Nikhil Mehrotra is doing sports films despite not being associated with sports, said this in praise of Janhvi

Bollywood film writer Nikhil Mehrotra has never played any sport in his/her life but sports has often been the center of his/her films. We are talking about writer Nikhil Mehrotra who has given Bollywood films like ‘Dangal’, ‘Panga’, ‘Chhichhore’ and recently ‘Mr. and Mrs. Mahi’. However, Nikhil believes that although sports are an important part of his/her films, their basic tone is to celebrate human emotions.

Dangal, Panga, Mr. and Mrs. Mahi are not just sports films

When asked about his/her inclination towards sports films, he/she laughs and says, ‘It is a strange irony that I myself have never played any sport in my life. In fact, till some time back, my weight was 125 kg, so I was not fit for that. I think that since Dangal became so successful, such stories came my way more but I have also written movies like Ittefaq and Gunjan Saxena. Then, Dangal, Panga, Chhichhore, Mr. and Mrs. Mahi do have sports but they were not about sports. They are stories of the human spirit and everyone’s heart is different. In one, a father wants to bring pride to the country through his/her dream, while Panga is a story of rediscovering one’s identity. That story is very close to me. When I was working in advertising, I myself saw that most of the women who took a break due to motherhood were not able to make a comeback, which is unfortunate. On the other hand, the idea of ​​Mrs. Mahi and I came after Panga, that there is a couple who come closer because of cricket, but then I was not liking its conflict, because even in Panga, the husband supports, so I left it for the fear of repetition. Then I thought that the way people today are running to prove themselves in the eyes of others. They are running after name and success, so I added this angle to it, due to which this story also became different. This is not a comeback or underdog story. Still, I will definitely look into this thing in the future because I do not want to be typecast as a writer. Is there a fear of typecasting in writing as well? On asking this, Nikhil says, ‘It happens. Like when Panga and Gunjan Saxena came, people started calling me a writer who writes on women empowerment. Then I was offered many films on women empowerment in defense.’

Jhanvi is very hardworking

Does Nikhil keep the actor’s face in mind while writing the story? On this, he/she says, ‘Absolutely, it happens many times. While writing, an image starts getting created in the mind that this actor will be apt for this role. For example, when we were writing Dangal, I jokingly said that it would be fun if Aamir does this role. At that time, we were not film writers, we were from advertising, so we thought that how can a big actor like Aamir do our film, but he/she liked the story and what we had thought, happened. At the same time, this is my third film with Janhvi Kapoor after Gunjan Saxena and Bawaal. Janhvi is a very hardworking actress. She works hard to bring life to her character. For example, for Gunjan Saxena, she showed amazing dedication and involvement and did a very good job. Similarly, the image that I had in mind for Bawaal and Mahi was that Janhvi would be a perfect fit.’

We made a mistake in the chaos

Despite having stars like Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan, Bawal, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, faced criticism for its subject. I don’t understand why the heroine tolerates the boy’s bad behaviour in the film. On this, Nikhil says, ‘I agree with you. I will not defend it. Somewhere the story did not turn out as we had thought, but sometimes it happens. Like every profession, writing also has its own risks and challenges. We also try but sometimes the right tone does not match.’