Aarya Babbar on turning director: I wanted to do this for the longest time

Actor Aarya Babbar, who has been learning direction for the last few months, is working on his first short film starring Yashpal Sharma. The film, according to Aarya, will release next month and do festival rounds.

Aarya Babbar might have joined the film industry as an actor, but he had been itching to explore the world behind the camera. So, he took up a course in filmmaking, which is nearing completion, and he is making his first short film, Shunya, starring Lagaan (2001) actor Yashpal Sharma.

Aarya Babbar is directing a short film titled Shunya. (Instagram/aaryababbar222)

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“I wanted to direct, and decided to learn the art before trying my hand at it,” says Aarya. “The processes helped me learn a lot. In between, we made films but they focused on what we were learning, like one had no dialogues, while another was more about sound and montages... Shunya is a proper film and I’m really excited,” adds the son of actor-politician Raj Babbar.

Aarya, who made his acting debut with Ab Ke Baras (2002), and went on to star in Guru (2007), Ready (2011) and Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola (2013), shares that he has been writing stories for quite some time. “I’ve written Shunya, too.”

The narrative revolves around communal riots and how a man, who doesn’t wish to be a part of it, gets involved and influenced by what’s happening around him. The film, which is almost complete, is being shot in the outskirts of Mumbai. Aarya plans to release it online by August end, and also send it to festivals.

When can one see him making a full-length feature? “I’m thinking about preparing myself with a few more short films [first]. I also want to write for all my films,” says Aarya, who won’t stop acting. His next project as an actor is a Punjabi film that also stars his father.

Author tweets @Shreya_MJ

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