EXCLUSIVE: Sheetal Menon praises Sidhant Gupta’s EXTRAORDINARY dedication to her short film Duet: “I asked for 3 days; he gave me 9 months…even learned to play the piano”
After making her mark as an actor, Sheetal Menon has now ventured into filmmaking. Following her directorial debut with the short film Siblings, she is all set to release her deeply intimate and ambitiously cinematic second short, Duet. Backed by acclaimed filmmaker and her husband Bejoy Nambiar, Duet stars Sidhant Gupta as a pianist going through a turbulent phase in his life. The film also stands out for being the first film to release on Spotify. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Sheetal spoke about the genesis of Duet, collaborating with Sidhant Gupta and a lot more.
Congrats on having Spotify on board to release Duet…
Thank you. It was Bejoy’s idea. He felt that we needed to explore different ways of finding the right platform for the film. Meanwhile, the team at Spotify was very keen to showcase it on their platform. So, after weeks and months of discussions, everything has finally come together. The film will release on Spotify and simultaneously stream on Getaway Pictures’ YouTube channel on July 30.
The film is co-written by Arpita Chatterjee, who has a diverse body of work, from Bheja Fry (2007) to Three Of Us (2023). How was it collaborating with her on the writing process?
Arpita has played an important part in the journey of how I got into storytelling. The first short film that I directed, Siblings, was also co-written by Arpita. Working with her pushed me to move ahead and do it even more. I really want to credit the entire journey of me getting into filmmaking and writing to Arpita. That’s how big a part she has played in my life. If I had a bad experience, I might have stopped and not tried again. But she had confidence in me; she was like my mentor (smiles). I was coming from this space where I didn’t know how it was done, like how people write screenplays. The collaboration was just too beautiful.
When I decided to make Duet, my second short film, she was my go-to person. I called her and told her, ‘I want to do this with you. I can’t think of working with anyone else’ (laughs). I anyway don’t have access to other writers as well. Moreover, it’s a short film and so, you don’t have that kind of funding.
Thankfully, she came on board. I absolutely love the way she approaches stories. We both strongly connect with the idea of exploring deep human emotions and relationships, and that shared sensibility makes the writing process feel very natural. It never feels like a task; the material resonates with us deeply, and the collaboration becomes effortless. I do want to get back to her for every film (laughs). She now tells me, ‘You should explore and work with more writers’.
How did Sidhant Gupta bag the lead role?
I approached many actors. But it happens that people say ‘yes’ and then you don’t know how long you should wait. As for Sidhant, I didn’t know him personally and was introduced to him through Vikramaditya Motwane, for which I am deeply grateful. He had read the story of Duet and his encouragement meant the world to me. At the time, I wasn’t even sure whether I should go ahead and make the film. But he responded positively to the story and suggested that I reach out to Sidhant. They had worked together on Jubilee; the show had not come out then and I had not seen Sidhant’s work. Vikram cautioned that ‘I am not sure if he’ll respond, but try your luck’ (laughs).
I sent him a mail. I still remember the reply I got on that mail. We met soon after, and I was amazed by the level of commitment he was willing to make to a short film. I told him, ‘If you could give me 3 days, I’ll be very grateful’. But he gave me 8-9 months of his time. That is because my film took that long. I had accepted that no actor would be willing to devote so much time to a short film. But Sidhant connected deeply with the story and committed himself to it selflessly. I was someone who had a lot of doubts, but he had so much confidence in the film (laughs). I used to tell him, ‘You should write a book on Duet’ because that’s how much he had prepared.
I remember Vikram Motwane’s lines that ‘He’ll sit in your office for 10 hours, keep reading the script and ask you 50,000 questions’. That’s exactly what he did. Working with him felt like going back to school. He asked questions that had never occurred to us, forcing us to think more deeply and find the answers! He elevated both the performance and the film beyond our expectations.
It took us 9 to 10 months before we went on the floors. At one point, we were almost ready to shoot but we had to cancel and wait another 3 months due to logistical issues, money, etc. Yet, he waited patiently. During that period, I watched him work on this little story of mine every single day. He learned the piano and started playing it. The protagonist is a pianist and you have to see the way a pianist plays. You can’t fake it. It’s very tough and he tried his best. This is a feat for someone who hasn’t played the piano before in his life. When you get that kind of support from an actor, it means everything.
Interestingly, the film features compositions of New York-based Eric Christian and London-based Ben Crosland…
It was my desire to create some beautiful piano tracks and somehow, I was not able to get the time from people whom I was approaching. A few months went by in this process. I was not ready to go on floors without knowing what my music is because the protagonist is actually playing that music in the story.
Life comes full circle – the film will release on Spotify and I used to explore the app to check out a lot of artists. That’s how I came across Eric Christian and Ben Crosland. They are two different artists living in two different countries. I listened to their music and I became a fan. I reached out to them via Instagram to try my luck. I was shaking when I was writing that message to them. To my surprise, I got an answer from both of them. They didn’t know me and yet they replied. In fact, I got an answer from both of them on the same day. That, according to me, was a divine intervention.
Besides these two people, Sid Acharya has also contributed to the music; he composed the BGM. He’s an artist from Sydney, Australia. His music is extremely popular and I had these references in my film. I wished that someone could create the music like Sid. It was the same process – I reached out to him and I got an answer from him as well.
I go speechless when I look back, as they are way too gifted artists and I could have never imagined I would get to collaborate with them.
Did Bejoy Nambiar share any inputs?
I have completely exhausted Bejoy’s brain while making the film. After a point, he was like, ‘Now don’t talk to me. If you want to talk to me, take an appointment because I am not gonna talk to you’ (laughs)! His days are so packed with 50,000 things and meetings. But if I had doubts or questions, I would run and ask him. That’s the little liberty you take in the house. Of course, he had a lot of input to give. But he never came on the set to see how it was going. He just came towards the end to check if we had finished the schedule for the day! But during the post-production, he’s someone I heavily relied on for any critical inputs. He would be honest about whether or not things are working.
What next as a director? Can we see you acting again in films?
I am open to acting, and it is not as though that chapter of my life is over. I feel fortunate whenever an opportunity comes my way, as it gives me something new to look forward to and allows me to expand my capabilities. With every small step I take as a filmmaker through these short films, I am also gaining greater confidence.
On the acting front, I recently finished working on Lijo Jose Pellissery’s film. I faced the camera again after a long gap, and I was very happy to get the opportunity to work with a filmmaker like him.
Lastly, I have written a Hindi feature film script, which is now ready. I’ll begin pitching it soon and hope I get the opportunity to make it.
Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Sheetal Menon, who rescued Shah Rukh Khan in My Name Is Khan, reunites with him after 15 years: “There is so much to learn from watching him up close”
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