EXCLUSIVE: Shubh Mukherjee calls SS Rajamouli ‘a flawless actor’; admits “He’s much easier to work with than people in Bollywood”

Filmmaker Shubh Mukherjee made an impactful entry into the world of entertainment at the age of 21 by working alongside national award actors. Shubh recently received a standing ovation at Cannes 2024 for Kahwa. The film – which is all set to release in India soon, is based on true events of post-militant in Kashmir. Shubh – who directed and launched singer Honey Singh in the industry with his debut film, recently collaborated with ace filmmaker SS Rajamouli.

During an exclusive telephonic chat with Shubh Mukherjee, the filmmaker opened up about how he landed the opportunity to direct SS Rajamouli in Sony’s Cinema is Coming Home campaign. Read on to know what he said.

Shubh Mukherjee on getting to direct SS Rajamouli

Talking about how he got the opportunity to direct SS Rajamouli, Shubh Mukherjee said, “So honestly, I have been an ambassador for Sony Camera for a very long time now. It’s been almost 7 years now. We are a bunch of creators who are ambassadors and represent the brand, Sony cameras.” Adding that Sony Camera got well to know about him and his work thanks to the many digital campaigns he has done for the brand in the past, Shubh said, “The ecosystem is aware of me, they know my working style. I am a person who is very real when it comes to production. I don’t waste the producer’s money, time or resources on sets and that’s something I have evolved over the years. Being a producer myself, I had to learn the whole trade by myself and from the perspective of someone who likes to work and not waste time. People know if this guy says 100 (days), then he may complete the work in 90 (days). So the Sony ecosystem knew about me.”

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Talking about landing the ‘Cinema is coming home’ campaign, Shubh Mukherjee said, “Then this campaign came in where globally they were launching a campaign called ‘Cinema is coming home’ through Bravia. When they had everything put together they thought of me. They approached me saying, Listen, we want somebody who tries and gives it a very cinematic approach.’ Basically, that’s what happened. Then I was also asked to write and conceptualise the film – which I did. We had people from Tokyo coming who were keen on understanding this project correctly. That’s how I was approached to do this film and that’s how my production company produced this film. I directed the film, I edited the film – that’s how it happened.”

Tips shared by Rajamouli

When asked if SS Rajamouli shared some tricks on directing films with him, Shubh said, “It’s so amazing. He is one of the finest craftsmen of our generation. What was really amazing is that when he was an actor, he was just an actor. He just let his complete trust in me, he blindingly did everything (I asked). Every conversation between him and me was, ‘You wanted to take another shot, should I act better, should I do something more, or should I sit idle?’ As an actor, he is so easy to work with for any director.”

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He continued, “Actually, I shouldn’t be saying this, but I have to say this, he is much easier to work with than people in Bollywood when it comes to delivering what an actor must deliver and surrendering (to the director). Him being a director, he could have had ounces of insecurities thinking, ‘Yaar yeh director utha acha kar nahi raha jitna main karta.’ (This director isn’t at par with my work) But when he’s an actor he is such a flawless actor. He’s an effortless actor to work with. That tells you so much about the character and persona that he carries in set with him.”

When asked if Rajamouli made any changes to the script or direction during the shoot, Shubh said, “The only thing he was improvising on was acting, nothing else. Not on direction, not at all on shots, not at all on creativity. He came in thinking he knew his work and we knew ours. He didn’t ever make us feel that we don’t know our jobs.”

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