As Bhediya joins Rs 100 crore club, director Amar Kaushik tells us how success gives him the confidence to tell his kind of stories!

Mona

“Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life,” wrote Mark Twain, and that’s the kind of life film director Amar Kaushik is leading. A super-hit debut film, Stree, in 2018 and the best debut director’s award, he continued his successful run with Bala in 2019. His third outing, Bhediya, in theatres, has already crossed Rs 100 crore mark!

Aiming it at children and teens among others, it was an interaction with students of Dikshant International School that brought Amar to Chandigarh. “When I made Bhediya, I had children in mind. It was lovely to have them watch the film and come up with questions and suggestions,” he says.

Born in Medo, Arunachal Pradesh, the state which one sees in all its natural splendour in Bhediya, Amar grew up in Kanpur before moving to Delhi and finally to Mumbai. “It was sometime after twelfth grade that I decided to pursue cinema.”

Post his journalism course in Delhi, Amar assisted different filmmakers in Mumbai and enjoyed while it lasted. “When I moved, I promised myself that I would find joy in whatever I did. I was not critical of what I was doing or not doing, but I took my work seriously, and learnt every day. I still learn every single day.” Post assisting on films like Aamir, I Am, Go Goa Gone and Fukrey, Amar started as a director with a short film, Aaba. Stree established him in the entertainment industry.

Was there a pressure to deliver another hit? “Not really. I am passionate about telling stories. When I did Stree, nobody made films like that in our country. Audience loved it, and that gave me confidence to keep telling my kind of stories!”

Amar believes in giving out a message with his stories. “Growing up, whenever our mother or grandmother told us a story, there was always a lesson to be learnt. I try to have that when I tell my stories too!”

Stree talked of respecting women; Bala shed light on body shaming; now Bhediya makes a case for keeping our forests alive. “I am not preachy. I want to entertain the audience, if they find a message in it, that is great,” he says, adding, “It’s not necessary that I will stay the same.”

Considering that Amar did a web show, Table No.5, in his early days, does he have plans to enter that space again? “I would love to. Neither one is restricted to a two-hour format nor the pressure of box office collections on OTT. One can take time to build the narrative, establish characters and take the story forward. I am game for web shows if anything interesting comes along.”

Right now, occupied with Stree’s sequel, he says, “My job is my hobby. I love travelling but even when I am travelling, I am talking about films.” There is no wish-list of actors that he wants to work in or the language or a genre. “I love it all — drama, romance, thrillers — if a particular story demands a particular actor I would go for him.” Ever thought of venturing out of Hindi? “If the script demands it, why not? If the character is Bengali, I would make it speak its language; I would love to work with South Indian actors if that is the setting of the story.” Till then, Bhediya is running in cinemas…