Adarsh Gourav and Sanjana Sanghi on their Unreleased Debut Film: 'Easier To Let Go When You Are Young'

Every actor remembers their first film, except when it becomes something you slowly stop talking about because it never reaches the audience. That is what happened with Adarsh Gourav and Sanjana Sanghi, whose debut project was titled Banana, produced by John Abraham and directed by Sajid Ali. The film was shot, re-edited, renamed and viewed in bits over the years, but it never made it to screens. 

“It checked all the boxes, so we never imagined it wouldn’t come out,” Sanjana says. At the time she was still studying and not fully aware of how unpredictable the business could be. “I didn’t know a film could be made and then just be shelved. Every year we would see some trailer or some song and there was always that tiny hope, but my head was in a completely different space and I didn’t see it as my big debut moment.”

For Adarsh, it came with a wave of excitement and pride. He filmed in his hometown, told everyone he knew about it and returned feeling like things were finally moving. “There was a proud moment, but then life started happening. I had my music, I was auditioning for other projects, and I kept forgetting I had done this film. Then suddenly someone would bring it up and I would remember again.”

Both say that being young helped cushion the blow. “It is easier to let go at that age because you are distracted by so many other things and it is not make or break,” Adarsh says.

What stayed with them was everything they experienced on set. They worked for almost 60 days, lived away from home, built characters, understood routine, and felt what it meant to be actors without any spotlight attached.

“It was the most incredible training ground,” Sanjana says. “It made it clear that we wanted to act full time,” Adarsh adds.