Luka Chuppi director Laxman Utekar: Wanted to tell a story which reflects Indian ....

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Luka Chuppi director Laxman Utekar: Wanted to tell a story which reflects Indian colours

Cinematographer-turned-director Laxma Utekar's Luka Chuppi revolves around a live-in couple and stars Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Aparshakti Khurana, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak among others. It has been produced by Dinesh Vijan and releases on March 1.

Laxman Utekar has turned a Bollywood director with Luka Chuppi.
Cinematographer-turned-director Laxman Utekar feels there is enough to explore in India, hence today, filmmakers are looking for stories from rural India. Laxman, who has been the cinematographer for films like Dear Zindagi, 102 Not Out, English Vinglish and Hindi Medium, also feels having the knowledge of cinematography gives him an upper hand while directing films.

Laxman was in New Delhi to promote his directorial debut Luka Chuppi. In an exclusive chat with indianexpress.com, the director talked about his new role, working with superstars like Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, and how the audience has become intelligent today.

Here are excerpts from the conversation:

Q. From a DoP to a director, how did the change happen?

When you shoot for other directors, you translate their thoughts and their vision through your camera. But if you have enough experience, you have many things to say. Luckily, I got the opportunity to tell my story. So it was not decided, but things change with time.

Q. Does being a cinematographer give you an upper hand in direction?

I have been working with good directors till now. So, it gave me an opportunity to learn good things from them and use those things for my film. And having knowledge of cinematography makes your life easy because you know exactly what shot and area you want to expose. Being the director, while thinking about the scene, at the back of your mind, there is a cinematographer too. So all those things are very helpful.

kriti sanon kartik aaryan laxman utekar luka chuppi sets
Laxman Utekar with Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon on the sets of Luka Chuppi.
Q. How much did you spin the story of Luka Chuppi according to your choice?

Every person has a limitation. So when my writer came to me with this script, my instant reaction was I can’t do it, because I am from Maharashtra and the story was based in Mathura-Gwalior, which is a totally opposite culture. It was a challenge. I told him let’s re-write the script. We went many times to Mathura-Gwalior and understood the life there. Then we wrote the script which I could direct.

Q. Of late, we are seeing stories from small towns. Did you just get lucky with the script of Luka Chuppi?

I wanted to tell a story which reflects Indian colours because that’s what is working nowadays. Today people are finding unique and interesting locations because the audience wants to see that uniqueness. There is so much still hidden in India, its stories and places, which hasn’t been explored as yet. Hence, today people want to see those colours. Seeing that, I thought Luka Chuppi was the best opportunity.

Q. Was there anything you learned from the actors of Luka Chuppi?

As a director, you can learn something from a spot-boy also. Filmmaking is about learning. Our film had all the performers. If you give them a scene, they will add their own thing to it. They will improvise. That’s when you realise that you hadn’t thought of that input. Both Kartik and Kriti are such sharp actors.

luka chuppi promotionsDirector Laxman Utekar along with the team of Luka Chuppi during its promotions in New Delhi.

Q. And what did you learn from actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan?

I am a quiet person in life but a good observer. I shot Dear Zindagi with Shah Rukh and Alia Bhatt. Why is Shah Rukh Khan, a Shah Rukh Khan? That you’ll get to see when you are working with him on the set. The kind of discipline, knowledge and the gentleman behaviour he has. The way he talks to women and respects them. Seeing that, you realise they aren’t stars for nothing! Similarly with Mr Bachchan. At the age of 75, the kind of hunger he has. He doesn’t get satisfied in one take. He is a perfectionist and will keep doing it. Alia has a god-gifted talent. At her age, the kind of roles she is doing, it’s brilliant. And it’s not just talent, it is how you use that talent.

Also read: If everyone becomes a hero, someone needs to be hero’s friend too: Aparshakti Khurana

Q. Do you feel the audience now understands the movie making nuances better?

They do! Even if you go to a small town, because of the internet, Netflix, YouTube, a person travelling in a train also watches Hollywood films on the phone. So he knows the difference between good and bad. The audience today is quite aware about technicality, like a good and bad VFX.

Q. But does that make things easy or difficult for a filmmaker?

It’s good because the quality is going to improve. It’s good for the industry and no one is going to take the audience for granted. Then, everyone will try to play a perfectionist. Before we weren’t exposed to international cinema, so everyone thought that the audience won’t know. It’s not that way now.