Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar’s debut venture Yahaan completed 20 years yesterday. The film, starring Jimmy Shergill and Minissha Lamba, was based in Kashmir. On its landmark anniversary, Sircar looked back at the film in an interview with us.
Shoojit Sircar on 20 years of his debut directorial Yahaan, “I love every moment that I’ve spent in that film”
In your debut film Yahaan, you visited Kashmir during its troubled times
I’m happy and proud of my film. This is my first film and I love every moment that I’ve spent in that film. And of course, the visual element of Yahaan, especially by my cinematographer Jakob Ihre, was absolutely incredible. He presented Kashmir in an absolute organic and realistic way. So, that made it really look like a poetry, the way Kashmir is. I think he brought out in his cinematography, there’s a kind of a little lyrical quality to the visuals of Yahaan. But there was more.
Which is?
For the first time, I got to work with Gulzar Saab and Shantanu Moitra. They created some of the most evocative music and lyrics. I was really fortunate to work with them in my first film, especially Gulzar Saab.
There were as many as six writers on board for Yahaan
Yes, I had a whole lot of writers in this. Of course, it started with Sabapati and Mahesh. Uday Mahesh is famous, I think. He plays Chellum sir in The Family Man. So, we hanged out, were hanging around together in the 90s, late 90s. And then he and Sabapati came up with this initial idea of this film and then came Somnath Dey and then came Piyush Mishra, helping me in writing and post-production and editing and all that. So, they became collaborators with me.
The plot was quite a lot of thought provoking
Yes, there was, and also the fact that this Kashmiri girl, who is questioning a lot of things. And then her brother is also entangled in the process. And she’s also in love with an army personnel, which is almost like impossible there. I wanted to pick up the broken Kashmir of that time, the Kashmiriyat and there were locals who were against whatever happened there since 1989. I wanted to make a very hopeful film where there is an army personnel, there is a Kashmiri girl. who is Kashmiri and there is a Hindu girl also, who is a Kashmiri Hindu and who’s been adopted by this family. So, I just wanted to put all of them together, and introspect.
Was it risky for you?
Those constant visits to Kashmir and places like Charar-e-Sharif, Hazratbal. I remember I visited Charar-e-Sharif just a few days after the Charar-e-Sharif massacre or whatever the confrontation happened there between some militants and army. I remember I’ve been to Hazratbal where I’ve seen from a very long distance that how it was destroyed and broken also in some places. Yahaan was not an easy film to make.
More Pages: Yahaan Box Office Collection , Yahaan Movie Review
BOLLYWOOD NEWS – LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2025 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.