Ravi Chhabriya’s Detective Sherdil, starring Diljit Dosanjh, was released on Zee5 on June 20. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama conducted two days before the film’s release, the debut director talked about his experience, shooting process and a lot more.
EXCLUSIVE: 3 Idiots homage, Diana Penty talking in Diljit Dosanjh’s voice and a smile that wasn’t scripted – director Ravi Chhabriya dives inside the quirky world of Detective Sherdil, shares FASCINATING trivia
Your debut film is about to be released. Are there butterflies in your stomach right now?
The butterflies have turned into dinosaurs! When you reach this stage, you get excitedly numb. So, I don’t know what to feel and what to think.
You and producer Ali Abbas Zafar have worked with Diljit Dosanjh in Jogi (2022). Did that motivate you to cast him in the lead role or was he always the original choice?
You are absolutely right. Not just with Paaji (Diljit Dosanjh), everyone in the cast was our first choice. Ali sir and I were working with Paaji on Jogi and at the same time, we were developing this whodunit. While discussing the germ and the theme of the film, we realized that it would be great to have Paaji on board. We discussed the idea with them towards the end of Jogi’s schedule. A few months later, we went back to him with the script. He was on board during the same narration. I wouldn’t say it was very difficult. He realized that we wrote the character for him and we aligned it according to his strength. Also, he has not done something like this before. He’s calm, composed and charming and yet, he’s flawlessly doing the work of the detective. He liked it and signed on the dotted line.
Diljit Dosanjh’s comic timing in this film is subtle, unlike what we have seen him do in other films, be it Hindi or Punjabi. Was that intentionally done to present a new side of him to the audience?
It was super-intentional! The regular thought would be that if we are making a murder mystery with Diljit in the lead, let’s keep it very funny and over-the-top. But Diljit has a range as an actor. That’s what was very intriguing for Ali sir and me to explore. He also understood what we were trying to do with the character. So yes, it was intentional to keep it very different from what he has done as it becomes fun and adventurous for the actor to explore something new.
He is very much a director’s actor. During all the days of the shoot, he used to come and understand what was there in my mind. I would inform him about the blocking and he would perform well.
We would see Diljit Dosanjh having a deadpan expression and suddenly, he would break into a smile…
(Smiles) That was Paaji’s idea. I just had envisioned that he would smile. But he did it so cutely that we decided to implement it whenever he could.
The film is quirky. Two scenes that stand out are Diana Penty shown as talking in Diljit’s voice and Diljit remarking that Boman Irani is writing with the ‘3 Idiots (2009) waali pen’. I guess the idea for you and the makers was to have fun with the material in hand…
That was exactly the idea. There’s already a lot of stress in everybody’s life. We have to find those quirks in our storytelling. At the same time, there has to be a theme and soul in the film too. The scenes which you mentioned were fun and when it got cracked, we were like ‘Let’s do this’.
How was it to convince the rest of the star cast? Were they the original choices?
These were the first choices we had in mind. During the shoot, I asked them what made them come on board. All of them unanimously replied that it was due to the way the climax unfolded. It was not something they could predict while I was pitching the film to them. That made me understand that the script was working for everyone.
Detective Sherdil has been shot in the beautiful country of Hungary. You assisted in Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) which was also shot there…
I was an AD on Sultan as well. A song from that film was shot in Hungary. I didn’t know then that we would end up shooting my first film there entirely!
I believe Hungary provides good incentives…
Yes, that was one of the reasons. Moreover, we wanted to set the film in an international country. In Europe, you can put your camera anywhere and your frame would look beautiful! The tone of the film was such that the Hungarian vibe added a bit of character to it. That’s what I realized when I did my recce in Budapest.
Detective Sherdil’s shoot ended in January 2022 and it was released nearly 3 ½ years later. What took so long for it to be out?
It had its own journey. I was editing the film by myself. I wanted some time to craft it better. I used to keep hearing as an AD that filmein toh edit table pe banti hai. But I realized it for the first time when I was doing it myself. I had a lot of opportunities to enhance a lot of things in the visuals and storytelling. Ali and Himanshu gave me that time, luckily.
Also, for a very long time, we were figuring out where the audience for a film like this was. We did not want to make a rushed decision of releasing in theatres or coming on OTT. We want our stories to reach the audience effectively. Hence, we researched and once we figured it out, we started the process. Luckily, Zee5 came on board as a great team player. They understood what we were trying to do with the film and Paaji’s character.
Diljit Dosanjh hasn’t promoted the film on social media. I hope all is well with him…
Yes. If you look around the city, hoardings of the film, featuring him, have been put up. Also, he’s doing two more projects. Moreover, Boman Irani sir, Chunky Panday sir and others are promoting the film. They are super busy but once Himanshu called them, all of them took time. That’s great for a first-time filmmaker to see such great actors not just agreeing to do the film but also promoting it well.
Detective Sherdil ends with a promise that the second part is in the offing and that it will be set in Kenya. Please tell us more about it…
(Smiles). We have two ideas and we are figuring out a theme as well. I, Ali and Himanshu Mehra are a part of the development of this film. Once the theme is locked, we’ll take it forward.
Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Diljit Dosanjh starrer Detective Sherdill clocks 44M+ views in 24 hours ahead of ZEE5 premiere
More Pages: Detective Sherdil Box Office Collection
, Detective Sherdil Movie Review
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