"Things were a cakewalk with Mandira Bedi and Gul Panag: Kushal Punjabi"

Kushal Punjabi is a true debonaire in every sense of the word, be it his tall frame, chiselled look or his baritone voice. We have seen a lot of him over the years as an actor and now he has donned the garb of a director with his maiden venture - The Gift.

Punjabi happened to pen down the story of the film too along with friend and co-writer Suhas Shetty.

The edge-of-the seat thriller has been co-directed by Suhas Shetty and it stars Kushal, Gul Panag and Mandira Bedi in the lead roles.

‘The Gift’ is a 19 minute short film exclusively for the digital platform Sony Liv.  The gripping film is a pastiche of all shades grey. It is about a husband who no longer wants to be with his wife and is involved in an extra marital affair with a gorgeous woman. It is also about the wife who leaves no stone unturned to save her marriage by putting up with her abusive husband and not to forget the manipulative ‘other’ woman who wields her lovers to kill their partners.

 Tellychakkar caught up with Kushal after the screening to know the inside story, Excerpts from the interview:

This is your maiden directorial venture, what challenges did you face while you were on it?

The foremost hitch was the budget constraint for the online media. The online media is ever proliferating yet the budget cannot be compared to mainstream cinema or television because they are huge markets and they have been there for a long time. Therefore the main challenge was to figure out how we would get a hard hitting story, good actors, shoot the film on a proper film camera in the budget. 

You’ve also written the story and the characters in it were pretty intriguing, how you work those complexities and shades that your characters were replete with?

The film surely is a lot about the characters, it is not about the location or the background. That is why the nuances of these characters are vital because they can change the mood of the scene or the film. I had to very carefully write the nuances of every character by getting into their frame of mind.

How did you like working with Gul Panag and Mandira Bedi?

I had a few names in mind when I was casting for the film. I wanted some mature actors for the roles. Both Gul and Mandira were experienced actors and the two of them have a background of doing very good content. When I approached Gul with the script, she said “this is the best script I’ve heard and I am doing it. Just take the dates out.” Mandira too loved the script and things were a cakewalk!

Did you have any apprehensions while making the film?

The only apprehension that I had was acting and directing together in my very first film would be tough, but things were just fine.

Looking back and forth in your career, do you think you’re in a happy place today?

Absolutely! I personally feel, online is the future and I rather be with the future than being with content that has been happening for years because this is my space too. Today the online media is making us aware of everything that surrounds us. For instance, the story of my film too has a lot of layers in terms of relationships, women empowerment, and the grey shades of a human being. All of these are part of the stories we come across in the online space. So yes, I definitely am in my space.

Tell us about the writer in you

I wouldn’t call myself a writer because there are plenty of far more talented writers than me. I write what I see and experience and they aren’t just personal experiences, they are experiences of people around me and what I want to take from them.