Exclusive! Amit Masurkar: Vijay Raaz was a surprise casting in ‘Sherni’

Vidya Balan-starrer Sherni released on Amazon Prime Video on June 18, 2021. The film is being lauded by critics and viewers alike. Director Amit Masurkar, who had previously helmed the critically acclaimed film Newton, spoke to OTTplay about his latest venture. He shares some exclusive details about how Vidya was the first person he approached with the script and how the rest of the cast, especially Vijay Raaz, fell in place. He also gives some insights about the kind of research they had to do for a subject which is less explored in Indian cinema.

Excerpts from the interview:

We haven't witnessed many films on tiger conservation in India. Did you see that as a challenge while presenting Sherni?

Finding the actors and producers was the easy part. Conservation is a topic that is dear to most people who care about the future. It's a matter of survival for the human race. If you save tigers, you save the jungle and with it, humankind. The setting is new for the audience and it lends to a complex and layered story.

Would you agree that when compared to Newton, Sherni has more commercial appeal?

Yes, Vidya Balan's popularity, the success of Newton, the incredible ensemble cast, the unique setting and the tigress all add to a film that can be watched by a large section of people from diverse backgrounds.

We see some of the most brilliant actors come together for the film. How was your experience directing them?

The casting directors Romil and Tejas worked hard to gather this fabulous set of actors.

The ensemble of actors was any director's dream team. After Vidya Balan, Sharat Saxena was the second actor we cast. I've watched him on screen since childhood and wanted to cast him for years. Neeraj Kabi is another actor and teacher I respect and was on the wish list.

Brijendra Kala's role was written with him in mind without checking if he would do the film. Vijay Raaz was the surprise casting. He is playing a college professor and conservationist and I'd never seen him play a part like this one. Ila Arun was another actor I wanted to work with and was suggested by the producers. Romil and Tejas also worked hard to find fresh faces to play important parts in the film, like Sampa Mandal, Satyakam Anand, Pratik Pachouri, Anoop Trivedi, Lokesh Mittal, Suma and Mukesh Prajaptati. These are formidable actors. There's also a large pool of locals, forest officials and guards in the film.

What kind of research went into making the film?

The writer Aastha Tiku analyzed all the data collected from the public domain - various conservation stories and incidents of human-animal conflict from all over India. She distilled it and had a room full of post-it notes with scene ideas and characters. Then we met forest officers and subject experts. We got Dr. Ramzan Virani on board, who is a conservationist, to teach us about tiger behaviour and to act as our scientific consultant. She kept improving on the story and screenplay all along and designed each character arc, added layers and made them as human as possible- with gray shades.

The costume designers Rushi Sharma, Manoshi Nath and Bhagyashree Rajurkar profiled dozens of forest officials and various real life people to achieve an authentic look for all the characters. The production designer Devika Dave also researched the locations, set design and props used in the film to help physically create the world of the story.

Did you imagine the film with Vidya Balan in mind?

Vidya came on board after the story idea was written. She was the first actor we approached. I never think of casting while developing any story. It tends to limit your imagination.

Do you believe that Sherni can open up a discussion about tiger conservation?

That was the intention of the film when we wrote it. I hope it does help draw public attention to conversation efforts.

Tell me about the scene between Vidya and Sharat Saxena. Were there any difficulties while shooting the scene?

Everything in the film was written and rehearsed before we shot it. The actors are seasoned professionals and we never had any issues.

We had an incredible cinematographer, Rakesh Haridas, who uses minimal lighting and is very good at operating the camera handheld. So most of the film turned out as imagined. Wherever there were gaps, the editor Dipika Kalra did some magic to make it disappear. Since a large part of the film is set in the jungle, sound design was very important as the jungle sounds differently at different times in different seasons. Anish John worked very hard to achieve authentic sounds. Also, the score by Benedict Taylor and Naren Chandavarkar helped us create the mood we wanted.

What's next for you?

I'm working on a couple of ideas. There's also a series that I'm developing with Aastha Tiku that we plan to produce.