Exclusive! Hum Do Hamare Do director Abhishek Jain: We've forgotten a huge audience base which is family

Filmmaker Abhishek Jain who has made his mark in Gujarati entertainment has entered the world of Hindi movies with Hum Do Hamare Do. The Bey Yaar director has helmed the soon-to-be-released Hum Do Hamare Do which will stream on Disney+ Hotstar from October 29, 2021. The film is based on the concept of adopting parents and features Paresh Rawal, Ratna Pathak Shah, Rajkummar Rao and Kriti Sanon in the lead roles.

In an exclusive interview with OTTPlay, Abhishek spoke at length about entering Hindi movies, Hum Do Hamare Do, the parallel journey with his Bey Yaar team Pratik Gandhi and Divyang Thakkar who also forayed into Bollywood and more.

Excerpts below:

How did you zero down on making your Hindi directorial debut with Hum Do Hamare Do?

The concept that we were all dealing with was very unique and we wanted to look into it in this way so that people who do not have children can adopt a child. For those people who do not have families, can they have an option of adopting parents? Does this society deal with it this way or not? So with this unique concept, we were quite excited. We just got into it and we all started talking about it. We started researching a little bit and then started drafting the story. So I think the uniqueness of the subject was liked by all of us, unanimously and has kept the excitement till date. So that's what gave us the energy.

Have you heard about a situation like this in real life before?

So when we're researching, we came across that Japan is a supposedly health-wise, quite dilapidated country and it has a concept of hiring families for your well being and betterment. There are a lot of older people also in Japan, so what these younger generations are doing is they're adopting these isolated old people. But that's about it. I have only read those articles and decided to make it so mechanical and make it more with human emotions and familiar emotions.

Rajkummar's character doesn't tell Kriti that his family doesn't exist. So, do you think this subject of adopting parents and hiding it becomes a bit difficult in today's time and age owing to technology?

It's not about hiding something from your partner in life or lying. You hide it because you have a certain fear from the fact that you might lose that person in your life, it's driven by emotion. It's not a very mechanical process. So when Rajkummar is hiding it, he is doing so because of the insecurity he has as a character. Obviously, with actors like Rajkummar they played so convincingly, that when you're watching the film in the flow, you won't even question that.

Please elaborate on the casting process; it's like the stalwarts have come together for a film.

When I wrote the story and we were approaching the screenplay, right from that stage, I had two people in my mind and fortunately, those two people were these people. But the wonderful part about working with Dinesh Vijan's vision is that if he has thought of something, he makes sure that he is backing his director with the right kind of staff, crew and everything that is needed for a director's comfort. So for me, the casting process has been very honestly a cakewalk because I just had to bounce it off to my producer. He just said alright and he made me meet them. Eventually, these actors are so smart and they have such a great body of work, that they are not going to just listen to the producer or the director, they will ask for the script to be on for it. So for me, I think it was a little easier to get them on board and all thanks to my producer for this.

It was also reported that Dimple Kapadia was replaced by Ratna Pathak Shah, what do you have to say about that?

Yeah, we had Dimple ma'am on board. But when she was on board, post that pandemic happened. We all know that the dynamic has changed during the pandemic. People do have those inhibitions or fear of stepping out because of their safety and even of their family. So owing to those reasons, we had to adhere to her reasons for not being part of the cast. Otherwise, she had loved the script and we couldn't move forward because she was a little apprehensive about the pandemic.

How was the whole shoot process as you shot with an ensemble cast amid the COVID-19 pandemic?

This is a very apt question because this is a family film, you need the actors to bond equally as much as they are going to translate it on the screen. But shooting in a pandemic was not that easy. We all have our PPE suits, masks, gloves and everything on. Filmmaking is an intimate process, so we were all going against that tide, believing and trying to still keep the bond alive. We were all in the bio bubble and made sure that no one steps out of the hotel. We all had a start to finish schedule, everyone backed each other up, everyone took care of each other's health, obviously, individual health also. If one person falls sick, it's a domino effect and then the film probably would get stalled. So everyone had that in mind and took care of each other like a family. So in hindsight, it made all of us operate as a family to be able to make a film that is talking about family.

Was it disappointing to make it an OTT release knowing that theatres are open everywhere now?

No, not, to be very honest, in these two years, we have all seen that people have gotten a little attuned to watching films on whatever medium in their homes. So I don't think that is any sort of challenge. This film is a complete family entertainer like all the generations of a family can sit together and watch the film. So in this scenario, obviously the theatres are not completely operational, because somewhere there is 50% occupancy. I think OTT is rather a blessing in disguise because this film is a collective viewing experience. All of us can sit together, watch it together and enjoy ourselves.

There's a lack of family entertainers in the repertoire of the current generation of actors. What do you have to say about this?

Yeah, you're right, because I think all of us have grown up watching family entertainers and watching films with families. In the middle of all this in the current times, we actually in the aspiration of tapping individuals, or a youth, or a group of the age group that we have been striving to target, we've forgotten a huge audience base which is a family audience. I think this film helps to fill that gap. Somewhere everyone loves it because we all are living in harmony, we are in a social fabric, and no one would hardly anyone would reject it because it's a family entertainer. We all have grown up and we cannot decide our upbringing, right? So I think this is a fresh thread to an entire genre of family entertainers. Hopefully, people will also feel the same and reciprocate it better.

You and Pratik Gandhi started your career together with Bey Yaar. Now you made your directorial debut in Hindi with Hum Do Hamaare Do while he's making his Hindi debut as a lead with Bhavai. Both the films are also releasing within a week's gap. Would you call it destiny that things are looking up for both of you at almost the same time?

We all started our journey together way back. Even Divyang Thakkar is making a film (Jayeshbhai Jordaar) with Yash Raj Films as a director. So I think for Pratik, Divyang and a lot of other people, this is ours. time. You never know when you start, you don't know where you are going to head to. But this is a wonderful transition I may say of our careers and our destiny. We are only embracing it.