Exclusive! Jalsa director Suresh Triveni: When I saw that I could have Vidya Balan, Shefali Shah, I took the film

In his very new directorial, Jalsa, filmmaker Suresh Triveni brought a major genre shift from the sunny Tumhari Sulu. He cracked the thriller drama, which struck the right chord with the masses since it premiered on Amazon Prime Video. The film features two powerhouse talents, Shefali Shah and Vidya Balan, in the lead roles.

Ahead of the release of Jalsa, OTTplay exclusively spoke with Triveni about how he decoded the title Jalsa and why he chose that as the name of the movie. The filmmaker also revealed how he got Shefali, Vidya, and Manav Kaul on board for his interesting film, and how music plays an important role in his projects.

Edited excerpts are below:

It's been nearly five years since Tumhari Sulu was released. So, when did this idea of Jalsa come about? How long did it take for you to convert the script into a film?

So after Tumhari Sulu, I took a break for one and a half years. I was working on something, but I think it was pretentious stuff that I was writing. I was taking myself a little too seriously, so I stopped working. I was doing advertising and content. Finally, after a year and a half, the bug came back and I started working on a couple of things. These are stories that have been playing in my head at some level. But the real work started in 2019 when I had a two-liner and a one-liner kind of an idea. I was too lazy to proceed because half my ideas were killed there only. I met this very promising young writer called Prajwal Shetty, and he came along with my associate, Amey. We started, and he took an interest in that story. He said that he would come back to developing it, and he started developing it. As he started developing it, I felt that there was scope for the story. It was some other story. It was something else. Yes, it was based on an accident. But it started taking shape as he started developing, and then I started working on it. He came up with the first draft, and I felt there was something in it. It's far from what we have, so that's where the beginnings of it were. I felt excited about it. This is a story, I should say. When I saw the possibility that I could have Vidya and Shefali, I took it on.

When penning the script, was it always Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah on your mind?

Yes, it started happening as we started developing the story. I prefer to keep actors in mind after a point when I write because I think it gives me better clarity. I know it's risky also, but it kind of gives me a certain motivation from where we can borrow all this and give motivation to the writer also. So in this case, I was lucky enough to finally convert who I thought would eventually be in the film.

I recently spoke to Shefali ma'am, who revealed that you gave the narration to her while playing music that you composed. That's an interesting process. Could you please elaborate on this more?

Music is something that unifies all expressions. For example, if I tell you a story, and if I say that a guy is walking in a lobby in a hotel, you can imagine it in 200 different ways. And then I'd say that maybe he's walking fast. I can add more adjectives. He's walking slowly, so he can do all of that. But what if I play one kind of music over it? All of us will unify, saying, "Oh, there's a guy who's..."

I think you will understand the genre. So you will feel that this is a masala or it's not the popular format of a film. Music, I feel, is a great cue for imagining things in a better space. If your mom is watching something in the living room while you're sitting in your room, you'll know she's watching something emotional or funny. Music gives that cue, and as I write, I try to get as many cues as possible as we narrate. It's an audio-visual medium, right? It's better to give that complete experience.

Why the title "Jalsa"? What was the intention behind that?

Jalsa has some relevance in the film. There is a point where you will realize that, as a narrative, I can't say much about it. But for me, it is Jalsa because it's a coming together of a lot of ironies, a lot of lives coming together. Jalsa, for me, is also outside the film's narrative; it's some wonderful actors performing together, and that's a treat. It's not just a gimmick, because there is something to it that I hope kind of justifies that.

Was it always planned to be an OTT release?

Yes, because we were in the middle of the pandemic while shooting for the film. But that was not the core reason. I was also very clear in saying that I wanted to experience this platform because the audience is ever-changing in the world. Cinemas will exist. I love theatricals, and I'm sure that, given a chance, I'd always want to make a theatrical. But I felt that it's a good opportunity to explore a certain platform and see what kind of response happens around it. Try to make a story that is universal enough in terms of the kind of theme. So purely, it's also the curiosity to see what this means to be. When Amazon Prime comes on board in terms of the film in 240 countries plus territories, I think you're exposing yourself to a lot of scrutiny.

Even Manav Kaul is a part of Jalsa. It's a reunion of sorts for you to have both Vidya Balan and him in your next outing. What was it about them as performers that made you get them back in your film?

They are my lucky charms, making sure that I don't make a fool of myself. Manav is playing, not in terms of size, it's not that big a role. He's been kind enough to do the part, and it's relevant. I just wanted to see them perform together. It's a greedy desire. They have unbelievable chemistry.