Shahid Kapoor's 'Deva' is My Heartfelt Tribute to 'Parinda': Director Rosshan Andrrews on His Hindi Film Debut

Director Roshan Andrews' 30-year-old obsession with Hindi cinema finally came to creative use when he became the director of his Bollywood debut Deva, two decades after he debuted in Malayalam with the blockbuster meta-comedy Udhayananu Tharam (2005).

Strangely, he thanks his high school teacher, who made him write down his Malayalam translations of old Republic Day speeches by erstwhile prime ministers, and his absolute love for Amitabh Bachchan for the way he transitioned to filmdom.

Of course, he has his issues with the industry too, but he is thrilled that he was able to make Deva with Shahid Kapoor with a film that he calls his love letter to Mumbai. Days before the release of his cop-actioner, Rosshan sits down with THR India to explain how his cinephilia is what has kept him trend-agnostic.

Edited excerpts from a conversation:

Years ago, you had spoken about working on an earlier Hindi film. Why did that not materialise back then?

Yes, that was right after my first film in 2005. I had travelled to Mumbai and had started to work with a writer too. But there was too much interference; they began to decide everything, including my technical crew. After one year, I had to tell them to make their own movie instead of involving me. I come with a conviction, so I decided right after that experience that I’d make films only when I’m being given the space to exercise that conviction. 

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What changed now when you arrived at Deva?   

I need a producer who will stand with me. By now, I have a body of work and if a producer wants to work with me, it should be based on the trust they have for my process. I’ve made 12 films in Malayalam; of course, I’ve made both hits and flops, but I have a decent ratio. 80 percent of my films are hits. I waited for someone who trusted this process and that was Siddharth Roy Kapur. He’s the best I’ve ever worked with.

But as a Malayalam filmmaker, what were the initial conversations like?

We started speaking back while I was working on Kayamkulam Kochunni (2018), almost seven years back. I told him I had my own process, and also warned him that I would not allow anyone within my creative space. I’m open to suggestions, but the final call would be mine. I wanted his support through this and he has stuck to his word.

Rosshan Andrrews with Shahid Kapoor.

But you’ve made three films since then... 

That’s because the Hindi industry is based on a star’s green-lighting; all the budgets from the studios begin to get released only once an actor says yes. In Malayalam, if a director and a producer get ready with a script, you can start work on a film. But a star has to say yes in Hindi, or else studios are not open to doing it with a newcomer. So, as we waited for the film to be green-lit, my films kept releasing in Malayalam.

But despite these challenges, what was the that one aspect of making a Hindi movie that kept you involved for so long?

So, Parinda (1989) is one of my all-time favourite films. The reason I love Mumbai, to this day, is the result of Binod Pradhan’s camerawork and Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s direction. It’s my love for Parinda that convinced me to bring Binod Pradhan to shoot my film Kayamkulam Kochunni. At the time, we paid ₹ 1.25 crore to him to work on the film — a fee that was more than what we paid for superstars! This was when the top DOP charged around ₹ 25 lakhs. I paid that much for a technician because I respect what he can bring to a film. With Deva, one of my first ideas was to show a totally different Mumbai, because of my obsession with Parinda. Deva is my reply to what I felt when I watched Parinda for the first time. 

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How did you go about finding this version of Mumbai? 

I spent three months by myself during the recce. I wanted to shoot in real locations, so I spent a lot of time in Dharavi, Kamathipura, on the local trains, buses and autos, and ate all the local food. I did not want to rely on a location manager, because they try to show you places where it's easy to shoot. But the places I wanted to shoot in came with its own challenges. The permissions alone took months to get.

Rosshan Andrrews and Shahid Kapoor on the sets of 'Deva'

This reminds me of the time you insisted on shooting your second film Notebook (2007) only in Lawrence School, Lovedale, after paying what was a whopping sum then.

I’ve even shot right at the centre of Sheik Zayed Road in Dubai. For 36 Vayadhinile (2015) I shot in one of the busiest streets in T.Nagar, even though Suriya sir seemed very worried at the idea of shooting there with Jyotika ma'am. I shot it in one hour and that very shot became the highlight, even in the film’s posters. We cannot pull this off without the support of the producer and the crew he helps you assemble; I got that with Deva.

But the actors do have to cooperate, don’t they? Especially while shooting in public...

100 percent. I was told that Shahid Kapoor would not come to real locations. But when I met this man and asked if he had any reservations, he assured me he would come wherever I asked him to. He’s a vegetarian and I made him shoot right in the middle of the smelliest fish markets!

Let’s talk a bit about the writing; this is another collaboration with Bobby-Sanjay. 

For Deva, we have revisited our own idea from a few years ago. The presentation is entirely new, but we wanted to take that earlier idea and story and set it in a film that was being made today. Sanjay, of course, was a part of this process. We got Hussain Dalal to write the dialogues. 

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Did you deviate from the original idea? 

We have changed a lot of things... even the core structure. I have not worked on any other film for the last three years. We only shot for 78 days, but it got broken down into multiple schedules, based on multiple reasons specific to Bollywood. 

Could you elaborate?  

That’s how things work in Bollywood and I’m not happy at all with this system. In Malayalam, we finish the entire film in one go. But over here, they keep breaking the film into schedules, even when it’s not necessary. For these three years, I felt like a pregnant woman—ready to deliver my baby but without being able to. Looks my delivery will now be on the 31st of January! (laughs)

Finally, you’re one of those filmmakers whose films are always changing with the times. The trailer of Deva looks like the work of a debut filmmaker; how do you manage to stay up to date? 

I think that’s because I am a movie buff before I am a filmmaker. I spend two hours a day learning about movies. This isn’t limited to just watching movies, but also reading about film history apart from watching interviews of the masters. The process of implementing that learning begins subconsciously.

During my recee for Deva, I found an amazing library in Juhu. From another library in South Mumbai, I picked up 120 books. These are books about every single element of cinema. So, when I come across a challenge or get stuck during filmmaking, I remember the same issue being addressed by some master before me; it’s like I have already dealt with this situation. I guess the idea is to always keep your hard disk full.