'Woh Khaas' has amazed us all says Director Ankit Bhardwaj.

Q. New directors often complain that their films hardly get a proper release, but you are an exception. How does it feel to have your short film streaming on 8 OTT platforms?

Woh Khaas amazed us all. It was loved in the way we never thought it would. For a short film from a small town with first time actors, it surely exceeded our expectations. 8 OTTs on top of seven national and international nominations for several categories, I don't have any complaints. God has been kind to us and all of the hard work paid off.

Q. While making Woh Khaas have you ever thought that this short will be a trendsetter despite having a fairly new team?

To be honest, you can never know what the potential of the project you're doing is, unless it's out there to the audience. They're the ones to decide the fate of any project. The fact that the audience can relate to the characters of Vihaan and Sandini is a big win for our team. Apart from it, our film is breaking a lot of records and doing things that were never done before. It happens to be India's first dual audio short film and Bihar's first short film to be streamed on a dozen platforms. And also, a commercial hit which is rare in the city with no opportunities for filmmakers.

Q. People loved the chemistry of your lead actors, how do you manage both Agam and Shambhavi on sets? What makes Agam and Shambhavi different from other young actors?

I don't know about what makes them different but it's obvious that they're good actors. I've quite an experience working with newcomers. Agam and Shambhavi just happened to be the talented ones. They were in the project way before I was. A two week workshop helped me mold them a bit to the side I wanted their characters to be. Everything else, they brought to the characters with them.

Q. Your favorite scene in Woh Khaas?

My favourite scene has to be the panipuri scene. Not just because of how hilarious it is, but also because it breaks the seriousness of the film and keeps it to the subtle side. The improv Satish ji did with his character is amazing. I guess few things can only be brought with experience.

Q. The film is yet to release on a few more OTT platforms, was it a well thought out plan or the film is surprising you with so many deals and releases?

It took a lot of planning to place the movie, yes but watching all the plans work is not less than any miracle. The producer Richa Singh is quite happy with the very first project from her and Agam's home production Anaisha Motion Pictures. These two siblings also have an interesting story which we will talk about some other day. But all the positive reviews we're getting from critics are overwhelming.

Q. The buzz for the sequel is high, what to expect from Woh Khaas 2? Will it be a short film or a miniseries?

The success of Woh Khaas has brought too many expectations from the sequel and we definitely don't want to let down the audience. We'll be making it even better with a bigger production value and some really amazing locations you won't see coming.

Making it a short film or a series totally depends upon the deal we'll get from the OTT, whatever gets good marketing. (Winks)

Q. What are your next projects?

I will be ending the year filming a series on a Novel Adaptation 'Day turns Dark' working alongside with some renowned Bollywood actors and few from my old team.

2022 will be heck of a productive year for me. I will be directing my first web series for an OTT, done one for YouTube previously. And finally will be debuting as a writer in the industry. Then there is Woh Khaas' sequel and another long awaited web series written by another talented writer.

Q. Please tell us about the experience of working in Woh Khaas and creating ‘DDLJ of Short Films’.

It's a privilege getting such an amazing compliment and I feel equally privileged to get to be a part of this amazing film. For a short film, it was a fresh idea. It's a short film length feature to be precise and we've worked on it exactly like you would in a feature. Made a song, got the scores designed and dubbed the whole film in English to grow our audience.

Q. Rate Satish Verma AKA RJ Chokha on the scale of 1 to 10 as an actor and a human being?

I'm not experienced enough to rate someone's performance who is in the industry as long as my age is. Not as an artist or a human being. With that said, Satish Sir brings an exceptional amount of positive energy with him on set. His understanding of characters lets him improvise his character that makes him stand out. Really looking forward to working with him again.

Q. What according to you is the reason for the success of ‘Woh Khaas’?

Good performance and good screenplay backed up by a good story. I guess these are the most crucial things to make any film work. I tried to make everything look pretty and avoided static shots as much as possible. Rest, all the credits goes to the actors.

Q. Your take on Bollywood and Independent films?

Every film made in India has its audience. Some still like the mainstream Bollywood flavour entertaining films with all those spices. Some like films with more intellect in them. As an independent filmmaker myself, I'm glad I belong to the era where independent films are getting exposure, all thanks to our dear friends at OTTs.

The thing that makes independent films different from Bollywood is the amount of risk independent filmmakers is willing to take to tell their stories. On the other hand, the Bollywood filmmakers have box office collections to worry about, which most of the time makes them hesitate to try out new things.

But things are changing as we're starting to get indie vibes in mainstream cinema more and more. With time, Bollywood too will be as versatile as our culture as a nation.

Q. Name the Bollywood stars you want to direct.

Raj Kumar Rao would always be the priority for the genre I'm into right now. Also, it would be an honor to work with my favourite present time actors like Pankaj Tripathi, Sanjay Mishra, Raghubir Yadav, Bijendra Kala, Neena Gupta, Piyush Mishra. It's a long list and I'm definitely missing out on more of my favourite ones. But you got the idea.

Q. What are the three reasons according to you why a youngster should be in filmmaking?

More than half of the total Indian population consists of youths. India is a young country. And to deliver a message to the young audience, you need to know how the youth thinks, how they react to things and what they want. Young filmmakers bring these solutions with them. Their story will be from their lives and their experiences which will no doubt connect the audience way more. They will know what problems need to be spoken about and what messages need to be delivered. Cinema has always had a big impact on Indian youth, so this will bring some major change, for the good for most parts.

Q. Tell us something about ‘Populess’, another film with Agam Anand which had a television premiere on MTV recently. When can we see it on OTT?

Populess happened as a result of a 50 hour filmmaking challenge. That is a filmmaking method we're not used to but definitely fond of. The Adrenaline rush to think of a concept, write a screenplay, cast actors, scout locations, arrange props, shoot, edit and score, all within 50 hours is really one of a kind experience.

I loved the concept Agam came up with and we wrote the screenplay together. I always loved working alongside him; we make a pretty good team. Although we couldn't make it in the top 3, our film still made it to the MTV screening.

We'll be re-shooting and editing some parts we couldn't as planned initially, due to the time constraints and will release on a major OTT very soon.

Q. What is your ultimate dream?

There isn't anything such as an ultimate dream. When you achieve one, another begins. That's what being alive is. Dreaming till you have your last breath. As of now, I have few stories to tell and few goals to accomplish. To see myself become the man I dreamt of seeing myself all those years ago. To be capable. To be someone my friends and family can be proud of. To be the support of a specific someone. And to be kind.

Woh Khaas is all set to release on few more OTT platforms in October 2021, over 3.6 lacs people have seen it in just three months.