'Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan' Director Santosh Singh on Vikrant Massey and Navigating the 'Pressure' of Launching Shanaya Kapoor

Before he took off on his own, Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan filmmaker Santosh Singh served as an associate director on Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and was the first assistant director on major Dharma productions including Brahmastra and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. Naturally, everything he attempts now has traces of what he learnt on the sets, including the biggest lesson: Always have a hold on emotions.

"What I have taken from Karan Johar or Ayan Mukerji is their solid command over emotions. Without that, you can splurge crores on spectacles, but everything will be empty," says Santosh as he chats with The Hollywood Reporter India ahead of his latest feature, Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan, headlined by Vikrant Massey and Shanaya Kapoor in her screen debut.

With the new film, which is inspired by Ruskin Bond's short story The Eyes Have It, Santosh returns to the romantic-drama space after his 2018 directorial debut, Broken But Beautiful. The director says he lucked out with the cast in hand, where both Vikrant and Shanaya surrendered to the challenges their roles demanded; he plays a visually challenged man, while she will be seen blindfolded in her scenes with him.

"See, this is a slightly different love story because the eyes never meet. Vikrant is blind, and Shanaya is in a blindfold. Your eyes show your emotions, but to take that away, how will you show that feeling and intimacy? That was challenging for me as well as the actors. This was the USP of the story," he says.

While Vikrant, whom he directed in Broken But Beautiful, was already on board when Santosh was approached for Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan, the director says the team went through a long casting process to get the female lead. The ask was to find an actor who has "a certain innocence, freshness and lightness on the face" as the character demands.

"We met a lot of people, and someone came on board as well, but the dates had become an issue! Shanaya was destined because it happened out of the blue. When we were discussing casting options, Panchami Ghavri told me she had Shanaya's test for some other project that didn't work out. When she sent me her test, I sensed tremendous potential and I quickly got on a call. When I narrated her the script, I gave her two scenes to prepare and asked her to take her time to prep. But she called me back within a day, and then we tested her, and she was on point!"

When asked if he felt the pressure that he was the director launching Shanaya, daughter of Sanjay and Maheep Kapoor, Santosh says he muted all the noise.

"I used to be a first AD on many projects, so I know filmmaking is a high-pressure job. It doesn't matter if you are directing a newcomer or a seasoned actor. My pressure was just to get the best performances out of these actors, because ultimately, it is only your good work that does the talking. So far, whatever people are seeing of Shanaya, people have been really positive about her. There is no hate, and the work is speaking. She is a breath of fresh air. She was so well-prepped that when she came to shoot, there were no hiccups. She knew exactly what to do and I am glad Shanaya happened to the film," he adds.