‘I’ve watched this film more times than my parents have seen me’ 

...says Humble Politician Nograj's director Saad Khan, whose film is set to hit the screens this Friday
‘I’ve watched this film more times than my parents have seen me’ 

Director Saad Khan is in Chennai, wrapping up work on Humble Politician Nograj and eagerly waiting to see moviegoers’ response to the film on Friday.

“I am going through everything once more before the film gets released. My assistant Chandini, who is all of 22-years-old, has been working tirelessly on this film along with editor Sachin of Kirik Party. We have a good feeling about this film and are looking forward to screening it to the audience,” says Saad.

“I have been watching the film over and over again, over the last eight months. I have watched it more times than my parents have seen me this year. It has clean humour, Danish and I were particular about that while writing its script. We wanted to steer clear of a sex comedy or slapstick humour,” he says.

Saad is appreciative about Danish’s performance, and is confident that the latter's character will win the audience over and have them in splits.

This will be Saad's third film after Station and Love and She, and his first Kannada feature film. Humble Politician Nograj is also special to him because it marks 10 years of his directorial career. “My first short film Another Kind of Black was screened at Cannes in 2008. It was a memorable moment and I was all of 22, and that is when I decided to choose this as a career,” he says.

Humble Politician Nograj will have a universal appeal, according to Saad. “Its language is cinema. Audience who have watched the trailers and teasers have appreciated our use of Kannada in the film,” he says.

Another reason for the film turning out well is the free hand given to the director by the producers, he says, and adds that as a director he, too, does not believe in yelling at team members to get things done. “That’s why so many people have so many good things to say about this film,” says Saad. “Producers have given me so much creative freedom during the making of this film, and they have shown great respect for our talent and we returned that sentiment,” he says.

According to Saad, Humble Politician Nograj can be a model to follow for team work and creative liberty. The team includes Saad, actor and writer Danish Sait, filmmaker Pushkar Mallikarjunaiah, actor-director-producer Rakshit Shetty and director-producer Hemanth M Rao. Saad says, “Usually, when so many people work together there are bound to be disagreements, but when we came together everyone was open to giving and taking ideas. This is a good example to follow for younger filmmakers, to allow art to lead a project, to have a better product. The producers respected my vision and asked me to take a call. Danish and I had written the film together and Hemanth, who is also a writer, got involved in bringing out the final draft. The director has the final call, but teamwork and collaboration always give a better outcome.”

The cast includes Sumukhi Suresh and Vijay Chendoor, and the film has music by Sricharan Pakala. Saad says that music programmer Sunny Henry’s background score will be discussed for a long while in the industry. The film has cinematography by Karm Chawla.

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