Why Shakun Batra doesn't chase box-office trends
What's the story
Shakun Batra, who helmed the Ali Fazal-Radhikka Madan segment in the Netflix anthology Lust Stories 3, recently opened up about his filmmaking process. He revealed that his creative journey is not influenced by box-office trends or market data. Instead, it starts with his passion for storytelling. "I think I have been fortunate enough to have started with my gut and not with data. I am never starting with some box-office record or what's getting made," he said.
Character focus
Batra's character-driven approach to storytelling
Batra, who has directed films like Kapoor & Sons, emphasized his commitment to character-driven storytelling.
He told Variety India, "I still like to write characters that I think can be attractive for actors to play."
Producer Karan Johar has supported this approach, encouraging Batra to pursue unconventional stories as long as they can be produced within a reasonable budget.
Character understanding
'Don't judge your characters, explore them deeply'
Batra believes that writers and directors should delve deep into their characters so that their choices are understandable, even if they are hard to digest.
He said, "Just understand your characters deeply, and anything you are doing, you should not be doing it from a place of judging the character."
"If you're judging the character, that means you haven't explored it enough," he added.
Film example
How this philosophy shaped 'Kapoor & Sons'
Batra's philosophy was also evident in his 2016 film Kapoor & Sons. The movie dealt with homosexuality, but Batra never wanted that single issue to define the entire film.
He said, "Even when I did Kapoor & Sons, it was a story about homosexuality, someone coming out of closet...but it wasn't just that."
"There was music, there were songs, there was a love story, but it wasn't forced upon me."
The movie starred Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra, and Fawad Khan.