Shivam Nair  Speaks To Subhash K Jha On The Diplomat

After a  slow start The Diplomat has gathered momentum  over the weekend?

Sir,we tried to make a honest film .I enjoyed  making the film. have a gut feeling it will work.Slowly it will reach to the audiences,it’s my belief…. We are hoping for the success of the movie… which can help us to make such movie in the future.

 Don’t you think it was  a mistake to release  the film on Holi?

Sir, I  know nothing about marketing strategies. I just made the film that I wanted to. The rest was left to the experts.Al I know is, I made the story without compromises.  I did not fall for the  boxoffice  pressures. There is no romantic lead in my film, only one song,and  John Abraham doesn’t take off his  shirt.

I have  admired your work since I saw Ahista Ahista in 2006?

That  was my directorial debut. Imtiaz Ali had written the film and I had full control over what I shot.  Gradually over the years, I had to make  compromises in everything I  directed. But after The Diplomat I have decided to make films only the way I want to.Before The Diplomat,web series have kept me busy, particularly Special Ops and Mukhbir.

How  and when did you  decide to make a film on the diplomatic crisis  involving the diplomat J P Singh?

⁠I was introduced to the diplomat through Uzma Ahmed. I was intrigued by his personality and his empathy for Uzma.It was a conscious decision to stick to the  actual story and  not fictionalize it unnecessarily. The producers  gave me the room to make it this way.Most of  what you see is fact. About 90 percent.⁠Both J.P and Uzma had shared their detailed stories with us.The casting was a result of my growth as a filmmaker. ⁠John Abraham  gave me my creative freedom to make the film the way  I wanted to.

How do you react to the film being seen as anti-Pakistan?

 ⁠I don’t think the film is anti-anything. It’s a story about a young woman who got conned and put in a dangerous situation and was rescued by a wise diplomat.