Sitaare Zameen Par director RS Prasanna Interview: I would love to see more feel-good films
Aamir Khan's Sitaare Zameen Par marks the second Hindi film of RS Prasanna. He had earlier directed the Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (2017), which was a remake of his own 2013 quirky Tamil film, Kalyana Samayal Saadham. For Prasanna, working with Aamir for the film was like a dream. He recalls being moved by Aamir's films, be it Lagaan (2001) or Taare Zameen Par (2007). 'For me, cinema has always been from the point of view of the audience. I literally look up to cinema because I am the audience who sits in the front row. So, I never thought that one day I would get to direct Aamir sir after having seen all his films as an audience,' says the filmmaker.
Prasanna admits that it was difficult for him to remain objective during the film's shoot as he was so starstruck with Aamir. He met the superstar for the first time at his Mumbai home and was surprised with his humility. 'We were having food together sitting on the floor. Within fifteen minutes, I felt like, is it really Amir sir? He made me quite comfortable and was open to let me say anything to him,' he says.
It was also during these discussions about Sitaare Zameen Par, which is a remake of the 2018 Spanish film, Champions, that Prasanna would keep referencing Taare Zameen Par. 'I would keep torturing him with questions about Taare Zameen Par as to how certain scenes were filmed and how did the songs come in,' he says, adding that it was during the pre-production process that Aamir thought of aligning it with the 2007 film. 'One day, he said that Sitaare Zameen Par also belongs in the same emotional landscape. ' So why don't we make it sound similar to that? The audience also will know, what are they in for'. That's how it happened,' recalls Prasanna.
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