"If you respect the process, the result will take care of itself” - Sharan Sharma

Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl is based on the exploits of Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena, the first woman Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot to fly in the combat zone.  For a film of this kind, research is critical and director Sharan Sharma was lucky that the real-life Gunjan Saxena was there with him every step of the way. Detailing is critical in depicting the world of the IAF with authenticity and integrity. “Gunjan Ma’am luckily gave us all the time and attention we needed to be able to tell the story with honesty and with attention to detail in terms of recreating the world of the IAF,” he gushes. When he first called up  Gunjan, in February 2017, to broach the idea of makng a film on her life, she thought someone was giving her a prank call. Says the director, “She was a bit sceptical and sounded uninterested in our first chat. When I asked if I could meet her, she said I must carry a letter from Dharma Productions to prove my credentials.” Their first meeting was in Jamnagar. And once they met they kept talking like old friends for close to six hours.


Before they started writing the script, Sharan and his writer Nikhil Mehrotra spent a lot of time with Gunjan and her family, understanding her journey and her experiences. They built the story on the basis of their interactions. He asserts he just didn’t stop there. He and his team spent months researching the finer nuances of how the IAF functions. Their aim was to recreate the dorms, the uniforms, the crew rooms, the body language of the officers. And Sharan proudly asserts it was all there minus the smell. Sharan comments that the biggest challenge for a filmmaker when it comes to making a biopic is not just the detailing. One has to focus on the emotional journey of the person as well. And he feels he has done full justice to that aspect as well.

Janhvi Kapoor joined the project in August 2018. On their first meeting, Sharam could sense that she was going through a phase where she was more comfortable working  with a veteran director, than with a newbie. He frankly told her that he couldn’t  promise her a ‘good’  film but he could promise to give his best to the project. Once she was convinced of the script’s potential, Janhvi gave her heart to the project.

Sharan was always drawn to films. He studied Business and Film at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. Initially, he thought he should work in the business aspect of films. But after a few internships in marketing divisions in film companies in India and America, he felt more drawn to the storytelling aspect of filmmaking. “I remember watching Wake Up Sid in LA with my college friends and being totally blown away by the film,” he reminisces. “The film spoke to me in a very personal way. He got Ayan Mukerji’s email ID from somewhere and wrote to him about how he loved Wake Up Sid and asked him for career advice. Ayan responded a few months later and Sharan landed up as an assistant director on Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and started his journey in the movies. “I then worked with Karan (Johar) sir on Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Lust Stories. Actually it was Karan sir who encouraged me to research Gunjan Ma’am’s story. His trust, confidence and belief in me made me believe in myself as a filmmaker,” gushes Sharan.

He did possess a fabulous script. But what’s written on paper sometimes gets lost in translation when it‘s transferred on celluloid. And that’s where the right casting plays an important role. Sharan believes he’s been lucky in his choice of actors and thanks everyone be it Pankaj Tripathy, Angad Bedi, Vineet Kumar Singh or Manav Vij who came to the sets with an open mind and became the air beneath the newcomer’s wings. Sharan adds that Janhvi was his only choice for the role. though if he’d made the film ten years ago, then he would’ve chosen Anushka Sharma. He’s worked with Anushka as an AD and longs to direct her in a film in future.

The director loves to watch cricket-based documentaries and feels there are many cricket-based biopics that can be made in India.  He states, “Be it the story of Yuvraj Singh, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Sourav Ganguly or the journey of the Women’s Cricket Team. I would love to eventually see a biopic on Virat Kohli too. That would be quite an inspiring story. Currently, I’ve been reading a lot about Raj Kapoor and watching his films, I think his life will also make for an interesting biopic.”  



He idolises Dhoni and like his idol he believes in the purity of the process.“MS Dhoni always says to respect the process, control the controllable, work with honesty, and not to worry about the results. If you respect the process, the result will take care of itself.”
It was a mantra he followed diligently throughout the making of Gunjan Saxena. He asked his team not to chase the result but to enjoy the process of making the film.  Says he, “I am more than happy withthe love that the film and the entire team has got. It feels great to see how people have connected with the motivating and inspiring story of Gunjan Ma’am.”