Divya’s directorial dream

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Her modelling and acting days are over and now Divya Khosla Kumar is all charged up to direct her maiden film Yaariyaan. She directed several music videos before finally graduating to directing a movie. So what was the trigger?

“I have always wanted to direct a film. I was working on the script for the past two years. When I had finally done it, I knew I could start shooting for my film,” says Divya, a proud wife of T-Series’ Bhushan Kumar.
Yaariyaan deals with the lives of the youth, their friendship and life around each other and Divya didn’t want established names to play these characters. So she roped in a fresh starcast. She says, “It’s about youngsters and how their lives are intertwined with each other. We are making the film with newcomers but they are immensely talented. They had been doing acting workshops for over a year before we started shooting for the film. The content, I am sure, will floor everyone.”
Since she has been in front as well as behind the camera, what difference did she find in both the jobs? “Direction is definitely more demanding. You need to understand every aspect of the film from the perspective of the audience as well as a director. One has to know how to handle the whole team’s shortcomings, if any, witjhout affecting the film in any way. Thankfully, it has been a smooth ride so far. Hope it stays that way.”
Deepti Naval is playing the role of a Bengali school teacher in Yaariyaan. Being a perfectionist, she is working on getting the Bengali accent right. Was it a challenge working with a veteran like Naval? “She has always been a director’s actor. So in this film also she has perfectly understood her role and what I expect from her as a director. It has been going pretty well.”
Location plays a pivotal role and these days cities in the backdrop act like a character in the film. Therefore, Divya also tried to bring in as many unexplored areas of India into the shots. “We have been gifted by scenic landscapes and I try to capture them as much as I can.”
A director’s job is way too taxing. But she has managed to strike a balance between her work and home. “Bhushan has always been my biggest inspiration. He has been supportive and encouraging since the beginning. It is difficult to manage everything, but you have to understand your priorities and have things worked out accordingly, and luckily for me things fall in place when it comes to striking a work-life balance.”
Divya has put her heart and soul into this film and hopes that the film, to be released in the first half of 2013, is liked by all.