Richa Chadha knew about Ishqeria even before film was made, accepts director

Richa Chadha and Neil Nitin Mukesh starrer Ishqeria is all set to release this week with Manto and Batti Gul Meter Chalu. The director of the film, Prerna Wadhawan, interacted with Deccan Chronicle exclusively as she spoke about her journey and getting Neil and Richa together. Here are excerpts from the interview:

What changed your mind from being an assistant to a producer and now writer-director?

I always wanted to direct movies. I was writing short stories, novels since school. Production happened because I wanted to understand how industry works. I have of course also produced this film.

From producing to directing a movie on romance, how has your journey been?

Interesting. Romance as a genre is sweet. First love is really special and human emotions are what I wanted to portray, and films are the best medium to portray it.

What came on your mind which made you think Neil and Richa were perfect, that too romancing on screen for the first time?

The girl is supposed to be very ordinary and girl-next door, which I relate to very well. Richa displays the child-like quality so I felt she understood the character very well and of course the acting ability is also something I didn’t need to worry about. Neil is a very good-looking boy who isn’t interested in girls. Both of them are very relatable characters.

Was it easy or difficult to approach them? What was their first reaction?

Neil loved the film. When I first went to narrate it with him, we thought it will be one hour meeting but it ended up being 4-5 hour meeting because he loved the character and film. Richa is very keen since she’s a close friend to my writer. So Richa knew the story during the development phase only. It was a newer role for her so she was excited.

Why did you write your own movie script?

I had a professional writer write screenplay and work on dialogues, but writing a story and living the film is a process. I prefer to come with basic idea and premise.