Throwback Thursday: 'Gaslight' director Pawan Kripalani on working with Saif Ali Khan and daughter Sara Ali Khan

Pawan Kripalani, Saif Ali Khan with Sara

'Gaslight' director Pawan Kripalani whose film features Sara Ali Khan as the protagonist, along with Vikrant Massey, Chitrangda Singh and others, spoke to mid-day.com about his cast, his love for the mystery genre, working with Sara and her dad Saif Ali Khan and much more.

Speaking about how he came up with the title 'Gaslight' the director recalls, "It's a word that has become a part of everyone's lingo, gaslighting is part of our life and we have just come to understand it. That intrigued me, we do it to others consciously and unconsciously. In 1940 there was a play called 'Gaslight' that coined the term and there was a movie made that won the Oscars. This movie has nothing to do with that but the word originated from there and I saw that movies it's extremely entertaining. Gaslighting has been there for a while and it's the perfect time to explore it at the time when conversations about mental health are taking place." He explains that gaslighting is the core theme of the movie.

While Sara has been seen in glamorous and fun roles in the past, this film has her wheelchair bound, with mystery shrouding her character. Speaking about what convinced him that she would fit the bill he says, "I wanted to cast someone against their grain, against what they were expected to be. Sara was the perfect choice because I loved her in 'Kedarnath' and I saw this strong instinct, intuition and intelligence in her. Sara was apt because it's a role that she had never explored before in her filmography. It was an exciting challenge for me, it added a layer to the movie because the audience would be surprised if we managed to pull it off and it also worked for the narrative."

Shedding light on how Vikrant and Chitrangda came on board, Pawan says, "I didn't want to cast the obvious choices for the step mother's role, which is a layered complicated character. It required someone who has beauty, acting chops and a strong, dramatic depth in them as well. With Vikrant one would expect him to be the boy next door, the sweet lover boy, there's something very likable about him. Both fit in perfectly." He adds that he managed to wrap up the film in 35 days with proper planning and his actors prepping well in advance."

Though the setting of the film is different the mystery element remains common to his previous films like 'Phobia,' 'Darr@the Mall,' 'Bhoot Police' and others. "I enjoy spooky investigative, suspense building narratives and like watching as a fan too, so that flows into my work as well."

Having worked with Sara's father and actor Saif Ali Khan in 'Bhoot Police' Pawan says though both have a fun side, they are serious when it comes to work. "They are hardworking though both have an absurd sense of humour. They take their work seriously and Sara is as much as a stickler for getting things done, she pushed the crew to get the best out of her, the same applies to Saif."

The film releases on Disney+Hotstar on March 31 2023.

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