EXCLUSIVE: Peepli [LIVE] director Anusha Rizvi took 8 long years to make The Great Shamsuddin Family: “Shoot completed in just 24 days”; reveals FASCINATING trivia, “Cast actually sang end song LIVE, Farida Jalal included”

After the critically acclaimed, thoroughly entertaining, and thought-provoking Peepli [LIVE] (2010), Anusha Rizvi returned with The Great Shamsuddin Family. It premiered on JioHotstar on December 12 and has been appreciated for its central idea, humour, poignant moments and the performances by the lead cast – Kritika Kamra, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Juhi Babbar Soni, Purab Kohli, Sheeba Chadha, Farida Jalal, Nishank Verma and others. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Anusha Rizvi spoke about the film’s response, the process of making the film and a lot more.

How has it been going on for you ever since the film was released and what’s the feedback been like?
It is quite fantastic and to tell you the truth, I have not been able to fully absorb it as well. Until recently, we were delivering all the files of the film. Nevertheless, it’s a great feeling. I am gradually coming to terms with all the stuff that people have been writing.

How did you get the idea of a woman grappling with too many extended family members assembling in her house on a single day? Have you ever gone through it in your life?
It is partly from real life. In some homes, families do become central. If there’s an issue, a lot of them tend to land up in that home. But also, it’s a decision that a lot of independent filmmakers have to take. It helps a great deal, while budgeting, to have one location or fewer locations. So, the idea is to tell the story that you want to tell but also keep it within the constraints of the budget provided.

Is it true that it took you many years to make this film?
Yes, that’s right. I wrote it a long time ago. Then it took me a good 8 years to get it made.

Was it a challenge to get so many actors, that too within the budget you had in hand? Also, did they have any insecurity about their roles?
The cast always had the entire script. Anybody who tested, I made sure that they either read the full script or got a narration from me so that there’s no ambiguity about what the story is, what their role is and what they are coming in for.

The actors have been just so generous. They came with such goodwill and happy feelings towards the film. We all became a family in no time and it made for a heartening experience.

How many days did you take to shoot the film?
I think we completed the shoot in about 24 days.

It's also a brave film as it talks about the minority community and their share of fears and insecurities. Was there a worry in your mind whether the film would get okayed by the streaming platform, or was it an easy process?
It's never an easy process for filmmakers to greenlit their script. It’s a process; let’s put it that way. Star Studio18 has produced the film and they have always had the script. There was nothing that they didn’t know about the story.

There’s a scene where Tousif (Anup Soni) is incommunicado. Meanwhile, reports emerge on the internet of a car that was set on fire in the city. Tousif’s wife Humaira (Juhi Babbar Soni) fears that Tousif might have been assaulted. It hits you that there’s a section of society that actually expects the worst in such a scenario.
The film is trying to explore that it's not necessary that something untoward has really happened. But there is a fear that it might have happened. The film tries to explore how deep and prevalent this fear is. To live with that fear is the most difficult part for these characters.

The scene has come out very effectively and is an eye-opener...
Thank you. I’ll let Juhi know, as she has done such a tremendous job. She could have done so much but she kept her performance restrained and mature.

You have extracted fine performances from everyone. We have never seen Shreya in such kind of a role with comic shades...
(Laughs) She’s adorable. She is very much a fun person in real life too. I personally saw her in Scam 1992 and The Family Man, where she had certain kinds of roles. However, she took on Iram so perfectly. I cannot imagine anyone else essaying Iram.

Was there ever a discussion to get The Great Shamsuddin Family on the big screen? Or was the plan always to premiere it digitally?
I think there was some conversation (for a theatrical release). I am really grateful to JioHotstar because the theatre situation right now is such that smaller films might release, but within a week, they’ll disappear from theatres. Then it's really difficult to find them and watch them. While making The Great Shamsuddin Family, I missed some wonderful films like Sabar Bonda. Since they are no longer in the theatres, I am not able to access them. But since The Great Shamsuddin Family is on JioHotstar, it allows the film to breathe and even live. So, if someone is not able to watch it in the first week, they can still have access to it whenever they like.

The film ends on a sweet note and the song 'Mane Woh Galiyan Dikhla' is lovely…
A lot of people haven’t noticed it yet, but I find it super exciting. The special thing about that song is that it is sung by the actors of the film, except for Kritika. Everybody who can be seen singing has actually sung the song, including Farida ji. It’s all recorded live and so, it captures their emotion in that moment (smiles).

You are working on a documentary about Sidhu Moosewala. Would that be available digitally? Also, will it be a full-length documentary or a series?
I don’t know as of now. For any filmmaker right now to say ki kaise aayegi and kab aayegi, its difficult. You never know; you may not find the money for it, or you might find it quickly.

I was actually working on it before I started shooting for The Great Shamsuddin Family. I’ll be going back to it now. I’ll also go back to writing fiction.

Also Read: Kritika Kamra celebrates the power of female-crafted storytelling as she leads Anusha Rizvi’s The Great Shamsuddin Family: “A privilege to be centered in a woman’s story”

More Pages: The Great Shamsuddin Family Box Office Collection , The Great Shamsuddin Family Movie Review

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