‘Aasha’ director Safar Sanal: This film would not have been made without Urvashi
Director Safar Sanal discusses his debut film 'Aasha', emphasizing that the project was entirely dependent on veteran actor Urvashi's performance. The film is a suspense thriller about a single mother seeking revenge after a road rage incident.
Why it matters
It highlights the critical role of casting in independent cinema and explores the portrayal of complex, non-traditional mother figures in Indian film.
“No,” says debutant director Safar Sanal emphatically to the question whether he would have made Aasha without Urvashi. “No, because by the time I finished the script, I could not place anybody else as the lead character. The role demanded more than an actor, more than a tool… it needed a human being who could understand the character; it had to be a thinking individual.”
The veteran actor’s take as Aasha, possibly one of her career’s best, has drawn an outpouring of praise. Safar is in awe of the performance and considers himself lucky to have been able to see her at work.
He describes a scene in which Aasha confronts her daughter, Anagha (Aiswarya Lekshmi). “By the time she finished, I had goosebumps watching her. She was so overcome with emotion; it was such a charged scene. The entire set was stunned.”
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