Silence is the most piercing sound. Silence is something that so underutilized in our lives, in the films we watch and the films we make, silence barely exists. However, when Sisak was born, I knew it right from its inception that it has to be a silent film. I had so much to say that words were falling short. Why silent? Well, other than being a political statement about the state of the LGBTQI community in India, there exists a state of immense need to be heard by the community – we take out Pride marches, almost every LGBTQI film is about people’s struggles with their families, with themselves, about coming out, etc. As a filmmaker and a storyteller, I feel we use too many words to convey what we feel. Sometimes, I feel, words are poor comforters. People need to feel what you are feeling and when there are no words to support the visuals, by default, the audience wants to get into the minds of the character, we observe them more closely, we feel more closely and that indirectly, makes the loudest roar that the community needs. We want people to know that “Hey, we are just like you!” and I feel that with Sisak, that has somewhere been achieved. We are all the same. What binds us all together is our similarities, our likings and that is how we understand each-other. What I am attempting to do with my cinema is to blur the lines that have been created between all of us – why can’t a heterosexual person understand what a homosexual feels? All emotions are universal and that is the only truth. We all feel the same. Yes, growing up as a homosexual, one has bigger demons to fight – the struggles are more absorbing but don’t we all suffer? I feel unity and the sense of binding us all together is how I feel the community will get the acceptance it has been looking for. Dividing ourselves is not the answer. The answer lies in unity. We are you and you are we. Once that barrier of difference is broken, we shall flourish.
Sonam is a sweetheart, other than being a wonderful actor. She was so kind and wonderful that when I got in touch with her team to promote Sisak, in less than a day, I got her approvals. And since then, she has been extremely invested in Sisak. She has really gone out of her way to promote it and make sure that she puts it out there in the best way possible. Given how busy she is, she really did take out a lot of time for Sisak and give it all the attention and love. I will be forever indebted to her for that. Such a big superstar but her heart is in the right place. She is using her stardom and her celebrity status to really push and talk about the most important issues. It takes a great deal of courage to standup for the LGBTQ community and bear the rainbow flag but Sonam has done it effortlessly and so beautifully at that. I think, she’s a bigger fan of Sisak than me!
After writing the screenplay for my directorial debut film called ‘Ravivar’ – a socio-political satire that has a homosexual protagonist, I faced rejection from almost every production house in the country. They loved the screenplay, they were thrilled about the project but then they didn’t have the courage to make a mainstream film about homosexuality. It is not easy to be in that place where the industry moguls are telling you – “Hey, we love your screenplay. But we can’t make it because of company policy…” “It’s a fantastic idea! We love it but we don’t think we will be able to produce it at this stage…” All of this lead a great deal of depression. Its like the whole world has rejected your first child! All that depression led me to write Sisak. So I am thankful for that experience, having said that, it is sad to see some of the pivotal people of the Indian film industry who are homosexuals themselves, who should be giving a platform to the community that struggles so much to find a voice, a standing in this so called democratic world, shy away from it. The budget of a big budget film’s song is the entire budget of Ravivar and everyone who has read or heard the narration of it has loved it. Why will a big production house not back it then when they know it was truly bring in the change. Ravivar will be the Taare Zameen Par of LGBTQ cinema without being an LGBTQ film for it talks to the masses about the most simple thing… acceptance & love – and that too while making them laugh! I truly hope someone who is in power supports it. I want Ranbir Kapoor to play the lead in Ravivar.
I think while I was writing Sisak, I was aware what a massive challenge it was going to be at each and every level! I remember after I wrote it, I shared it with Saurabh Goswami, my DoP and Akshara Prabhakar, my editor. Both called me up a few minutes after the other and told me how they were bowled over by the screenplay but their concern was “How will you shoot this?!” Saurabh was worried about shooting it guerilla style without any railway or police permissions and Akshara was worried that given the scenario and style of shooting, if I would be able to extract the performances that I wanted and the intensity that I had written on paper. Obviously, I had a plan in my mind. I believe, every filmmaker, while writing, thinks about execution too, by default. After many meetings of through pre-production where I did the storyboarding, the workshops with the actors and my crew, we worked out each and every detail that we could and on the day of the shoot, we just went and shot the film without any permissions. My mom use to pack sandwiches for us and we all had backpacks full of water because we were doing the graveyard shift. We started shooting at 9pm in the 1st class compartment of the Mumbai local trains and went on shooting till the last local stopped! Sometimes, if we didn’t get enough shots, we took the local train again, as soon as it started which is 4am and shot till just because the sun was out. We were all literally living out of backpacks and train compartments. Since we didn’t have a vanity van or even a changing room, we use to form a human wall in the trains and my actors would quickly change behind it. It was madness! I have put in more than half of my life savings in the making of this film. Its been an uphill climb without any support from anyone, really. But in the end, looking at the fabulous reactions, I guess it was all worth it! We were like a massive cosmos, working in unison, in rhythm with each other. It was like Mozart’s symphony – effortless, intense and extremely beautiful.
The casting process of Sisak was the most taxing process. Most actors are so use to have a script with dialogues when they come for auditions that somewhere, that has caused a lot of damage, I feel. When I was casting for Sisak, in the auditions, all the actors had to do was sit and read a book and at some point, look at someone who is staring at them and that’s about it. After auditioning more than 300 actors and not finding anyone who was even close to how I wanted the portrayal to be in Sisak, I was rethinking if I should make this film or not, until I auditioned Jitin Gulatin and Dhruv Singhal. But before them, there were two fairly known actors who had agreed to act in the film but then just 3 days before the shooting, they back out. They said, they couldn’t play a homosexual because they wanted to play the lead roles in big Bollywood films. So, with a broken heart, we moved on. Jitin & Dhruv came to audition without any preconceived notions or baggage. They surrendered to my brief and I was extremely surprised to see how true to real life their portrayals were. The kind of cinema that I believe in – slice-of-life, was so effortlessly crafted by them that I was pleasantly surprised. Obviously, we did a lot of workshops in the trains, sessions with other homosexual men talking to these two about their own experiences and journeys, etc. After that, we just went and shot the film in five hours, spread over two nights. I guess, the workshop and the discussions and interactions with the homosexual community brought in a lot of gravity to their performances. In fact, working with these two was the easiest. Some times, they gave one take and that take was so great that most of the film is made out of the first takes that we shot!
What is this whole battle for Section 377 about? The answer is one word. Love. To have the freewill to love whomever we want to, without any bondages, any restrictions. And that is what Sisak talks about… to love, without restrictions, without fear. I wanted to tell a tale of love… without words… without any physical intimacy… just pure love, where two individuals fall in love with each other… and we see them fall in love, night after night as they find ways to find a step closer, this whole cosmic dance that happens between these two individuals is what Sisak is about. Just that, these two individuals happen to be men.Recently, at the Mumbai Pride March, where I was with my cast & crew promoting my film, I was called on the mainstage and I was told that a silent film like Sisak has become the voice of the LGBTQ community. That is a massive, massive thing that has been achieved. The media is talking about it, people want to know more, the masses want to look closer now without being scared or homosexuals and this is just by the teaser and the trailer. I get at least 50 messages everyday from closeted people around the country who, after watching the teaser & trailer of Sisak, want to come out to their parents and their loved ones. They ask me for my advice and help. I am flooded with messages from parents of queer people who think I should make a feature film now so that the voices are spread far and wide. Some of them have even offered me their savings to make a film. How awesome is that! It reminds me of this quote from Spiderman – “With great power comes great responsibility” Now, by making Sisak, I have become responsible for very many lives. That is the true power of cinema and my journey has only started!

Exclusive Premium Content
Aamir Khan’s Sister Plays Shah Rukh’s Mother In Pathaan

Ever since Pathaan released on Wednesday, audiences have been curious to know who is the woman who plays Shah Rukh Khan’s adoptive mother in Afghanistan. The stately lady with royal looks is none other than the late producer Tahir Hussain’s daughter and Aamir Khan’s elder sister Nikhat Khan.
Nikhat has been closely associated with the film industry and has helped her father in the production of his films like Dulha Bikta Hai and Tum Mere Ho.
Nikhat has acted earlier in the Akshay Kumar starrer Mission Mangal , Ajay Devgan’s Tanhaji and in Sandh Ki Aankh(as a Maharani).
For Pathaan, it was Shah Rukh Khan who suggested Nikhat Khan should play his foster-mother in Afghanistan who names him ‘Pathaan’. It proved to be an inspired piece of casting, as audience have loved Nikhat Khan’s cameo.
It is heartwarming that all three Khan superstars are associated with Pathaan in one way or the other.
Exclusive Premium Content
Anurag Kashyap’s New Film Is About Love Jihad

Love Jihad, whatever that means, is the theme of Anurag Kashyap’s new film Almost Pyaar With D J Mohabbat.
Debutant Karan Mehta plays a Muslim boy in an intense relationship with Alaya F who plays a Hindu girl.Kashyap has spared the audience none of the ugliness that such a relationship generates among social-media bouncers, the self-styled guardian of morality .
In the hardhitting powerful and pertinent film a bigot is heard commenting snidely, “These people first talk about Mohabbat. Then they talk about Mohammed.”
Happily and surprisingly, the Central Board Of Film Certification gave the film a ‘UA’ certificate with no cuts: a rare non-‘A’ film of Kashyap.
So far Kashyap and his team have kept the Love Jihad part of the plot out of all media interaction.
But the cat is now out of the bag.
Exclusive Premium Content
Samantha Ruth Prabhu to Star Alongside Varun Dhawan in Prime Video’s Indian Original Series , Samantha Speaks

Samantha Ruth Prabhu will be starring alongside Varun Dhawan in the Indian installment of the Citadel universe, the global-event series from Prime Video and the Russo Brothers’ AGBO. The untitled Citadel series based out of India is being helmed by renowned creator duo Raj & DK (Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK), who are the showrunners and directors.
The local installment is written by Sita R. Menon, along with Raj & DK. The streaming service also confirmed that the production is currently underway in Mumbai. After this, the unit will head to North India and then onwards to international locales like Serbia and South Africa.
Richard Madden (Bodyguard) and Priyanka Chopra Jonas will star in the first-to-launch series within the Citadel universe, which comes from the Russo Brothers’ AGBO along with David Weil (Hunters) and is set to premiere in 2023. Alongside Madden and Chopra Jonas, the first-to-launch Citadel series will also feature Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games saga). Additional local-language Citadel productions are also in the works, including an Italian Original series starring Matilda De Angelis (The Undoing).
Speaking on her participation in The Citadel franchise for the first time,Samantha says, “When Prime Video and Raj & DK approached me with this project, I decided to take it up in a heartbeat! After working with this team on The Family Man, it is homecoming for me.The Citadel universe, the interconnected storylines between the productions across the globe, and most importantly, the script of the Indian installment really excited me.”
Samantha says she is looking forward to working with Varun Dhawan . “I am thrilled to be a part of this brilliant universe conceptualised by the Russo Brothers. I am also looking forward to be working with Varun for the first time, on this project. He is someone who is full of life and cheer when you’re around him.”
Exclusive Premium Content
Bollywood’s Achche Din Have Come

All you doomsday prophets, the booms-day profits are here. Pathaan has opened the floodgates again for Bollywood’s bumper bonanza at the boxoffice.And now there is only the achche din ahead for Hindi cinema.
In the next two months there are three sureshot blockbusters coming up, beginning with Shehzada. An astute devilishly impish adaptation of Allu Arjun’s 2020 Telugu blockbuster Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo.The super-popular Kartik Aaryan gives his own spin to the character. This performance will take Kartik to the next level of stardom. Kartik’s version of Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is radically different from its Telugu version. Shehzada takes the core idea of the Telugu original and turns it into a something completely different. Kartik’s co-star in Shehzada is Kriti Sanon with whom he earlier shared superhit space in Lukka Chuppi.
Then there is Luv Ranjan’s ravishing rom-com Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar. The director’s male viewpoint on the chaos of love relationships crests to a comic high in his latest. Ranjan for the first time, collaborates with Ranbir Kapoor for the first time collaborates with Shraddha Kapoor who badly needs a hit.This film should do the trick. The winsome lead pair tries to do one another in a game of Luv This is Luv Ranjan’s Hum…Aapke Hain Con. Ranjan has in the past used the romcom space to entertain his audience to the hilt, he says this time the stakes are different. It is not something we’ve seen before.
Finally it is Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. Karan Johar’s first directorial in six years(not counting the one segment each in Ghost Stories and Lust Stories). This time he has assembled a dream star-cast of Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Ranveer Singh and the boxoffice darling(s) Alia Bhatt. But trust me, this one is not about assembling stars into a complacent plot. The writing in this zany Romeo & Juliet is so crisp and engrossing, the experience is likely to be the visual version of a multi-flavour icrecream cone. Colour, choler and karma collide in this tragic-comic love story . Let the box office dhamaka begin from the house of Dharma.
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
Pathaan Is A Slick Spin On SRK’s Stardom
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
Chhatriwali So Earnest Yet So Awful
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
India Shines bright at the Oscars
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
No Leading Lady For Akshay Kumar In C Sankaran Nair Bio-pic
-
Bollywood News1 week ago
Undekhi A Dark Compelling Thriller Set In The Heartland
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
5 Most Relevant Patriotic Songs
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
“Professionally, What A Year It Has Been For Me,” Raveena Tandon On Her Padma Shri
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
Pathaan Collects 55 crore nett in India On Day 1
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
Will Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan Break All His Previous Records?
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
Salman-Shah Rukh’s Hilarious Take On The Khan Hegemony
-
Exclusive Premium Content6 days ago
Karan Johar Moves Alia Song From Switzerland To Kashmir
-
Exclusive Premium Content6 days ago
Bobby Deol’s Switchover To Villainous Roles
-
Exclusive Premium Content5 days ago
Jamuna Had A Love-Hate Relationship With Bollywood
-
Bollywood News1 week ago
Phil Ivey’s Net Worth (Updated 2021)
-
Bollywood News1 week ago
Stephanie Beacham’s Net Worth (Updated 2021)
-
Topics1 week ago
Movierulz 2021: Download Movies for Free
-
Topics1 week ago
Watch Gehraiyaan Movie (2022) Online on Amazon Prime Video
-
Bollywood News1 week ago
Mike Lindell’s Net Worth (Updated 2021)
-
Exclusive Premium Content4 days ago
Pink Director’s Next Featuring Yami As A Crime Reporter To Stream From February 16
-
Topics1 week ago
Rapper Drakeo Wiki, Biography, Age, Albums, Images