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Hindi Medium director Saket Chaudhary: Had problems casting A-list actresses who were willing to play mother
Director Saket Chaudhary speaks about his film, Hindi Medium.
Hindi Medium starring Irrfan Khan and Pakistani actor Saba Qamar released today and has opened to good reviews. The movie is directed by Saket Chaudhary, who earlier directed Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Shaadi Ke Side Effects respectively.
In an interview with Pinkvilla, Saket spoke about the film in length and also revealed a funny incident from the sets.
Excerpts from the interview:
What inspired you to come up with a movie like Hindi Medium?
I was writing for Shaadi Ke Side Effects at that time we were researching about parents, couples and so forth.. so one of the writers was reading an article about how parents were finding it difficult to get their kids admitted to an English school as the school was only keen on having parents who had degrees.. so for his daughter's admission, he got himself admitted to an MBA course.. and we realized the extent to which the parents are ready to go for their kids. I think all parents believe that the one thing that they have to give their children is a good education and Indian parents especially are obsessed with their child's education and that's how the idea came about. 
Your movie essentially seems to be a satire on our country's obsession with the English language. Were you nervous about how the film will be received given that the offence game is in these days?
Yeah, it doesn't take a minute for people to take offence these days.. we are not saying that one language is better than the other, to a certain degree English is as much an Indian language as any other language are, but the problem is when we start creating parameters by which people can be discriminated against. Knowing English has become that parameter.. you start humiliating people based on that, start calling them vernacular, you start mocking them and that's an issue. These things which have nothing to do with people, their intelligence or ability has become tags that get stuck with them.. that is what the film is about.
How did you get Irrfan onboard for the film?
From the time we wrote.. from the moment we started writing our script.. we knew and we wanted it to be Irrfan.. then we approached him and he also felt that he was the character, in fact, we hadn't spoken to other actors. Irrfan was the first choice. He was the first person we approached.
What are your expectations from the film, given that it will be releasing alongside Arjun Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor's Half Girlfriend?
I think the film has a bigger appeal and will appeal to the family audience.. so the expectations are that it will be bigger and more widespread.
Any funny moments from the sets you would like to share?
One of the funny moments on the sets was when Saba in a shot had to come out in a night dress and she was hell nervous about the repercussions of this shot in Pakistan. For us, it means nothing to put an actress in a short dress but I remember how nervous she was during that shot.
How did you discover and got Pakistani actor Saba Qamar onboard?
When we started casting for the film... a lot of people asked why a Pakistani actress.. see this is not a quantity game. It's about someone who fits the part.. when we started casting.. we never thought we would cast from Pakistan but we had problem casting major actresses who were willing to play mother, so we started to think whom we can cast when we weren't able to cast actresses here and then while watching a Pak show, I saw Saba and approached her.
How was your experience working with Irrfan Khan who is one of the finest talents we have?
It's an amazing experience because with an actor who is so good and experienced you sort of need to understand how you need to behave because it is not about simply giving instructions. Irrfan is too good and experienced enough for that. He is one of the actors who is constantly preserving energy, he is an observer and till you say action you really don't know what he is going to bring to the screen.
Who is the next actor you would love to work with?
I would love to work with Shah Rukh Khan. I have worked as an assistant director with SRK for Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and I would really like to direct him.
What are your upcoming projects?
I haven't got time to write anything as yet, but I will start researching post-Hindi Medium's release.
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