She made her foray into Bollywood in 1984 with Party and in 1992, turned producer with Maya Memsaab. And now, Deepa Sahi takes her passion for films a step ahead with her directorial debut, Tere Mere Phere.
“From childhood, I’ve seen an ensuing battle of the sexes and have always believed that we need to redefine the relationship we share with our partners. When times are changing, why not our outlook? Whatever you do, love is always interesting and that’s how Tere... was conceptualised,” Deepa recollects.
The movie has been a difficult one to shoot, informs Deepa. “I had visualised it like a road film in the Himalayas — the changes in terrain symbolising the changes in attitude between couples — from the plains to 5,000 feet drops and landslides,” says the film-maker.
The story unravels through an urban couple from Mumbai, a mid town couple, an elderly couple and a 14-year-old, who’s wondering what’s going on. In fact, even her choice of cast was an easy one.
“I was always certain that it had to be Vinay Pathak and Riya Sen — they make for one of the most unlikeliest of pairs in the industry and as for the rest, I wanted fresh faces,” she informs.
Co-incidentally, the producers of the film are husband, Ketan Mehta and noted ghazal singer, Anup Jalota. “Big stars and too much money involves a lot of stress — we wanted to have fun, but at the same time, I knew my limits.
And, of course, both Ketan and Anup were dream producers,” says Deepa, adding with a laugh, “Just as I was a dream producer for Ketan on Rang Rasiya.” And such has been the camaraderie of the team that Deepa has already planned her next feature — a high budget set in Toronto.
After some intense performances in her acting career, Deepa doesn’t miss being in front of the camera. “I’m too restless to act. On an average shooting day of 12 hours, an actor cans about five minutes but all the while you need to be around,” she says, adding, “It’s a good idea to multitask, what with all the opportunities waiting to be explored.”
