Striker director did not expect much from Siddharth

Chandan Arora who has directed the famous ‘Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon’ and critically acclaimed ‘Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh’; cinematic stories of simple people with complex lives is back with his next film titled ‘Striker’. This is a movie starring south super star Siddharth and talented beauties like Nicolette Bird, Vidya Malvade, and Padmapriya and is based on the 1980’s ghetto life of Mumbai.

This film differs in its narrative from Chandan’s previous films; in a conversation he delves into what motivated him for ‘Striker’.

Your film is up for release, what are the feelings at this moment?
Naturally, I am a bit nervous and busy with the promotions of the film. We are trying to get as much people to watch the movie.

What do you think about Siddharth as an actor considering his superstar status in the South film industry?
It was like a dream to work with Siddharth, both as a director and a technician; I have great regard for him. His role essentially needed a lot from him as an actor and Siddharth has given a lot to the character.

How dedicated was Siddharth to his role?
He gave in lots of efforts, like the scenes with the carom games in it. If he had to give a particular shot on carom board then he would sit and practice the game in his free time on sets before giving the shots. How was your and Siddharth’s equation while working in the movie? We had low expectations from each other initially as we did not know each other much, but after we started shooting we got along very well and were totally engrossed discussing sequences and filming. What made you choose ‘Striker’ after doing light hearted movies like ‘Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon’ and ‘Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh’?

‘Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon’ was the story of a girl named ‘Chutki’ and ‘Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh’ was the story of a librarian in Lucknow University. Every movie may seem simple on the outset, but if you see Chutki or Librarian’s life from their point of view, it was an intense life.

‘Striker’ is the story of a character named ‘Yuva’ who is trying to make his life better and face the difficult situation he is trapped in while doing so. The film is set in the ghettos of Mumbai of the mid 80’s. It is it intense and looks intense unlike the previous films. Besides there is no conscious efforts for making a particular subject oriented movie.

What would you say about the actresses Nicolette, Padmapriya and Vidya?
Vidya is a very talented actress and she plays Siddharth’s sister in the movie. Nicolette is Siddharth’s love interest in the film. She is very beautiful and has freshness in her looks. She is a good actress and was perfect for the role of a pretty girl in the movie. Padmapriya has also done a very good job and lives up to her status of a south star.

Which was the most difficult sequence to shoot?
The film is set in the period of 1980’s and Mumbai has developed in leaps and bounds by now, so to get the look of 80s was a bit difficult. There were no cell phones, building structures were different… we had people carrying cell phones everywhere, therefore we had to take care no such stuff should come in frame.

The film needed to shot in a real location, no shooting was done in studio but we had used sets in real locations to give it a retro look. Giving this movie a right look and feel to shoot scenes was challenging.

So, were any carom was played on sets apart from shots for the movie?
Oh yes, all the time. All the cast and crew would get together for a carom game and relax for a while. We had fun doing it.

-Chandana H Buch/ Sampurn Media