Amrit
Sagar,
grandson
of
late
Ramanand
Sagar
is
all
set
to
revive
and
get
the
banner
of
Sagar
Arts
back
to
the
big
screen
after
almost
two
decades
with
his
film
1971.
The
gifted
director
who
has
also
done
TV
shows
like
Prithviraj
and
Hatim
is
coming
up
with
his
directorial
debut
1971
which
is
based
on
POWs
in
the
jails
of
Pakistan.
He
speaks
out
to
IndiaFM
about
his
new
film
and
his
experiences
while
shooting
it.
Coming
from
a
film
family,
when
did
you
decide
that
you
want
to
direct
films?
I
decided
to
direct
films
at
a
very
young
age.
I
guess
I
was
12
when
I
decided
that
I
wanted
to
be
a
director.
As
I
come
from
a
film
family
I
grew
up
around
film
sets.
I
remember
looking
through
the
camera
all
my
life.
How
much
of
inspiration
was
your
grandfather
Ramanand
Sagar
to
you.
I
feel
whatever
I
am
today
is
because
of
my
grandfather.
He
is
my
biggest
inspiration.
Give
us
a
background
of
yourself
in
terms
of
where
you
studied
filmmaking
or
whom
you
assisted?
I
studied
filmmaking
at
California
College
of
Arts
in
San
Francisco.
I
did
my
Bachelor
in
fine
arts
which
is
a
four
year
course.
Then
I
came
back
to
India
and
started
directing
for
television.
I
did
Prithviraj,
Lucky,
Hatim.
Then
eventually
I
directed
my
film
last
year.
What
made
you
decide
on
a
subject
like
POWs?
My
dad
had
written
a
story
in
1972
titled
Che
Kaidi
(six
prisoners)
but
it
was
based
on
1972
sensibilities.
He
gave
it
to
me
7
years
back.
And
then
recently
I
did
a
little
research
on
the
internet
and
I
came
upon
this
articles
about
54
POW's
still
being
in
the
Pakistani
jail.
Once
I
read
the
article,
I
went
and
met
the
families
of
the
POW's.
After
meeting
them
it
just
dawned
on
me
that
how
important
it
is
to
make
a
film
like
this
and
then
onwards
I
was
just
got
locked
onto
this
film.
Is
it
based
on
real
facts
or
fictionalized?
The
film
is
not
entirely
based
on
facts
but
we
have
taken
a
few
factual
events
that
have
happened
from
newspaper
cuttings
and
internet.
Reportedly
you
met
some
of
the
families
of
POWs
in
Delhi.
What
kind
of
a
research
did
you
do
for
the
film?
I
did
a
research
on
everything
from
the
army
uniforms
to
grenades,
guns
and
bullets
to
ID
cards,
we
even
researched
on
details
like
what
films
were
playing
at
that
time,
which
advertisements
were
there
at
that
time,
which
cigarettes
were
sold
at
that
time.
Just
to
make
sure
that
the
conversation
the
men
have
was
relevant.
Does
your
film
have
any
similarities
to
the
film
Deewar
which
also
dealt
with
the
subject
of
POWs?
No
there
isn't
any
similarity
at
all.
My
film
is
very
real.
War
films
like
LOC
and
Lakshya
didn't
do
too
well
in
the
recent
past.
Aren't
you
sceptical
about
making
a
film
with
a
war
based
subject?
Not
at
all.
There
are
films
like
Haqeeqat
and
Border
which
have
done
well.
It
depends
on
how
the
film
is
made
and
how
interesting
your
film
is.
Tell
us
something
about
the
cast
of
the
film?
What
made
you
sign
on
Manoj
Bajpai
and
Ravi
Kishan?
I
wanted
a
very
intense
character
for
Manoj's
role
and
I
feel
that
Manoj
is
best
when
he
is
intense.
The
way
he
has
performed
in
this
film
and
the
intensity
he
has
shown
in
the
film
is
brilliant.
Ravi's
role
in
the
film
is
very
jovial
but
in
the
second
half
he
changes
into
an
intense
character.
I
also
have
four
new
people.
One
is
Deepak
Dobriayal
who
is
plays
Lt.
Gurtu
and
is
a
very
jovial
character,
then
there
is
Manav
Kaul,
he
and
Deepak
are
like
best
of
friends
in
the
film.
Then
there
is
Kumud
Mishra
who
plays
Captain
Kabir
and
Chitaranjan
Giri
who
plays
Subhedar
Ahmed
There
is
a
buzz
that
there
are
no
heroines
in
the
film.
Weren't
you
sceptical
while
going
against
such
a
Bollywood
norm?
I
wasn't
sceptical.
I
personally
don't
feel
a
need
for
a
heroine
in
a
war
film
until
she
is
part
of
the
war
film.
And
then
I
am
showing
a
prisoner
of
war
film
which
is
based
in
Pakistan,
so
the
only
way
I
can
show
a
heroine
is
to
cut
back
to
India
which
I
didn't
want
to
because
it
would
take
the
story
away
from
the
main
theme.
I
wanted
the
POW's
themselves
to
speak
about
their
families
and
about
their
plights.
The
films
music
has
been
composed
by
Akash
Sagar,
your
younger
brother.
Tell
us
something
about
the
music
of
the
film?
Akash
started
composing
when
he
was
16
and
now
he
is
18.
I
feel
he
is
one
of
the
most
talented
teenagers
I
have
come
across.
The
music
that
he
has
given
is
fantastic.
He
has
even
given
the
entire
background
score
for
the
film;
he
conducted
an
entire
orchestra
for
the
score.
He
is
like
one
of
those
child
geniuses
Is
Shibani
Kashap
also
composing
for
the
film?
Shibani
Kashyap
has
sung
a
song
Sehelenge
Hum.
When
I
was
writing
the
film
I
had
approached
her
and
asked
her
that
I
want
you
to
sing
a
song
for
my
film.
She
comes
from
an
army
background
and
because
of
which
she
refused
to
even
charge
me
for
the
song
and
said
that
this
is
my
tribute
to
my
country
and
countrymen.
The
films
subject
being
a
sensitive
one
was
there
any
difficulty
that
you
faced
while
going
about
the
shoot?
Difficulty
as
for
the
subject
matter
no,
but
as
for
the
location
I
wanted
to
shoot
in
yes.
We
were
shooting
at
the
peak
of
winter
in
Manali;
we
lost
like
15
days
of
shooting
due
to
bad
weather.
We
would
reach
the
location
like
6
in
the
morning
and
be
there
till
4
in
the
evening
but
land
up
taking
only
2
shots
and
come
back
due
to
snow
and
hail
storm.
And
I
was
shooting
at
12,000
ft
altitude
at
night,
even
the
army
people
don't
go
there
at
night.
But
due
to
a
night
scene
I
along
with
my
entire
unit
was
up
there
shooting
in
the
night.
It
was
like
a
Herculean
task
made
possible
only
because
of
my
unit.
The
film
doesn't
exactly
have
saleable
stars.
So
what
do
you
think
would
be
its
USP?
I
think
the
USP
of
the
film
is
the
story
of
the
film.
People
still
don't
know
that
there
are
54
POW's
in
the
Pakistani
jail.
Somebody
has
to
be
held
responsible
for
them
being
there.
Their
families
need
an
answer,
that's
what
I
feel
is
the
USP
of
the
film
How
did
Studio
18
come
into
picture?
Sandeep
saw
the
film
when
he
was
in
Sahara.
Later
when
he
joined
Studio
18
their
team
also
loved
the
film.
To
give
this
level
of
enthusiasm
to
this
film
is
actually
very
brave
of
this
company.
In
the
press
kit
you
have
shown
a
letter
by
one
of
the
soldiers
is
that
a
real
letter
or
just
recreated
for
the
film?
It's
a
real
letter
which
came
in
1974
to
Dr.
Suri
from
his
son.
And
the
handwriting
experts
from
India
have
confirmed
that
it
is
Mr
Suri's
handwriting.