Shiney Ahuja, Chitrangda Singh and Smriti Mishra in Kal ? Yesterday and TomorrowDirector Ruchi Narain

No father or grandfather in the film industry ? what got you into film-making!

I am still trying to figure that out. I have been in this industry for nine years, working as assistant director and writer. I started out by assisting Sudhir Mishra in Is Raat Ki Subaah Nahin. Then I did some television work with Nikhil Advani (director of Kal Ho Naa Ho). Next, I did some writing for Saurabh Shukla and Zoya Akhtar, and also wrote the script for the Sunhil Sippy film Snip. Then I went on to direct a 45-episode thriller for Sahara called Talaash, starring Simone Singh. After that I wanted to unlearn television and went back to films. I wrote Calcutta Mail and Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, and also turned out as associate director.

When did you first come up with the idea of Kal ? Yesterday and Tomorrow?

The thought of the story came at least five years back. It?s loosely based on something I was going through during that phase and didn?t have the courage to write at that time. It was two years ago that I started to write the script in earnest. I gave up all other work, sat down at home and wrote the screenplay, day and night, for six months.

nHow did you get so many people to invest in your film?

Having worked in the industry, I did realise that it is the money that controls the making of the film. I wanted to have a say in the film and so wanted to raise the money on my own. What I did was draw up a business plan and take it to investors who had no connection with films. And they invested in the film without even knowing the storyline. There are 14 investors for my film made at a budget of Rs 2.5 crore. Some of them have recently seen the film and liked it.

Are you one of the investors? How do you have a say?

I haven?t directly invested in the film but I have my fee as a writer-director in the budget and my fee is only redeemable if the money is made. So, in that way, my money is also stuck in the film. Sudhir Mishra?s company has produced the film and that has nothing to do with money. In India we have this misconception that a producer has to get hold of funds. That?s not the case anywhere else in the world.

Coming back to the film, what is Kal about?

Kal is about a woman photographer who is trying to uncover the truth behind the death of her friend. In the process she finds out that the main suspect is her former boyfriend and she herself is the alibi. Since she is related to both victim and suspect, she wants to find out the truth. So this woman who lives for tomorrow is stuck in her past and is being pulled back to her yesterday. That?s why I have called the film Kal. There?s also a lot of back and forth in the structure.

Were Shiney Ahuja and Chitrangda Singh natural choices, since you worked with them in Hazaaron??

Yes, I have worked with both of them. To Shiney, I had narrated the script on one of the trips to the sets of Hazaaron? Chitrangda, I was not sure about. She did play Geeta beautifully but I wasn?t sure that she would be able to deliver as the urban Mumbai girl Bhavna in my film. But she flew down from Delhi and got me to test her. And after the screen-test, I was like, ?Yes, you are on!?

Director Ruchi Narain

But she is quitting movies. Where does that leave you?

In the lurch (laughs). Really, I am stuck. I had explained to Chitrangda that films is serious business and I really need to cast people who will push the movie once it?s ready. In fact I was talking to another front line actress when she insisted that I cast her. At that time, Chitrangda said she really wanted to be in the movies and wanted to be a top star. Now, when she should have signed more films, she is quitting. The problem is with her family, who had never expected that she would be accepted in the film industry. Now their 15th century values have become a financial problem for us. After this, I am never gonna trust another new person in this industry.

What kind of ridiculous thing is this that if you are married, you cannot work! She has just disappeared from the scene as if someone?s holding a gun to her head.

So Shiney and Smriti Mishra are all you?ve got?

Yes, Shiney is hot and happening now, thankfully. Smriti is making a comeback of sorts. She had left to do Canadian films and all. But I always wanted her to do my first film.

What after this?

I am writing another thriller since I love the genre. Thrillers not only dictate the pace but keep the story moving. I like that as an audience.