In the vast landscape of Indian cinema, few films have left as deep and lasting an imprint as ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi.’ As the seminal political love story completes 20 years, filmmaker Sudhir Mishra opens up in an exclusive conversation about the journey that led to the making of his most celebrated work.
Here are the excerpts from the interview:
Tell us about the genesis of ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’ as it turned 20
“Firstly, I’m glad you consider ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’ to be my best. I agree. You know, I’ve often wondered: do you write the stories, or do the stories find you? I tend to believe, more and more, that stories find you—and you should only make the story that finds you.”
“But we end up making many films to make that one film we truly want to. I think ‘Hazaaron…’ is that film—one that only I could have made.”
“I mean, it’s no accident that there are no other films quite like ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’. It’s a difficult act to follow. I don’t know if I’m being immodest, but my whole background prepared me for it—my Nehruvian father, my grandfather who was a follower of Sardar Patel and was, in some way, instrumental in bringing Mrs. Gandhi to power.”
“Then there were my own left-leaning views at the time, and the generation I grew up with, which was very inspiring. That was the last generation that actively reacted against the political and cultural legacy handed to them by their parents. They didn’t just accept that inheritance—they wanted to build something else. That was also a generation for whom life wasn’t only about loving their parents, but also about holding someone else’s hand or looking out for the less fortunate.”
If you had to remake it now, what would you change?
“Could I make it now? I think I could—if I had a subject as powerful. But I’m not sure. I don’t know how the government would react. And would market pressures allow it? Would someone let me make a film like that now? Absolutely no one!”
“Pritish Nandy had the grace and guts to back it, because he came from that era where some people still took chances. The subject was also close to him. Without Pritish, ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’ would not have existed.”
In hindsight, do you think casting Shiney Ahuja in the central role was the right call?
“I had already cast someone else when Zoya Akhtar sent Shiney to my assistant, then associate, Ruchi Narayan. I changed the cast because suddenly I saw Vikram in Shiney.”
“As for the female lead, it was casting that landed in my lap. I had auditioned hundreds of women, and suddenly Chitrangda walked in. Shiney walked into another audition. I tried my best to find someone for the Siddharth character. KK was already established, so I hesitated to cast him, but ultimately, I followed my original instinct and cast him.”
A lot of the team went on to do well for themselves…
“People forget that Swanand Kirkire was my assistant. He wanted to be a director, but he was also singing some songs—and one of them happened to be ‘Bhawra Mann Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna’. I decided to include it in the end credits. It does something amazing: it makes you sit down after the film ends. As Vikram rests his head on Geeta’s shoulder, the song fades in and makes you reflect. It changed Swanand’s career.”
If you remade ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’, whom would you cast in the lead?
“I would cast Shiney again. I thought he was brilliant. When I made that film, I felt like some force beyond me was guiding it. Everything that went wrong during planning somehow led to better solutions. It felt like someone was looking out for me. I’m very grateful to that film.”
What happened to the idea of a sequel?
“One of my regrets… Pritish Nandy always asked me to write a sequel, but I couldn’t find a story good enough. I thought that if I made a bad sequel, it would interfere with the memory of the first film. So I didn’t. But yes—I wish I had.”
