Anupam Kher says 'Tanvi' is love letter to autistic niece
What's the story
Veteran actor Anupam Kher is making a comeback to the director's role with Tanvi The Great, 23 years after his first directorial, Om Jai Jagadish. In a recent interview with NDTV, Kher revealed that the film is based on his maternal niece, who has autism. "This is a personal story. Tanvi is my maternal niece who is autistic," he said.
Inspiration
Incident at family wedding inspired Kher to write the film
Kher shared an incident that inspired him to write the film. He was at a family wedding in Gurugram when he saw his niece Tanvi standing alone and looking at a mountain. "I asked her, 'Tanvi, what are you doing?' And she said, 'I'm looking at my world.' That was a very heavy statement," Kher recalled. "That's how the seed of the story took root."
Film's essence
Not a tragic story, says Kher
Kher, who co-wrote the film with Abhishek Dixit and Ankur Suman, stressed that Tanvi The Great is not a tragic story about an autistic girl. "We don't have tears in our eyes when we watch the film... It's not the tragic story of an autistic girl, but through her we get to witness goodness, honesty, and joy," he said.
Film details
Film features music by Oscar winner M.M. Keeravaani
The film, produced by Kher's studio in association with the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), features lyrics by Kausar Munir and music by Oscar winner M.M. Keeravaani. It also stars Jackie Shroff, Boman Irani, Arvind Swami, Pallavi Joshi, Karan Tacker, Nassar, and Iain Glen from Game of Thrones. Tanvi The Great is set to hit theaters on Friday.