Kapil Kaustubh Sharma had a memorable debut in his brother Anil Sharma’s Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo (2004). 6 years after this film, he was back with Dunno Y Na Jaane Kyun (2010), which also featured him as a writer. The film got global acclaim and Kapil and his co-star Yuvraaj Parashar then starred in its sequel Dunno Y 2... Life Is a Moment (2015). Recently, they released the third part, Love Is Love (2024), which also got a lot of acclaim. And now, Kapil Kaustubh Sharma has begun shooting for his directorial venture, Zindagi Phir Bhi Khoobsurat Hai. The slice-of-life film brings back the gorgeous and talented Tanishaa Mukerji back on the big screen.
Speaking exclusively with Bollywood Hungama, Kapil Kaustubh Sharma said, “Zindagi Phir Bhi Khoobsurat Hai is a sweet, feel-good, slice-of-life kind of a film. It belongs to the Basu Chatterjee and Sai Paranjpye genre. It is also in the zone as Laapataa Ladies (2024), that is, our film is realistic but also has emotions, romance and comedy. It also has a Parsi backdrop.” Also, it is diametrically opposite to the violent and gory films, which seems to be in trend today. Kapil added, “Ours is a soft, sweet and emotional film.”
Interestingly, ‘Zindagi Phir Bhi Khoobsurat Hai’ was a song in the 1978 film Khatta Meetha, and it was also a film about Parsis. Kapil revealed, “Yes, I got the name from that song. As a kid, Khatta Meetha was the first film that I saw, which had Parsi characters. I didn’t know much about them before that film. Hence, Khatta Meetha definitely was there in the back of my mind and served as an inspiration. Once I wrote Zindagi Phir Bhi Khoobsurat Hai’s script, I was wondering what should be its title. This is when I happened to see Khatta Meetha again and I realized that Zindagi Phir Bhi Khoobsurat Hai is apt for the film. Luckily, I got that title too (smiles).”
Kapil added, “I wrote the story and screenplay by myself. Pervein Dastur and her husband Shahrukh Sirus Irani are my friends. Both also acted in my series, Margaon - The Closed File. They are Parsis and hence, I took their help in getting the detailed nuances, dialect, etc, right.”
Kapil Kaustubh Sharma then opened up about Tanishaa Mukerji’s casting, “The film spans decades, from the 90s to 2025. Hence, there was a requirement of an actress who could look like a girl from the 20s and also a 50-year-old girl. While we were deciding on the casting, I realized that Tanishaa would be an apt choice. She looks younger than her age. For a while, she has not been seen and that freshness is also there. She loved the story and her character and came on board.”
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As for the rest of the casting, Kapil said, “Sushmita Mukherjee, Kitu Gidwani, Pervein Dastur, Delnaaz Irani, Tanaaz Irani, Shahrukh Sirus Irani, Dolly Thakore and Ananya Dutta also star in the film. Some of the casting still needs to be finalized.”
Kitu Gidwani had a hilarious role in Love Is Love, which got unanimous acclaim. Kapil assured, “Even this time, her character is unusual. She’s not playing a high-society character, which she’s usually known for.”
And that’s not all. Besides writing, directing and producing Zindagi Phir Bhi Khoobsurat Hai, Kapil is also acting in his film. He said, “I directed Margaon - The Closed File but I didn’t act in it. But in this film, I also feature as an actor. I have also worked hard on that front. I am playing a Parsi and I am also essaying a character who is young and then turns old. Hence, I am getting trained to get the act right. For the older part, I have put on weight, around 75-80 kgs. Hence, even physically, it is quite challenging. Later, when I shoot my younger portions, I’ll weigh around 65 kgs.”
Kapil Kaustubh Sharma seems to have taken a leaf out of Aamir Khan’s Dangal (2016) prep. The superstar gained weight for the older portions and then lost the weight. Aamir later said that he purposely asked the makers to film the younger portions later so that he would get motivated to lose weight. Kapil laughed when we brought this up and agreed, “That is the right thing to do as well.”
Zindagi Phir Bhi Khoobsurat Hai has gone on floors already. Kapil Kaustubh Sharma stated, “The older portions are almost completed. We’ll take a gap of around 1 ½ months and then resume shooting. We are shooting in real Parsi houses in South Mumbai and Dadar Parsi Colony. It’ll be out next year. I plan to send it to a big international film festival and then release the film in theatres.”
Also Read: Tanishaa Mukerji’s style diary: From glittering gowns to graceful sarees
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