Danesh, what made you come up with 'Ye Dooriyan'?
Danesh - I always believe that there are stories all around us.
We just need to look for them. My films are true in their nature. I can say that someone somewhere has gone through the same thing that I show in my films.
Nationwide lockdown was announced. We all were sitting at home binge-watching Netflix. Watching the news and hearing about all the people who lost their lives to Covid-19, which was to me was the hardest part. The hospitals were getting packed with infected people and everyone was just dependent on the fraternity of doctors. Believe me, when I say, doctors and all the health workers really stood up and are still on the frontlines. To such dedicated workers, who had some stories hidden within their struggle of keeping their duty and personal life together, I came up with 'Ye Dooriyan'.
Any message you want to give with 'Ye Dooriyan'?
Danesh - Thank you to all frontline workers - what a selfless act.
'Ye Dooriyan' is my way of saying thank you to all the frontline warriors, who stood their ground, what a selfless act. I just wanted to let everyone know, what they must be going through.
It’s really hard when you don’t have an option. Look at some of us who were privileged to work from home, no one from our family had to go out right in the middle of the war zone to earn our bread but some of them had no such privileges. The frontline health workers had to be on their feet in a PPE suit throughout the day to save lives.
They were not supposed to go home and meet their families, their children. I just wanted to show their pain and their powerlessness. Putting others first is always very hard.
How did the 'Ye Dooriyan' project take shape? Any challenges, if any?
Danesh - Thank you Siddhi Haldankar.
'Ye Dooriyan' is truly written by heart. I was filled with lots of mixed emotions that it just took me 2 days to complete the script. The next task was to find a producer for the film, so I called Siddhi Haldankar, the Producer of Pinewood Motion Pictures. I narrated the script and she came instantly on board.
Thank you Disha Sachdeva & Amit Rai.
The next task was how we shoot the film as we were in lockdown. I decided to shoot the film on mobile phones and whatever resources were available. I was blessed that I had good actors on board, Disha Sachdeva & Amit Rai as the script required the actors to be emotionally strong.
Well the hardest part for us was not to be there with the actors during the performance. Both of my actors were in different cities, so for them to prepare for this role became more real. So, I told my actors about the camera angle and how to record themselves and they just followed my instructions.
Tell us about the music in the film?
Danesh - Thank you, Deepak Gupta.
I had this thought, I wanted the film to start and end with Shayari. This is where my music director Deepak Gupta, came to the rescue. The poem you hear is written by him and is narrated by yours truly. I worked day and night with my music director for this film.
As I strongly believe, music in the film can take the film to another level altogether. The same happened here, the music gave my film a new height.
Those who watched the film appreciated the music and I quote” it gave me Goosebumps, especially at the end when they both try to reach for each other “. This shot where my actors touch the screen and trying to reach for each other was very carefully written.
Tell us about the professional success of 'Ye Dooriyan'?
Danesh - Thankful to God for the achievement that the film received.
So we made the film and got it released. There was an online film festival happening so I just submitted the film, to our surprise the film was officially selected and later won the best Covid-19 film.
That’s when the journey started and we submitted the film to more than 20 film festivals. The film has been officially selected in many film festivals and has won awards for best romantic film, best story, best script, best writing, and best director categories.
To my surprise a few months later I came across an article showing a picture of a lady doctor standing right across the street and talking to her child from distance. The kid was not allowed to go to her mom and hug her as she was a covid-19 warrior and she had to go back to work.
Shooting for this film was a new experience for all of us. This was never been done. From the poster design to the editing of the film, was done by me. I am thankful to God for the achievement that the film received.
Thankful to people who came on board and believed the film can be made keeping the situation in mind.
How do you rate 'Ye Dooriyan' among your other films?
Danesh: Close to my heart.
'Ye Dooriyan' will always be very close to my heart. This film gave me a lot of exposure, not to forget I received many trophies too for this film.
Anything about your upcoming projects?
Danesh - I have few other film projects lined up but cannot disclose the details as of yet, but will let you all know as soon as we announce the next project.
Till then, I would say - thank you all for the love you have showered on 'Ye Dooriyan' which inspires me to do more good work.
- Interviewed and posted by CB Admin
