Breaking free

NIKKHIL ADVANI'S MAKING WAVES WITH HIS OTT DEBUT, FREEDOM AT MIDNIGHT. HE TALKS ABOUT ITS GENESIS, HIS ASSOCIATION WITH KARAN JOHAR, AND WHAT'S REAL STARDOM WITH SRIJITA SEN

- SRIJITA SEN

Nikkhil Advani's latest offering, Freedom at Midnight, narrates the tale of India's Partition and the role political leaders played in shaping the future of the nation. The director has delved deep into the volatile pages of our country's past and brings out the history that all Indians must know. The series is based on the book of the same name, authored by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. Nikkhil says he loved the book as a teenager, and it still had much to offer when he decided to adapt it. “A lot of books have been written on India's freedom that are probably better. But for a young teenage boy, it was an incredible read. It felt like a screenplay. I wondered why no one had made anything on this. The show is from the perspective of India. India is telling what happened to her.” Nikkhil also feels that the word patriotism has been corrupted. Hence the need to tell this story. “I am so disturbed that the word and the concept of patriotism have been completely corrupted by us, by modern society. The show says how we can all work to make a better India. I am not interested in getting into the concept of jingoism. If one wants to be a jingoist, I don't care. For me, my father going out to work every day from Grant Road Station to Thane in order to bring comfort to his family is patriotic.” From his latest triumph, the conversation segues to his iconic debut, Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), which recently completed its 21st anniversary with a re-release. Die-hard fans flocked to the theatres to experience its magic once more. Talking about the genesis of the film, the director gets nostalgic: “One day, Karan (Johar) called me to his office and shared the script he had been working on. Initially, it was not titled Kal Ho Naa Ho but Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. Yash (Johar) uncle said, ‘I don't want it to be Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, I want it to be a positive title.