Netflix India’s latest original film is the dark comedy Brij Mohan Amar Rahe. It is the second project from Yoodlee Films, who had earlier produced the acclaimed festival hit Ajji directed by Devashish Makhija. Netflix picked up Brij Mohan... from Yoodlee earlier this year.
Brij Mohan Amar Rahe stars Arjun Mathur as a small time businessman whose penchant for debt lands him in a deep mess involving false identities, murder, and reckless liaisons. Soon his life spirals out of control. Director Nikhil Bhat spoke to us about shooting in Delhi, casting the offbeat characters and how Netflix is changing the game.
Brij Mohan Amar Rahe has a ton of Delhi flavour. Why did you decide to set the story there?
Nikhil Bhat: The story of Brij Mohan is inspired by incidents that happened in Delhi and we wanted to keep it very close to the reality. Hence the movie had a Delhi setup. I believe every city has a unique thing about it. With Delhi it’s the jugad. Everyone is involved in some or the other jugad. In the film as well, if you see, everyone is doing some kind of jugad. Whether it is Brij Mohan, Simmi, Sweety, Benny Bhai or the judges, everyone is doing some jugad to come out of their situation.
What is your personal relationship with Delhi?
NB: I got to explore the city in 1999. I had limited money then. It was a tough time for me. I wandered around the city on my bike and ate at the local joints. That is how I observed the city closely and gradually it grew on me.
The colorful cast is one of the highlights of Brij Mohan. How did you zero in on Arjun Mathur and select the rest of the cast?
NB: When we started working, we were clear about the fact that our content is very strong and this is the star of the movie. Now all we needed were actors who would fit into different roles like that of Brij Mohan or Simmi or any other character of the movie. We started selecting the cast two months before the shoot. Though the movie has a Delhi set up, we did not want actors who had a Delhi background as we wanted them to start afresh. We wanted our characters to grow on them. We feared that actors with a Delhi background would think they know about the place more and dominate the character. So we cast a set of people who did not belong to that background and had to work hard on each of these characters to shape them as we wanted.
Talking particularly of Arjun. We wanted a man who looked a little hassled in life. We wanted him to look ‘bechara’ no matter what he does. We did not want the audience to hate the character. We wanted to build a grey character. A man who is screwed from all the corners, choosing wrong paths to come out of it and even then you will tend to sympathise with his situation. In the film, Brij Mohan becomes the victim of his own deeds. Still, he is not hated by the audience. People wanted him to come out of his situation.
What was the journey like getting the film made? What kind of challenges did you face?
NB: There were many challenges. We wanted to complete the shoot in limited days and hence were running on a very tight schedule. To add to our difficulties was the geography of the city. We had to shoot at different parts of the city. We shot at Chandini Chowk, Rajouri Garden, Gurgaon and other parts of the city. To travel within the city became a challenge due to the distance and traffic. However, we had a very enthusiastic cast and crew. We worked round the clock to keep our schedule. We hardly slept for 3-4 hours daily and completed our shoot in time. We just shot one day extra because of technical problems.
How do you think the film getting picked up by Netflix has helped? What do you think are the benefits of a Netflix release over a theatrical release?
NB: Netflix has given the film a wider range of audience. Through the platform, we have been able to give the film a better exposure. Instead of releasing it in limited theatres we chose to release the movie in 190 countries with an audience base of 130 million people. We are very glad and yes it has definitely helped the film to reach a bigger base of audience and get an international platform.
Do you think the growth of OTT platforms like Netflix will change how films are made in India? How so?
NB: It has already changed. There are a number of films made each year that never get released in theatres because of various reasons. There are many talented directors who make good films but do not have a platform to showcase it to the world. Netflix and other OTT services have now given us a new and fantastic platform where we can not only showcase our work but have a much wider range of audience across the globe.
Brij Mohan Amar Rahe is streaming now on Netflix.
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