Exclusive! Mr & Mrs Mahi Director Sharan Sharma On Film’s Interesting Title, “We Reached Out To MS Dhoni…”
In an interview with Koimoi, we asked Sharan if he deliberately chose the title so that it creates curiosity if the movie is based on Ms Dhoni and Sakshi.
Mr & Mrs Mahi Director Sharan Sharma On Film’s Title. (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Mr & Mrs Mahi, starring Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor, is all set to release in theatres tomorrow. It’s a romantic sports drama in which Rajkummar plays Mahendra, and Janhvi plays Mahima. It’s a love story with a blend of cricket, where a husband coaches his wife to achieve her dreams of becoming a cricketer. The film is directed by Sharan Sharma.
When the movie ‘Mr & Mrs Mahi’ was announced, many thought it was based on the life of Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, aka MS Dhoni, and his wife Sakshi Dhoni. The word ‘Mahi’ used to address Dhoni by his fans dearly is what led to the assumptions. However, the movie is not based on them. Koimoi spoke to director Sharan Sharma about the idea behind the film’s title.
In an interview with Koimoi, we asked Sharan if he deliberately chose the title so that it creates curiosity if the movie is based on Ms Dhoni and Sakshi. The director cleared that it wasn’t something he did intentionally. Sharan Sharma answered, “No, it wasn’t such a strategic move. So when we were looking for the title, at least for me, it’s not like you sit down and think. It happens at the back of your mind constantly. So while Nikhil (Mehrotra) and I were writing, we wanted a title like ‘Mr and Mrs Something,’ which is a common name for husband and wife.”
He added, “As a kid, I’ve heard this story that Navjot Sidhu, the cricketer and his wife are both ‘Navjot’. I always found that very sweet, like husband and wife (having) the same name. I always found that very sweet. So, I was trying to come up with what could be a common name. I was not able to land up on something. I’m obsessed with Dhoni. So Mahi is always there in my head.”
“So when Mahi just came in my head, I was like, ‘Ah, okay, this could be something because it could be a nickname for Mahindra and Mahima, and then we built it that way. And it just sat. So, we were happy with the title. Obviously, when we had the title, we initially reached out to MS Dhoni because the name is so synonymous with him, we didn’t want to upset him at all or take any chance. But very graciously, I think he signed it and gave us permission to use that title, even though the film had nothing to do with him. It all happened very smoothly. I’m very happy that we have this title; I think it’s my own internal keeda of having the presence of my role model subconsciously in the title; it feels good internally. But it has nothing to do with them. And it wasn’t some strategy that we would confuse people,” revealed the Mr & Mrs Mahi director.
Along with Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor, Mr & Mrs Mahi also stars Kumud Mishra, Rajesh Sharma, Zarina Wahab and Arjit Taneja.
