Acting coach Vinod Rawat turns filmmaker with a heartwarming film Pushtaini. The story depicts the complexities of a middle-class household and the path of self-discovery. In a freewheeling chat with The Free Press Journal, Vinod talks about why Hrithik agreed to present his film, what pushed him to make such a film and more.
When asked about how did the idea of Pushtaini come to him, he shares, “The word Pushtaini comes from ancestral. We come from a middle-class background and we have been taught to ignore things and remain quiet, no matter what. We escape from confronting our fathers and forefathers since they all have family and livelihoods to run behind. I used to stay in Kidwai Nagar, New Delhi and came across so many kids around me, who were going through a lot due to some or other things, they had so much angst in them. I wanted to incorporate all this in my film.”
Pushtaini features Vinod’s real family members as actors. When asked him about how he thought of casting them in the film, he reveals, “It’s been fifteen years that I have been working as an acting coach in the film industry and it is working really well for me. I know how to take out acting from the non-actors. I already had a relationship with them for over 25-30 years so it was easier for me to get the performances out from them. It was like a magic. The argument scene between me and my sister was the first day of the shoot. There were so many scenes in the film those were improv.”
Actor Hrithik Roshan presented the film, Pushtaini. The actor has been learning acting skills from Vinod since a few years. Sharing further on what pushed him to take his film to the superstar, he states. “I have a feeling that Hrithik is a filmmaker. I have been working with him for 8 years and I know that he knows things in and out, not only on the commercial side of it but also the creative side of it. He used to give me pointers for my film and that made a huge difference to my film. He is a thinker. When I showed my film to him, he took a day and then he agreed to present it.”
A still from the film |
Pushtaini saw a limited release in theatres but Vinod feels that he learned a lot throughout the process of releasing his film. “Releasing the film is a task and that box, I had ticked now. I am not scared of the outcome since I feel, it is not the end game. I have no issues in falling and failing,” he concludes.
