Dia Mirza with Vidya Balan and Sahil Sangha

Born Free Entertainment was set up with the aspiration to make films that would have a universal appeal, social relevance and at the same time be entertaining. Were we setting ourselves up for a tough challenge?

As an actor I’ve spent 12 years in the Hindi film industry and witnessed many a shift in the tide. The advent of the multiplex and the rise it gave to a healthy mix of meaningful cinema that was even considered commercially viable. The line between commercial and art house was fast diminishing and the emergence of filmmakers like Rajkumar Hirani, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Zoya Akhtar set the tone for many new film-makers.

It was this shift and the collective impressions that I had gathered in my journey as an actor that motivated my desire to do something meaningful with cinema. As an actor one is often the sum total of the effort (or the lack of it) of many other departments in a film. My desire was to find my own voice in cinema. To facilitate a process that would help good stories emerge. In Sahil (Sangha) I found a partner who mirrored an identical value system and desire to make films. With a sense of fearlessness and bravado we set up Born Free. The name reflecting the core ethos of the company, the fact that creativity cannot be conformed, it must flow in an environment of freedom….

What we achieved with our first film Love Breakups Zindagi was garnering the respect of all that had worked with us. The failure of the film at the box office did not dampen our spirit. We were invigorated by the experience of making the film. By the impressions all those associated with it had carried forward. It became even more important for us to continue to make films. To nurture the environment at work that bred equality, wherein everyone involved in the process would feel a sense of ownership of the film. We were accused of being idealistic, even being “too” fair, but we held our ground.

We spent a year and a half investing in an idea that Sanyukta Chawla Shaikh brought to us. Never allowing the whispers that we had shut down, or the continuous badgering to quickly announce a second film, bother us. It was only when we believed we had the script that we wanted to make into a film that we decided that Bobby Jasoos would be the second film Born Free would make.

Our well-wishers felt that Bobby Jasoos was a risk because making a film with a female playing the central part with a first-time director is never easy. They felt it would not make ‘business sense’ to most studios and we knew we were setting ourselves up for a daunting journey ahead. But we knew the story had all the ingredients to make it an engaging experience and that if we managed to cast an actor who would perform the part well and would justify the cost of the film, it would find an audience. And therefore become what is considered a commercially viable film.

Our choice to cast Vidya Balan to play Bobby Jasoos was a unanimous one. We believed that while she is an undoubtedly brilliant actor, her presence would ensure the film could be made in the budget it needed. But there was one more very important aspect that determined casting her in the central part –– the core similarity between Bobby Jasoos, the character, and Vidya Balan, the actor. Vidya Balan has paved a path for herself, on her own terms, as per her beliefs. She has followed her heart. Bobby Jasoos, the character, does the same. We knew that when the core of the character and the actor playing it are identical there would be magic. Vidya is Bobby.

As soon as we set our hearts on casting Vidya, the journey ahead stopped looking bleak. We knew that she would validate the essence of the film. And to our complete joy she gave us the nod in less than a month! (Record time for someone who takes her time before saying yes to a film.) And once she came on board with all her faith in the story and the debutant director Samar Shaikh and us, everything else started falling in place.

What we are most enthused about is that we managed to make the film we set out to make. Every single department, cast member and crew member loved Bobby. They nurtured her like she was their own. And as producers there is no greater achievement than to be able to bring good people together to work in an environment of honesty, transparency and love.

Reliance Entertainment choosing to be our partners on the film has further strengthened Bobby Jasoos’ chances of finding an audience. As our studio partner they validate our belief that the ‘concepts’ that bind us only exist in our heads. If we make a film that has a good story with strong engaging characters, it would find takers.

As Bobby Jasoos gets all set for a 4th of July release, my heart swells with pride because we’ve managed to keep our integrity intact and do things the way we set out to. The challenge is not in making a film, it is in how one chooses to make a film.