AIMING FOR THE STARS

DIRECTOR R.S. PRASANNA TALKS ABOUT WHAT WENT INTO THE MAKING OF THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED AAMIR KHAN- STARRER SITAARE ZAMEEN PAR

- Suhani Singh

When the whole world was in lockdown, my world was opening up,” says filmmaker R.S. Prasanna. The year was 2020 and Prasanna, then living in Chennai, had managed to land a meeting, albeit virtual, with Aamir Khan. Best known for directing the comedy Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, a remake of his sleeper Tamil hit, it was a dream Prasanna says he didn't dare dream. Convincing the pernickety Khan about a script is no easy feat, but Prasanna and writer Divya Nidhi Sharma managed to grab his attention with a funny tale about a man who comes of age as he trains a basketball team of neurodivergent individuals. Five years later, that pitch has manifested as Sitaare Zameen Par, which Khan has also produced.

Seated in the Aamir Khan Productions office in Santa Cruz, Mumbai, Prasanna expresses sentiments which Khan would concur with. He talks of his “responsibility as a storyteller”, which entails reaching out to the audience with stories that come from “the heart”. He speaks of having no “insecurity” despite being absent from the filmmaking scene for almost seven years. And he emphasises the need to have “conviction”.