Kayoze Irani admits Sarzameen had loopholes but viewers forgave them; reveals what he would change in film | Interview

Sarzameen director Kayoze Irani talks about his film, the audience's reaction, and what learnings he takes from the experience.

It has taken its sweet time but Kayoze Irani's directorial debut, Sarzameen, finally released last week. The film, starring Ibrahim Ali Khan, Kajol, and Prithviraj Sukumaran, released on JioHotstar, with some mixed reviews from the critics. In a chat with Hindustan Times, Kayoze addresses criticism, talks about appreciation, and discusses his road ahead.

Sarzameen is Kayoze Irani's first feature film as director.

On audience reaction vs critics' reviews

Sarzameen is Kayoze's first feature film. Before this, he directed a short film as part of an anthology. Talking about its reception, the filmmaker says, "I'm extremely happy with the audience reaction to the film. I think that the (viewership) numbers are doing very well. The overall audience perception and the feedback that I've been getting are good."

However, he admits that there has been a fair amount of criticism as well. "There have been some criticisms. There have been some reviews that are critical, which is fair. What is important is to learn from it and move forward, but I'm genuinely overwhelmed. I feel that if it's managed to touch a few people, I can't be happier than that," he adds.

Kayoze says that he read the critical reviews first, largely to see what he did wrong. "These are reviewers whom I respect," he says, adding, "Ideally, you want every review to be five stars, and you want the box office collection to be unheard of. But this will not be my only film. There's something that I can learn from it, and I will apply that in the next one."

But Kayoze returns to the film's audience feedback. A section of the audience has praised the film's theme, which he finds promising. "Are there a few loopholes in the film? Maybe! Are there a few things that could have been done differently? Maybe. But the important thing is that the film worked on a larger level, and they were forgiving of a few of the issues," says the filmmaker.

On learnings and what he would do differently

Sarzameen was announced in 2023 and saw delays due to injuries suffered by Kayoze as well as Prithviraj Sukumaran, one of the leads. Ask him about his biggest learning from the long-drawn process of the film's making, and he says, "I have learned that there are some things that need time, and you need to respect them. My next project, whenever it starts, I will approach it like my first film, like my debut. I will start absolutely from scratch. I learned so much from Prithvi sir and from Kajol. During this film, there were some very, very tough days. But my worst day on Sarzameen has been better than any other day."

Sarzameen is a story set in Kashmir wherein the long-lost son of an Army officer returns but is radicalised now. Ibrahim plays the adult version of the son. Talking about the one thing he'd want to do differently with Sarzameen, Kayoze says, "One thing that I would have done differently with Sarzameen was bringing Ibrahim into the film a little earlier, and I would have had more of the cat-and-mouse chase before he is discovered. These are the two things I would have done differently." However, the director is quick to add that this nitpicking is just academic, and once the film is complete, he has learnt to be satisfied with it. "Now, this is, this is my best foot forward. We'll move on," he concludes.

Sarzameen is currently streaming on JioHotstar.