Kanishk Varma, who has worked as an assistant director on various projects such as Love Breakups Zindagi, 3G and the national award winning film Lahore, is all set to make his directorial debut with the psychological thriller Footfairy, a first to find its way directly on television screens. Starring Gulshan Deviah, Kunaal Roy Kapur and Sagarika Ghosh, the movie is being touted as the first film to get an exclusive Television Premiere, and releases pm &pictures on the 24th October.
In an exclusive chat with IBTimes India, the director shared details about his project and also told us why Gulshan was the right choice for the role.
Kanishk says going with a psychological thriller seemed the right choice since he grew up on various serial killer stories. "I grew up on general doze from the west on crime fiction stories including Mind hunter by Jon Douglas, the movie Zodiac, documentary on Richard Ramirez, the serial killer among others. I am a huge fan of South Korean cinema which also makes ample such movies. Thus after Assistant Directing for a few years, I wanted to take the plunge into making such movies myself. It wasn't just watching a few episodes of Criminal Mind, and picking up something from here and there. I was confident in writing my own story on this genre."
While Kanishk had previously wanted to start with an action thriller, he has held it back due to a lack of budget. "The movie is based on a lot of true events that happened around the world. It is not a particular case. My protagonist is based on John Douglas. It has instances picked up from a lot of true events," he shared while talking about the inspiration behind the plot.
Even as the government recently announced the reopening of cinema halls by October 15, with a 50%occupancy, Kanishk is happy with its Television release.
It was a billion-dollar call by our producers. Even with the reopening, we don't know how things will go. I am happy because my work is being liked and being believed in. As a director, it doesn't matter if it goes to theatres or OTT. Tough times call for new ways. This is a first of its kind direct to get a TV release, after some 30 years. I am happy with the wider reach it is going to enjoy."
Kanishk feels Gulshan was an apt choice for the role and their professional camaraderie helped in wrapping up the film earlier than it was supposed to. "I couldn't have asked for a better protagonist. He is absolutely professional and brilliant with his lines. He would never shit up ever with it. That's why we ended up completing the film in 30 days. That is why when there were days when I had planned 3 schedules, we ended up shooting 6. It's been an absolute pleasure," he said.
