Onir with Chitrangda Singh on the sets of Sorry Bhai in Mauritius

It’s his third film after the sensitive My Brother... Nikhil and the dramatic Bas Ek Pal. Onir is just back after shooting Sorry Bhai in Mauritius. t2 caught up with the comparative literature graduate from Jadavpur University...

Sorry Bhai is your first comedy after two very serious films. Did that make life different on the sets?

Not really. I don’t know. It wasn’t really different-different. Both My Brother... Nikhil and Bas Ek Pal were two films that I believed in and I made them. The same with Sorry Bhai. In my personal life, I do enjoy laughing a lot and I believe I have a sense of humour. So I am trying to explore that side of me on screen.

This is also the first time you went for a foreign shoot. Was Mauritius fun?

More than fun it was like revisiting My Brother... Nikhil. We had shot almost the entire film in Goa and here we have shot Sorry Bhai almost fully in Mauritius. Also, in both the cases there were five principal characters. I think it helps if you go outdoors to shoot. You are travelling together, eating together, sitting together... So it’s like a common cause. Unlike in Mumbai, where you are coming from your home to the sets for a day’s work. The bonding which develops away from Mumbai, I think, helps the film a lot.

Are you happy that your film is bringing back Chitrangda Singh? What was it like working with her?

To be honest I was really struggling to find an actress for my film. Here in Bollywood, people take scripts but never bother to read them and obviously never get back. So I was in a real fix. Then a friend of mine said that Chitrangda is open to acting offers again. I took a chance and it worked out. It was a real last-minute decision and now having shot with her for such a long schedule in Mauritius, I am so glad that she agreed to do the role.

Chitrangda is a very natural actress and she just lights up the screen whenever she is in the frame. She is quite incredible. She may be just two films old but she is so mature as an actress. You have to just see her scenes with Shabana (Azmi) in the film. The two of them are two great actresses of two generations and I am really lucky to have them together in my film.

Working with Shabana was special..

It was always a dream to work with Shabana. She brings in so much to the film. The chemistry she shares with Boman (Irani) in the film is an extension of their excellent rapport in Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. It’s so much fun. They are constantly at each other. While she is the aggressive one, he always gets back with his witty one-liners.

Now that you have shot the film you have to tell us more about the story...

Well, it’s a romantic comedy; I guess I have said that before (smiles). It’s about this family which goes to Mauritius for the brother’s wedding. And then what happens there. The entire film spans just 10 days on screen.

Why Mauritius?

It’s an integral part of the film. And I have tried to showcase Mauritius in all its colours. Not just from a tourist’s point of view. So besides the beaches, I have shot on streets and in cafeterias. I have even shot the bathroom scenes in Mauritius which other directors prefer to shoot back in Mumbai. What was interesting was that there was a lot of buzz around the film, locally.

You turn producer with Sorry Bhai. Will you direct for others again?

See, production is difficult but I would rather produce my own films because then they become my responsibility and I don’t have to answer to anybody about a few extra junior artistes or an extra day in the schedule. If I direct for others, it will be on my terms.