More than a decade ago, anyone reading Bombay Times would not have missed the ad for the play Pune Highway, which went on to do hundreds of shows. Now, the dynamic duo, Rahul DaCunha and Bugs Bhargava Krishna, is all set with a film on this thriller. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Rahul DaCunha and Bugs Bhargava Krishna speak about adapting their successful drama into celluloid and a lot more.
The production houses backing Pune Highway have unusual names – Drop D Films and Ten Years Younger Productions. The play was produced by Rage, which is another unique name. Do you guys intentionally go for such out-of-the-box titles?
Rahul DaCunha: The name Rage was given by Rahul Bose. He was an original member of Rage. We were having coffee one day and trying to figure out a name for the company. He suggested the name should be angry! I reasoned that we don’t do angry plays but he said, ‘We should rage. Let’s rage’. This is when I suggested the name ‘Rage’.
Bugs Bhargava Krishna: As for Ten Years Younger, you’ll have to ask my daughter (Jahanara Bhargava). She came up with the title. I guess if you could be ten years younger, you are ahead of the time and you also have the experience.
Rahul DaCunha: Drop D is our newest production house. After theatre, my biggest passion is listening to music. Drop D is a tuning in a guitar. What’s fascinating is that though it’s a catchy name, most people have no clue what it means. Many people assume it means drop-dead gorgeous! Some thought it was something to do with saying, ‘We dropped the movie today’. Only one person, Clinton Cerejo, guessed it right. He said, ‘Obviously, it’s the tuning yaar’!
You have directed so many plays. What made you and Bugs select Pune Highway as the one that should have a cinematic adaptation?
Rahul DaCunha: Bugs has directed two films before. Ever since the day the play was written and produced way back in 2004, he’s been saying, ‘One day, this should become a film’. During those days, there was no OTT and hence, we were bounded by limited mediums. Also, I was happy with the play; it was doing so well. Anurag Kashyap came for the opening night of the play and he told me, ‘Yaar iss story pe picture bana de’. He was not a success then. He had just made Paanch.
20 years later, the pandemic hit the world. Bugs told me that it was the apt time to make Pune Highway into a film. The play was very tight; it was shot in just one hotel room. Bugs noted that we could open it up in the film version. We could show the highway et al. We wrote the script for 6 months in the pandemic. Bugs insisted that I should produce it. And here we are.
I have seen your other play, Class Of ’84. Like Pune Highway, it also deals with the reunion of friends and a murder. What is it about this theme that attracts you?
Rahul DaCunha: I am fascinated with friends reuniting.
Bugs Bhargava Krishna: Meanwhile, I am fascinated by the dark side of human beings! You might be a great human being; yet, there’s a dark side to you that allows you to take somebody’s life. Because we are all hypocrites, we’ll behave as if we haven’t done it. That’s why the whole idea of who did it and whether the culprit got caught or not fascinated me. It’s the ultimate puzzle of life. You can’t create it but you have taken it. And you want to even hide the fact that you have taken it. This is fascinating and therefore, everything we have done somewhere centres around it.
What has been the most memorable feedback that you received for the play?
Bugs Bhargava Krishna: I won’t mention names but somebody committed suicide. A person, who was involved with the deceased, came to see the play. There’s a scene, which Rahul has directed deftly, where low light is falling on my face and I am being interrogated. This guy, sitting in the audience, started to weep. He wept through the whole performance. He went out and wept again. We met after the performance and we had dinner. He kept crying and he told me, ‘The play took me back to what the cops did to me’. He was grilled for abetment of suicide. I told Rahul about the powerful themes he has got in the play. Hence, if we open it up, (the impact will be manifold).
You played the role of Nikki in the play, as you just mentioned. Did you not think of casting yourself?
Bugs Bhargava Krishna: (Smiles) No. I guess when you want to tell a story, you have to play just one role. Maybe, I am not good enough to be an actor as well as be on the direction side. I feel it's better to tell the story wholeheartedly.
Rahul DaCunha: Amit Sadh and Jim Sarbh were on our wish list. There was nobody else. When the time came to cast Nikki, I turned to Bugs and asked him who should play that part as it was only fair that he got to decide. He mentioned Anuvab Pal’s name. (It worked well as) he’s not a Bollywood guy. He provides a counterpoint. I also realized that stand-up guys are fabulous and untapped. There’s no baggage and moreover, he’s funny. In fact, I hate to say that the character is the funny aspect of the play. But then in the darkness, you need a bit of a light.
Have you changed the film version as compared to the play?
Rahul DaCunha: The play was unfinished in an odd kind of way. I was on a deadline. What should have been a two-act play became a one-act venture. I always wished to rewrite the play where the second half focused on investigation. Bugs told me, ‘Forget the play! Let’s get the police investigation bit into the film’. As a result, the two cop characters become a fabulous counterpoint to the boys.
A lovely tussle between us was to decide how much of the play we should keep while writing the film adaptation. The play is static; it is set in one motel and most of the things happen off-stage. In the film, we had to show it. Gradually, more and more of the play started going out of the window. I was okay with it while Bugs was against the idea (Bugs laughs). What was fascinating was that we were able to achieve the fullness of the characters in the film. We could explore backstories, etc, which we can’t show in a play.
It's great that Pune Highway arrives on the big screen on May 16. But was there ever a plan to get directly on a streaming platform?
Rahul DaCunha: A film like this is a slam dunk on OTT. When we first saw the rough cut, we realized that the movie has scale. Bugs insisted that we give it a shot in cinemas. Secondly, true respect for a movie comes when it is released on the big screen. On OTT - bless them all - but it ends up becoming an icon. Unlike the olden days, it’s no longer about 25 weeks or 50 weeks. Still, we want the world to see it, eating popcorn. With OTT, you have distractions – your meal coming in from a delivery platform or people watching the second half after dinner or even after a few days. A film achieves stature and gravitas when it comes to the big screen.
(At this point, Ketaki Narayan joins us; she plays a pivotal role in the film)
How did you bag the film?
Ketaki Narayan: I auditioned for it 6-7 months ago before I came on board. I was told by casting director Adityoa Suranna that Jim Sarbh, Amit Sadh and Manjari Fadnnis were on. I was given a script which was too big for an audition. Generally, you get one page. But the character had many layers and hence the audition script was given accordingly, so that the makers could ascertain where the actor could do justice to the part. Then nobody called me!
Bugs Bhargava Krishna: We had considered another actress, who’s a well-known star and whose name I can’t mention. But 9 days before the shoot, she backed off, without even informing us. Later, she sent an apology and revealed that she was trying her luck for another project. That didn’t work and by then we had moved on. So, she lost out on both the projects.
When I am making a movie, I wake up at 3:00 am. So, at 3 in the morning, I looked at the audition tapes and this is when I realized that I had missed Ketaki’s audition. Rahul was sleeping and I woke him up (laughs). Later, in the day, producer Seema Mohapatra got hold of her number. Ketaki informed me that she was in Pune. Not wanting to waste time, I drove down to Pune, that too via Pune Highway! We met at a restaurant and took her on a video call with Rahul. She was locked and then I drove her back. I was like, ‘I am not trusting you to come on to your own’ (laughs).
In ’83 (2021) you played the pregnant woman. People loved your scene in the cinemas, especially when you asked for the score minutes before your delivery…
Ketaki Narayan: Everybody is trying to make me pregnant on screen! Even here, I play someone who’s expecting.
’83 was about India winning the Cricket World Cup on June 25. The internet claims you were born on the same day. Is that true? If yes, it’s a lovely coincidence…
Ketaki Narayan: Nope, not true. I just celebrated my birthday on April 22. Feel free to send me a gift!
More Pages: Pune Highway Box Office Collection
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