Rajeev Siddhartha is set for his film festival debut as Kinaare premieres at the Dharamshala International Film Festival on Friday, October 30. The actor, who stars alongside producer Kirti Kulhari, said, “It doesn’t have fast cuts or a frantic pace.” He feels grateful that this meditative story found its audience.
After impressing audiences with his performances in Jolly LLB, Aashram, Four More Shots Please and the recently released web series Musafir Cafe, Rajeev Siddhartha is now gearing up for his next film, Kinaare. The film marks Kirti Kulhari's debut as a producer and also features her in the lead role alongside Rajeev. Written and directed by brothers Akbar and Azam Qadri, Kinaare is set to premiere at the Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) on Friday, October 30. On this special occasion, the talented Rajeev Siddhartha spoke exclusively to Bollywood Hungama about the film, his excitement over its festival premiere, and a lot more.
EXCLUSIVE: Rajeev Siddhartha ECSTATIC about his film festival debut at Dharamshala’s DIFF; compares Kirti Kulhari’s maiden production Kinaare to Iranian cinema: “It DOESN’T have fast cuts or a frantic pace”
What are your first thoughts about Kinaare premiering at the popular Dharamshala International Film Festival?
I feel very grateful. We finished shooting the film quite recently, in January this year. It's lovely to have your film premiere so soon after completing its production. We always strongly believed in the story we were telling.
When I first read the script, it reminded me of a lot of Iranian films that I had seen. There's something very meditative about it, with a lot of stillness. It doesn't have fast cuts or things happening at a frantic pace. It's a simple story that takes its time to unfold.
Moreover, I have grown up in the hills, where life moves at a slower pace compared to the cities. Hence, I am particularly happy that a film like Kinaare is having its premiere in Dharamshala. As you rightly mentioned, DIFF is a renowned film festival, and it's wonderful that our film is finding its first audience there.
From the posters and from what you said, it seems like this is a film with a lot ‘thehrav’…
Yes, absolutely! Every actor will tell you how wonderful it is to be part of films and stories where you can take your time. It's not always necessary that your co-actor delivers a line of dialogue and you immediately have to respond. Sometimes, you might want to pause, observe and absorb what the other person is saying. But even if you've taken that pause while performing, the editor might cut it out in the final film (laughs)!
In Kinaare, there are a lot of pregnant pauses and thehrav, as you rightly pointed out. Just like in real life, a person doesn't always need to say something for you to understand what he or she is feeling. Sometimes, silence communicates much more than words. In this film, too, there are so many moments where just the eyes do the talking. And I think that's something very beautiful about the way this story has been told.
I believe this is your first film to premiere at a film festival...
Yes, it is (smiles). Thank you for pointing that out. I hadn't even realized it until you mentioned it. But now that you say it, it's quite a lovely feeling to have a film premiering at a film festival.
You previously worked with Kirti Kulhari in Four More Shots Please, which had a completely different setting and sensibility. Kinaare, meanwhile, is an entirely different world. Moreover, Kirti is also the producer this time. How was the experience of working with her?
In Four More Shots Please, we hardly shared any scenes together. But in Kinaare, we are playing cousins, and most of our scenes are with each other.
It was lovely to see Kirti being so completely in charge of the set and the entire team, while simultaneously balancing her responsibilities and doing a wonderful job as an actor. I used to joke with her that I could see similarities between her character in the film and the way she was producing it! I would tell her, "You producing the film is actually helping me be my character!" (laughs). It was also wonderful to work with somebody on a film like this, where there's so much give and take, intuitive listening and so many pauses.
If you understand another person well, you don't necessarily feel the need to rush in with your point of view the moment they finish speaking. That was particularly important for a film like Kinaare. When the characters are opening their hearts and talking about things that have happened in their lives, it's important to give the other person the space to simply be and listen, rather than immediately jumping in with words. I'm sure we've all experienced this in our own lives. When you're extremely comfortable with someone, you can just sit together in silence without feeling the need to say anything. You don't have to constantly fill that silence with conversation. In that sense, I think our understanding of each other really helped the film.
After seeing Kirti Kulhari successfully take the plunge into production, have you also been inspired to turn producer someday?
I would love to! I'm sure producing isn't an easy job, but Kirti certainly made it look very easy.
We were all in a bubble during those 17-18 days of shooting. We shot during the winter at a location outside Delhi, and there was something almost magical about the entire atmosphere. At no point did we have any doubts about whether we would be able to do justice to the film. We were simply so engrossed in shooting every day and having such a wonderful time that we didn't even realise when the shoot was over. It was one of those experiences where everybody was completely immersed in the process of making the film.
And yes, I would definitely love to produce someday, although I'm quite sure it won't be as easy as Kirti made it seem (laughs)!