Sudhir Mishra : The Many Firsts Of My Career In Serious Men

The prolific  explorer  of dark themes  Sudhir Mishra  has  just released his  most sunlit  film to date. Serious Men  is  first  film on the streaming platform. An adaptation  of  Manu Joseph’s celebrated  novel Serious  Men, it features Nawazuddin Siddiqui in  the lead.

 Says Sudhir Mishra, “This is the  first time I’ve worked with Nawazuddin. So far I had only heard  of his tremendous talent. Now I had first-hand experience. It was  exhilarating. Nawaz  gives so much to not just his own  character  but to the entire film. He was more like my collaborator than lead actor.”

But  the  actual lead  actor  of  Serious Men is a child whom  the  director can’t stop raving about.

“He is  a 9-year old boy named  Aakshath Das from Tamil Nadu. He has done one  film previously Mersal where he played the  child version of  the hero Vijay. Aakshath is a phenomenal  talent. At  that  young age he understands the camera and  brings boundless energy to the  sets. Nawaz and I would get tired. Not Aakshath. In  fact he would prod us to resume work when we  took a break.’

This  is  the first time that Sudhir has worked so closely with a  child actor.  “It was a learning  experience. To see  a 9-year old so skilled at his work is  an unforgettable experience.”

Serious Men is  Sudhir Mishra’s  first  effort on  the  OTT platform. “I must say  Netflix has given me  a  new beginning as a  filmmaker. For some  years now I was struggling with getting the right producers, people who not only had the proper resources  but also the right  perspective  on  how to make   films.Netflix  gave me the freedom to make my film the way I wanted. I feel rejuvenated as a filmmaker.”