( Shirsha Guha Thakurta On Do Aur Do Pyaar Casting Photo Credit – Instagram )
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Do Aur Do Pyaar, featuring Vidya Balan, Pratik Gandhi, Sendhil Ramamurthy, and Ileana D’Cruz, was released in April 2024. Directed by Shirsha Thakurta Guha, the film explores themes of broken marriage, lost love, and complicated relationships. It garnered positive reviews from both critics and audiences alike. From the story to the music to the performances, every aspect of this romantic drama has left the audience impressed.
Koimoi spoke to director Shirsha Guha Thakurta and asked her about casting Vidya Balan and Pratik Gandhi as the leads in Do Aur Do Pyaar movie. Shirsha also spoke about casting Sendhil and the reception movies like her or Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies receive once they are released on a streaming platform.
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Check out the excerpts from our interview with Do Aur Do Pyaar Director Shirsha Guha Thakurta –
Vidya Balan plays Kavya with such ease and beauty. Such roles come easily for a talented actress like her, yet it feels refreshing to watch her in Do Aur Do Pyaar. How was the experience of directing her? Do you have any interesting anecdotes to share?
Shirsha – I got lucky to have Vidya. She is just brilliant. She brings vulnerability, beauty, and warmth to the role that no one else could have. You can’t take your eyes off her. There is no lie in her fire. I don’t think this film would happen without her. Vidya is Kavya. She just is that woman – or maybe she’s just such a good actor that she makes you feel that about every character she plays. She is also very generous to everyone around her, crew and co-actors alike. She makes it very easy for everyone to do their job. She almost takes that onus on herself.
Pratik Gandhi is phenomenal in Do Aur Do Pyaar. I loved him in Madgaon Express, and then you introduced another side of him as an actor—a romantic side! How was it possible to transform an individual who appeared to be so serious in Scam 1992 into this romantic, albeit a little sloppy, goofball?
Shirsha – When we were looking to cast Ani, we knew that Ani’s character would do things which audiences might construe as wrong. Ani shouldn’t come across as someone smug and revelling in cheating and adultery but actually be confused and messed up. And Pratik was just that guy. Pratik and I worked on Ani together to get the very understated, awkward, earnest tone. He made Ani his very own. His range is incredible. He is shy, awkward, and giving in real life, and that translates to the character.
Watching Sendhil Ramamurthy on screen was a delight. How did you persuade him to appear in your film? Are you a fan of the Never Have I Ever series?
Shirsha – Sendhil was on our wishlist but we didn’t know if he’d be willing to do a film here in Bombay. My producer, Tanuj Garg, had worked with Sendhil earlier and got in touch with him. He read the script and loved it. We tweaked the character a bit for Sendhil; e.g. we made him an NRI who couldn’t speak Hindi and even made some jokes about it. Working with him was absolutely amazing. He is a thorough professional. He made a detailed backstory of the character, and one day, we exchanged notes to see if our backstory of the character matched his version, and strangely enough, many, many strange details matched, and we laughed about it.
Do Aur Do Pyaar has received tremendous reviews, and one such film that also received rave reviews was Kiran Rao’s Laapata Ladies. However, not everyone goes to see them on the big screen. Netflix recently released Kiran’s film, eliciting positive reactions on social media. Many have tweeted that they regret not watching it on the big screen. I can see that happening in your film, too. Do you, as a filmmaker, find it bothersome that people dismiss such stories as “niche”?
Shirsha – People have the right to choose what they want to watch. I simply wanted to tell this story honestly and to the best of my abilities, and hopefully, if I have managed to do that, it will resonate with some people. That’s all I can do as a storyteller.
