Indian theater artist Anupam Kher is developing a new film set in Varanasi that echoes the themes of his 1984 hit Saaransh, while also releasing his latest directorial effort Tanvi The Great with a worldwide streaming premiere on Prime Video on March 3.
“I am working on a story about Varanasi (Varanasi), about people from Varanasi,” Kher says of his new project. “I was talking to (‘Saaransh’ director) Mahesh Bhatt…basically, it’s ‘Saaransh 2’. This time, this guy is not passive in the sense that his ideas were aggressive. He just feels he needs to reinvent himself this time.”
The actor-director describes the film, set in Varanasi, as the story of “a 70-year-old man who feels like a 28-year-old man.” This is a reversal of his iconic debut in director Bhatt’s 1984 drama Saaransh, about an elderly couple dealing with the loss of their only son, in which he played a 65-year-old at the age of 28. The film, India’s entry into the Oscars category, established Kher as a serious actor and remains one of his most famous performances. “When I was 28, I played a 65-year-old man. Now I play a 65-year-old, who I thought 65 would be like at the time, and on March 7th I’ll be 71. I feel like a 28-year-old man,” he says. The new project “takes place in the genre of an interesting thriller, but it’s a human story. I don’t know how to tell other stories. I can only tell stories that are human, have a human perspective, have human emotions, but are positive. I like happy endings.”
While discussing future projects, Kerr simultaneously announced the global streaming debut of “Tanvi the Great,” which will bring the autism-centered drama to audiences around the world after playing in festivals and theaters. The film follows 21-year-old Tanvi Raina (debutant Shubhangi Dutt), an autistic woman who discovers her late military father’s unfulfilled dream of standing in Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield, and saluting the Indian flag, and is determined to fulfill this mission despite social opposition and institutional barriers to autistic military recruits. This movie depicts autism as a superpower rather than a disability.
Following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Market, Tanvi the Great was screened in London, New York (with Robert De Niro in attendance), and Houston, where it was shown to the President of India, the Army Chief, and 2,000 cadets at the Indian National Defense Academy. It was released in theaters in India on July 18th along with the blockbuster hit “Saiyaara”. “‘Sayyara’ was like a tsunami and it got lost in it,” admits Kher, but the film has been given a new lease of life, now in its 23rd week, with a special screening for 20,000 schoolchildren and a limited theatrical re-release.
“If a movie is judged by its box office receipts, which didn’t do very well, but if it is judged by its ratings and the response from the Autism Society of India, I think the military, the children, the school children, the people who saw the movie, it is very valuable,” says Kerr.
But perhaps the most meaningful validation came from De Niro, who was originally scheduled to make a brief 10-minute appearance at the New York premiere. “He came for 10 minutes and stayed until break,” Kerr recalled. De Niro, with whom Kerr co-starred in The World’s Greatest Playbook, later requested to see the complete version of the film. “He said, ‘That’s so inspiring.'” And he said to the girl (Dutt), you’re amazing. I thought this was the best compliment for actors all over the world. The acting gods are telling you that you’re amazing when you make your first film. ”
The response from the autism community has been particularly gratifying. “We introduced Tanvi as a superpower, and they like it because it says they have something special,” Kher explains. “Usually people portray them as helpless and tragic. They love Tanvi’s eccentricity. They love that she takes on the tasks that her father couldn’t do. They love the portrayal of Shubhangi. They love the grandfather-granddaughter relationship. That she can sing, that she can do things, and that she is naughty. She is not portrayed as a disabled person.”
In releasing the film to coincide with its Prime Video release, director Kerr emphasized its appeal as a family film, which is rare in today’s market. “It’s not often that you get a movie that the whole family can sit down and watch together,” he says.
Kher positions “Tanvi the Great” as an antidote to modern-day cynicism, especially reaching streaming audiences around the world. “This movie makes you believe in humanity, and that’s what we need today. I think if you want to practice a religion today, it needs to be the religion of humanity, and this movie makes you believe in that,” he says. “It also makes you feel like the only good people in this world are neurodivergent people.”
The director describes this viewing experience in evocative terms. “It’s like the first sip of coffee in the morning and it makes you feel good. It’s like the winter sunlight coming through the window. When I was in Shimla, on winter nights, the sun used to come through these Shinar trees. I’m waiting for that feeling to happen. It makes me feel warm, as if I’m wearing a quilt of goodness.”
‘Tanvi The Great’ star Shubhangi Dutt is “currently award-winning” and is working on another Anupam Kher Studio production, ‘Flicker’. On the acting front, Kher has just completed ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla 2’ and is completing an untitled Sooraj Barjatya film. He is also preparing a new musical play titled ‘Jaane Pehchaane Anjaane’ (Intimate Strangers).
‘Tanvi The Great’ is produced by Anupam Kher Studios in association with the National Film Development Corporation of India, with music by Oscar winner MM Keeravani (‘RRR’) and sound design by Oscar winner Resul Pookutty (‘Slumdog Millionaire’).
