Subhash Ghai talks about his new web film titled ‘36 Farmhouse’

Filmmaker Subhash Ghai, who is gearing up for his new web film titled 36 Farmhouse, says his experience of working on a film from a scratch to its release during the pandemic was unique.

Known for showing beautiful landscapes in films like Taal, Pardes and Yaadein, Ghai opens up on how he utilised the time during the lockdown by writing the story of a film, composing music and also poetry that is used as part of the narrative in 36 Farmhouse.

Ghai says, “It was quite a unique experience for me especially because I think when crisis comes, creativity flows. This time the challenge was we were locked in our house. We could pot go out for shooting, whereas I am someone who has done a lot of outdoor shooting in my film. So I thought how about writing a story where everything happens in a farmhouse and tell an engaging story through characters in such a manner that we can turn it into a full-length film? So I started writing.” He adds, “I always believe that our kind of storytelling is incomplete without music, be it background score or songs and poetry. During the lockdown, I wrote around 70 poems throughout the year. I also wrote two songs and made the tunes for them. Then through virtual sessions with our students, we created the music. Again, I had no idea that without going to the studio how to record things! But it was done. Then Sonu Nigam and Hariharan also joined and lent their voice for our song. I am fascinated.” The film ‘36 Farmhouse’ is directed by Ram Ramesh Sharma and it features Amol Parashar, Barkha Singh, Sanjay Mishra, Vijay Raaz, Flora Saini and Ashwini Kalsekar, among others.

He worked with a bunch of new actors in the film, Ghai said, “I am so impressed by Amol and Barkha. Look I have to fall in love with the actor I work with and it is not just about following the script for their performance, but having a great interaction with my actor is part of my process. So I build the relationship first with new actors.

The film releases on ZEE5 on January 21. — IANS