It is usually shot on one set.
Back in the day, in Doordarshan, they used to do teleplays and they used to shoot in a fairly conventional manner like plays as if you are watching a play. But that was a little distant and you would watch it from afar,” explains Khurana. However, he wanted to push his boundaries and not just shoot it like a play. “There were elements which were a little theatrical and used tricky camera work, blending what I had learnt from my theatre work and film work to create something interesting and new, where the power of storytelling and performance comes through,” says he.
This is the first time that Khurana, who has also directed the Netflix romantic drama Mismatched starring Prajakta Kohli and Rohit Saraf, whose season 2 is out now, is doing something that is strictly a suspense thriller. “I have attempted suspense on stage through plays. This is a teleplay and Zee got in touch with me saying they wanted to try something in this genre. I said I was very excited to try it since I have tried it on stage and have never shot it and this is going to be a hybrid of both stage and film,” says Khurana, adding that this was a perfect opportunity to experiment. A psychological thriller, it stars Gajraj Rao, Shweta Basu Prasad and Sumeet Vyas in the lead roles.
The filmmaker also plays an important role in the casting and calls working with Vyas comes from a comfort zone. “Sumeet and I have worked a lot together. He is my go-to person and I was fortunate that he was free and available to do this. This is the first time that I am working with Shweta Basu Prasad,” says Khurana, who has worked with Vyas in shows like Tripling . With Rao, whom he had been trying to work with previously, it finally happened this time.
“Gajraj Rao is someone I wanted to work with. I have approached him a couple of times and it has not worked out due to dates and other issues. He has always been supportive of my theatre work. This time I told him about it and it’s kind of a play we are shooting and it’s a short requirement etc,” says Khurana, adding the format interested the actor the most.