Sabyasachi Mukherjee has spent over two decades building his fashion label into one of India's leading luxury fashion labels, but has one ambition that is yet to be fulfilled, though he knows he is waiting for the right time.
In an exclusive conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, the designer and couturier talked about a film script he has had in mind for 15 years and has not changed a word of since, how he has every detail of it mapped out clearly in his head and when he intends to make the film.
Discussing his long-thought-about film, Mukherjee shared how the film has been fully formed in his head for years. "The film is still inside my head. I wrote the script about 15 years ago. It's about idealism. The script hasn't even wavered one sentence."
Not just that, he says he even has every technical element planned out, down to the last detail: "A hundred percent, it's all there. The camera angles, the music, the clothes — it's all detailed in my head, because I have a photographic memory."
What has kept the project on hold, he reveals, is a sense of obligation to the people who work for him. His worry, he adds, is "getting addicted to the process too soon."
"I have people who've worked with me for 30-35 years, and as a business owner, I owe them stability and growth before I chase anything else," Mukherjee explains.
With a mindset of taking things in due time, he adds, "Once the business is strong enough, once it's public, once I have the right people in place, I'll have time to make my films. I'm just disciplining myself to wait till the time is right."
"Very honestly, I did costumes to secretly watch how films get made," Mukherjee admitted, looking back on his long-standing work designing costumes for Indian films, explaining that it began as a means to watch the craft of filmmaking come to life. He adds that while it provided him an "insider's view", it also "felt dishonest to my profession."
"Films were my private joy, and I couldn't let the business suffer because 'the boss' suddenly wanted to tinker with something else. Running a business is a lot of responsibility."
Watch the full interview drop on The Hollywood Reporter India YouTube channel later today