Sudhanshu Rai talks about Adipurush's controversy, his campaign 'Bond With Stories' and more (Exclusive)

Filmmaker Sudhanshu Rai shared his views on Adipurush's social media chatter Vs advance booking numbers in a candid chat with Asianet Newsable. He also talked about how the Bhojpuri film industry is getting in eyeballs and his latest campaign 'Bond With Stories'

On a visit to Bengaluru, Sudhanshu Rai, a renowned storyteller, actor, producer, and businessman, shares his insights on his upcoming storytelling campaign (Bond With Stories) and the prevailing trends in the industry. He discusses the current buzz on social media surrounding Adipurush and the emergence of real-life or incident-based movies in Bollywood following the nepotism debate in the industry. Here are some of the excerpts

Bond with Stories, can you give us an inside peek at what to expect from you in the coming weeks?
We all know that stories have been an indispensable part of our lives and cultures, but somewhere in the hustle of life, we are pretty much alienated from the age-old stories and storytelling traditions. #BondWithStories is slated to be a nationwide campaign that would encompass people across varied strata or ages, and focus on how this timeless tradition can benefit us immensely in the wake of the modern lifestyle. As part of #BondWithStories, a pan-India drive to be sustained for at least 60 days, four stories appealing to different human emotions would be released. The intrinsic premise of the campaign is to create awareness that storytelling can aid holistic personal growth through evolved imagination, fostering creativity, mental growth, imbibing consciousness and building personal bonds. The campaign will also emphasize the need to make storytelling a norm in schools, homes, and the corporate arena to cultivate a positive culture.

Can you elaborate on bursting the myth about storytelling with your campaign?
Conventionally, stories have often been considered solely as a tool of entertainment or knowledge sharing for children. We tend to forget, and at times fail to realise, that stories and storytelling can significantly impact our outlook, mental health and overall personality. As mentioned, #BondWithStories campaign will encompass people across all ages. It would bust the myth that storytelling is a medium for children alone, while asserting that stories can help enhance the holistic personality of the little ones and grownups, irrespective of age.

Apart from storytelling, you have a movie release lined up. When is the expected release date?
Major part of our upcoming sci-fi thriller has already been shot and the final schedule is set to be completed very shortly. The feature film is in the post-production stage, and an announcement on the release would soon be made at an appropriate time.

How do you look at films based on real-life incidents, such as The Kerala Story and The Kashmir Files, doing well? What prompts you to bring a sci-fi thriller in cinema amid this trend?
Content-based on real-life incidents have always appealed to the audience, not just in India but even Hollywood and other world cinema. It is probably owing to relatable themes and a practical approach in the making that such content strikes a chord with the audience. However, such content requires deep research and is thus, quite a challenging proposition. A filmmaker’s responsibility as the creator of such content also grows manifold and is often time-consuming. Moreover, even as real-life based subjects may attract and appeal to the audience, there is an amplified possibility of the viewers being critical too.

As for our upcoming Bollywood thriller, Science Fiction is a genre that has remained synonymous with the banner of Kahanikaar Sudhanshu Rai since its inception. My listeners have always loved my stories based on supernatural, paranormal, time travel, horror, mystery, detective thrillers, etc. At the same time, the audience has overdosed on run-of-the-mill concepts, and what they seek is fresh concepts, content and entertainment. It is no secret that genres such as sci-fi, time travel and even detective thrillers have rarely been experimented with in India despite the audience showing increased affinity towards the same. Our Bollywood sci-fi thriller will break the norm of overdone storylines and offer the audience something they haven’t experienced on the big screen before.

Where has the film been shot, and any unique experience you would like to share during the making?
Major portion of the film was shot at a village near Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, which also happens to be my native. Shooting at a remote location is always considered an uphill task. Still, thanks to a driven teamwork, we overcame the initial hiccups to complete the schedule in record time. For me personally, working both in front of the camera as well as off it did appear to take a toll at times but as they, nothing can compete against passion. All the actors as well as crew members have worked really hard for this project and we hope it will reflect in the final product.

Also, Arts setting and design, which is a crucial element of any content, is another highlight of the shooting experience. We engaged local artists and craftsmen, who delivered some stellar results, which would soon be out for everyone to see.

What is new or different in your film for the audience, which has access to barrage of content at the tap of your fingers?
As suggested, most part of the film is based in the Indian heartland. Now if you look at most content based in the region, you would find them to be based on regular genres such as rom-coms, crime dramas or political thrillers. It is for the first time that a genre such as Sci-Fi is being based in the heartland, and not merely in terms of the locales but also intrinsic culture as well as language. Bhojpuri, which is a popular language in Indian filmdom, has, for the first time, been incorporated in a mainstream Bollywood feature film. And lest we forget to mention, the audience would see many popular faces, including the likes of Hiten Tejwani, Sourabh Raaj Jain, Sidharth Banerjee, Deepak Wadhwa, Manisha Sharma and Shobhit Sujay among others, play characters they have never portrayed before.

What is your take on Adipurush? Is it going to be a hit or miss? (social media chatter vs advance booking numbers)
What we see on social chatter may not necessarily represent the entire section of the audience. Also, it is a little premature to form a perception based on advance bookings or the initial buzz around a project. The larger trend comes into picture only after the first few days.