Ghazi has become the talk of the town with its very interesting trailers. On the eve of the film’s release, we caught up with the captain of the ship, director Sankalp Reddy, for a very detailed interview. Here is the transcript.

Your background?

I am born and brought up in Hyderabad. After finishing my studies, I went to Australia to do my masters in fine arts. Once I completed that I came back to India and wanted to get into films.

The idea behind making Ghazi?

During one of my visits to Vizag, I was very much fascinated about the submarine and always had a thought of making a film on Indian navy. After researching a lot about the submarine, I wrote the script for this film and wanted to make it as a short film for YouTube. I even put my own money of 25 lakhs and even got a set designed in Hyderabad with proper flow. I planned to make the film in a budget of one crore but as things did not work, I somehow managed to find Matinee Entertainments and PVP who took the project in hands.

What is your film all about?

Ghazi is a Pakistani submarine which sank in Indian waters. There are versions of the story one from Pakistan and one from the Indian point of view. I am showcasing the Indian point of view with a lot of fiction added in the proceedings for the commercial sake.

How was Rana roped in?

Initially, my film had all newcomers. Rana came to me after knowing about the film and things changed completely after he jumped in. The small budget film became a big budget film. Initially, I wanted to make this film in Hindi but when Rana joined it became a bilingual and thanks to PVP it is now releasing in Tamil as well.

Were any changes made to the film because of Rana?

Not much. Rana’s character was a 45-year-old man and we changed that to relatively young man because of him. As I had the script, storyboard and CG ready things fell into place automatically. We finished the shoot in just 60 days in both Hindi and Telugu.

Response from Bollywood?

We showcased the film to Karan Johar. The major proceedings were half done without any background score. Midway through the film, Karan decided to promote it in Hindi. A special show was also arranged for the naval officers who belonged to the 1971 time zone. They also liked the film immensely and appreciated us a lot.

How difficult was it to make a war film?

Right from the day one, we wanted to make the film look quite authentic and put up a set in Hyderabad. Some of the top technicians in the industry worked on the project and credit should go to PVP and Matinee Entertainment for proving me some top actors like Om Puri, K K Menon and Atul Kulkarni.

What kind of films do you want to make in the future?

I want to be the best and make films which are quite different. Regular stuff does not excite me and all my future films will be quite huge and those which have not been made on the Indian screens ever.

Future projects?

As of now, I am eagerly awaiting the release of Ghazi. This is a dream come true for me as a debutante director to see my film release in three languages at once. I am very proud of my film and am very confident that everyone will surely recommend this film to others after they watch it.

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