Box Office Talk Show: A chat with the makers of ‘Doctor G’

By Sulagna Biswal
While many directors found their passion for films at an early age, that was not the case for Director Anubhuti Kashyap. She was not driven by an immense passion for films. Her interest was theatre but with two brothers, Anurag and Abhinav, in the industry, she used to pursue it as a hobby.

“I come from a small town in India and those days the belief was that people from good families don’t join the film industry,” she explained. “I always had this pressure to follow in the footsteps of my brothers.”

Anubhuti pursued her management career till the time she took a sabbatical from the corporate world. It was then she began dabbling in films. She helped out her brother, Anurag, in film research and writing. She also did editing for short films.

Film Career

“But it wasn’t until I met Rajkumar Gupta who was working on a film with Amir Khan, that my place in the film industry clicked,” she recalled, while speaking to students of the Times School of Media’s BA Films, TV and Web Series. This was the 2nd episode of Bennett University’s Box Office Talk Show with Anubhuti and Creative Producer Anup Pandey, the people behind Junglee Pictures’ film, Doctor G.

Gupta offered Anubhuti the job of an assistant director and she accepted. “Of course, it wasn’t always a smooth ride. But my support system of friends and family helped me a lot,” she said. She said that one has to keep faith and confidence to make it big, while pointing out that she made her directorial debut after 15 years in the industry.
“The best stories come from personal experience,” she said. Some directors who influence her work are Pedro Almodóvar, Bong Joon-ho and the Coen brothers. But each filmmaker's style of writing and filmmaking changes and evolves. “It is a fluid state which cannot be constant or it will turn stale,” she said.

Films vs Web Series

Anubhuti has experienced in directing both films and web series. "The entire approach of a web series is quite different from films,” she said. At times, an entire episode is considered a film,’ she said. A film takes about a year to develop fully, but a web series requires far more commitment and hard work, she said.
Doctor G is Anubhuti Kashyap’s directorial debut with actors Ayushman Khurrana and Rakul Preet Singh in the lead. She recounted the experience as being fantastic and a big learning. Anubhuti said that while she had seen directors working on projects from a distance, directing herself has taught her many things.

Young talent is sought after

Creative Producer Anup commented on the creative passion of youth today and how there is a vacuum in the entertainment industry. “Experienced filmmakers face the challenge to remain relevant,” said Anup, “ This is why a young filmmaker who has a new voice and vision, attracts actors and producers because young people have something new to add.”

While young talents are trained and well acquainted with their departments, Anup and Anubhuti noticed a discrepancy in terms of adjustment. Anubhuti experienced a lack of flexibility in young talent because of their trained backgrounds in particular areas, while Aunp commented that adaptability is a key skill required by many in this field.