Manav Shah on Gagan Kokri: In an interview, director of ‘Laatu’ talked about how debutant Gagan Kokri taking the initiative impressed him a lot.
With only a handful of days remaining for the release of Manav Shah’s directorial debut ‘Laatu’, the film is being promoted in full swings across the state. Having worked as an associate director with the likes of Amit Prashar, Navniat Singh, Dheeraj Rattan, Simerjit Singh and Rohit Jugraj over the years, Shah has eventually donned the director’s hat this time round.
In an interview, Shah disclosed as to why he decided to make his directorial debut with Laatu, saying that he is closely attached to the script of the movie. “Since I have written the story myself, it inspires me a lot. I am closely attached to Punjab’s culture. I always thought that if I stick to the ground, I would be able to perform a task in a better way, which is the reason why I wanted to start from a ground level,” he was quoted as saying to Punjabi Mania.
Apart from Shah’s debut, the film will witness the first appearance as an actor of singer Gagan Kokri. On being asked about casting a debutant as a lead actor, Shah said that he was ‘keenly impressed’ with Kokri taking the initiative to get into this character.
“I and Gagan bai were doing another film. It was there that I narrated him the story of Laatu. He liked the script a lot. I was keenly impressed with the way he took the initiative with respect to the movie. At that point in time, he took in on to him to train for this role by attending several workshops. Moreover, there was always going to be a comfort level with Gagan bai. For close to two months, he worked on the mannerism of his character,” Shah said of Kokri.
Having worked with some of the renowned names of the industry, one is bound to make close associations who are likely to advice an individual on vital stages of life such as these. Shah laid emphasis on all the directors he has worked with are like his ‘elder brothers’ and that one of them in Dheeraj Ratan being ‘affirmative’ about Laatu.
“Since I have worked as an associate director in many movies, I know a lot of directors, all of whom are like my elder brothers. There wasn’t any particular advice as such but when I recited the concept to Dheeraj Rattan bhaji, he was very affirmative about it. He straightway motivated me to make sure that this project sees the daylight,” he added.
Before ending the conversation, Shah laid emphasis on Laatu being a full family package and that audiences should watch it in cinema halls on November 16. “I believe that it is a full family package. It is filled with comedy and romance. Having said that, Laatu incorporates the value of relations, something which will come in handy for the audiences in the contemporary times,” he concluded.
Post Laatu, Shah will commence the shoot of his next movie in ‘Sikander 2‘, which stars Kartar Cheema and Guri, as of now.
Stay tuned for more updates!
