Indian thespian Anupam Kher is developing a new film set in Varanasi that echoes the themes of his 1984 breakthrough “Saaransh” while unveiling his latest directorial effort “Tanvi the Great” for its global streaming premiere on Prime Video March 3.
“I’m working on a story about Banaras [Varanasi], about a person in Banaras,” Kher says of the new project. “I was discussing with [“Saaransh” director] Mahesh Bhatt… it’s a ‘Saaransh 2,’ basically. This time, the man is not passive in the sense he was aggressive in his thoughts. This time I just feel that I need to reinvent myself.”
The actor-director describes the Varanasi-set film as the story of “a 70-year-old man who feels like a 28-year-old man” – a reversal of his iconic debut where he played a 65-year-old character at age 28 in “Saaransh,” Bhatt’s 1984 drama about an elderly couple coping with the loss of their only son. That film, which was India’s entry for the Oscars, established Kher as a serious actor and remains one of his most celebrated performances. “When I was 28 I played a 65-year-old man role. Now at that time, I portrayed 65 what I thought 65 will be like, but I’m going to be 71 on March 7, I feel like a 28-year-old man,” he says. The new project will unfold “in the genre of a funny thriller, but human story. I don’t know how to tell other stories. I can only tell stories which are human, which have a human angle, which have a human feeling, but positive. I like happy endings.”
As Kher discusses his future projects, he’s simultaneously unveiling “Tanvi the Great” for its worldwide streaming debut, bringing the autism-centered drama to audiences worldwide after a festival and theatrical run. The film follows 21-year-old Tanvi Raina [debutant Shubhangi Dutt], an autistic woman who discovers her late soldier father’s unfulfilled dream – to stand at Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield, and salute the Indian flag – and becomes determined to fulfill this mission despite societal pushback and institutional barriers against autistic recruits in the military. The film portrays autism as a superpower rather than a disability.
Following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Market, “Tanvi the Great” screened in London, New York – where Robert De Niro attended – and Houston before being shown to the President of India, the army chief, and 2,000 cadets at the Indian National Defence Academy. The theatrical release in India came on July 18, alongside the blockbuster “Saiyaara.” “‘Saiyaara’ was like a tsunami, so it got lost in that,” Kher acknowledges, though the film found life through special screenings for 20,000 school students and a re-release that has now reached its 23rd week in limited theaters.
“If film is to be judged from a box office, it did not do well, but if it is to be judged by appreciation and the kind of response of the Autism Society of India, the army, the children, the school children, the people who saw it, is, it is, I think, priceless,” Kher says.
But perhaps the most meaningful validation came from De Niro, who had initially planned a brief 10-minute appearance at the New York premiere. “He had come for 10 minutes, but he stayed till the interval,” Kher recalls. De Niro, who Kher starred alongside in “Silver Linings Playbook,” later requested to see the complete film. “He said, ‘It’s very moving.’ And he told the girl [Dutt] that you are terrific, which I thought was the ultimate compliment for any actor in the world, that the God of acting is telling a person who has done her first film that you are terrific.”
The response from the autistic community has been particularly gratifying. “We have presented Tanvi as a superpower… they like that because they say that there is some special things about them,” Kher explains. “Usually, people portray them as helpless and tragic and this and that. They love the quirkiness of Tanvi. They loved that she takes up a job which her father could not fulfill. They love the portrayal of Shubhangi very well. They love the relationship of grandfather and granddaughter. That she can sing and she can do things and that she’s naughty. She’s not portrayed as somebody with a disability.”
As Kher unveils the film for its Prime Video release, he emphasizes its appeal as a rare family film in today’s market. “You very rarely can see films where the whole family sits together and can watch it,” he says.
Kher positions “Tanvi the Great” as an antidote to contemporary cynicism, particularly as it reaches a global streaming audience. “It makes you believe in humankind. And that’s what we need in today’s time. I think if you want to practice a religion today, that needs to be that of humanity. And this film makes you believe in that,” he says. “It also makes you feel that the only good people in this world are people who are neurodivergent.”
The director describes the viewing experience in evocative terms: “It’s like a first sip of coffee in the morning, which makes you feel good. It’s like sunshine in winter through a window. When I was in Shimla, on the winter nights, the sun used to filter through these chinar trees. I wait for that feeling to happen. It makes you feel warm, like you’re wearing a quilt of goodness around you.”
Lead actor Shubhangi Dutt from “Tanvi the Great” “is winning awards right now” and working on another Anupam Kher Studio production called “Flicker.” On the acting front, Kher has just completed “Khosla Ka Ghosla 2” and is finishing an untitled Sooraj Barjatya film. He’s also preparing a new musical play titled “Jaane Pehchaane Anjaane” (Intimate Strangers).
“Tanvi the Great” is produced by Anupam Kher Studio in association with India’s National Film Development Corporation, with music by Oscar winner M.M. Keeravani (“RRR”) and sound design by Oscar winner Resul Pookutty (“Slumdog Millionaire”).
Source: variety.com
