Kuch Bheege Alfaaz is about celebrating inner beauty, says Onir

Kuch Bheege Alfaaz is Onir’s second film in seven months. In a freewheeling chat, he talks about his creative process and lead actors.

Onir, the National Award winning director of I Am, is back with his romantic film, Kuch Bheege Alfaaz. Set in Kolkata, the film explores the possibility of love between an RJ and a chance listener.

Kuch Bheege Alfaaz features Zain Khan Durrani and Geetanjali Thapa in lead roles.

Directed by Onir, the film starring Zain Khan Durrani and Geetanjali Thapa, tries to understand the ‘language of love’. Kuch Bheege Alfaaz brings together two people who speak different languages yet are on the same wavelength.

Onir explains why the film appealed to him. He says, “When I read the script, it took me back to the ‘90s. It wasn’t the world of WhatsApp, Tinder or Facebook. Those were the days when you would spend nights inside chat rooms. Also, I had never done this kind of romantic film.”

He adds, “It’s a film that will make you smile. You’ll relive your moments of love. Celebrating inner beauty is also a very important part of the film. I grew up in a family where my sister and brother were fair. People would ask me ‘what happened to you’. I wanted to incorporate those experiences in a story.”

It took Onir six years to direct a film (Shab, 2017) after the much acclaimed I Am, and now this is his second film in seven months. “I kept developing stories in that period. I started shooting Kuch Bheege Alfaaz a week after the release of Shab.”

So, what kind of emotions he wants to evoke with Kuch Bheege Alfaaz. “As a person, I am in a happier space now. I want my films to reflect my inner being,” says Onir.

Zain Khan Durrani, who loves poetry in real life as well, is playing the night time radio host in the film. He says, “I am playing an RJ whose show is called Kuch Bheege Alfaaz. My character goes around the city, talks to people and understands their story. He doesn’t reveal his identity and prefers to remain anonymous.”

Geetanjali, who won the National Award for Liar’s Dice in 2015, plays a meme artist in Kuch Bheege Alfaaz. She says, “I can’t sketch in real life though (laughs).”

She talks about the different graphs of lead characters in the film. She says, “That’s the beauty of it. They are different, yet they can connect. It’s about opening to each other without being judged.”

Kuch Bheege Alfaaz is releasing on January 16, 2018.

You can watch the interview here:

Interact with Rohit Vats at Twitter/@nawabjha