Mumbai, March 16 Filmmaker Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, known for her mainstream movies like “Nil Battey Sannata” and “Bareilly Ki Barfi”, says that if she gets the opportunity to direct a big-budget multi-crore film, her dream cast would be Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, and Sai Pallavi.
Iyer Tiwari questioned why such “event films” are predominantly directed by men.
“Why can't a woman make a film worth Rs. 100 or Rs. 1,000 crore, why does it have to be a male director? I have one in my family (my director husband, Nitesh Tiwari, known for “Dangal” and the upcoming, “Ramayana”)), but still,” the director told
Iyer Tiwari said she has the creative vision for it, but getting the backing from a studio is most crucial.
“I'm just putting it out there into the universe (about my desire to make a Rs. 1,000 crore film) because you need a platform, budget, and everything else. I may have an idea today, but if the studio is putting in money, then they also need to have that much faith and a long-term plan. So, it's a two-way process,” she said.
The director said that for her Rs. 1,000 crore film, the actors on her wish list are Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, and Sai Pallavi.
“I have a long list, but right now, my wish list includes Deepika, Alia, and Sai Pallavi. I hope they are listening. I’m putting it out there,” she said.
Iyer Tiwari said that she is personally keen to explore the action genre as well.
“I want to make action films. There needs to be some sentiment in it,” she said, adding that the Hollywood animated action franchise, “Incredibles”, “Spider-Man”, and “Shahenshah” are some of her all-time favorite action movies.
She said she is looking forward to fellow director Geetu Mohandas' pan-India movie, “Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups” starring Kannada movie star Yash. The period action gangster drama is one of the most anticipated movies of the year.
“I’m very happy for Geetu to make that kind of film, and also to encourage other storytellers. Moreover, I believe it’s all about faith and trust in the filmmaker, so it doesn’t matter (which gender). I always feel that a good storyteller will always be a good storyteller, it’s just that the budgets increase or remain the same. Hats off to Yash for supporting Geetu, and also for ensuring that the film gets the right kind of release, so I think that’s great.”
Iyer Tiwari said she recently watched “Dhurandhar” in a cinema hall as she wanted to understand what truly resonates with audiences.
“For me, it was more of a market check to see what makes the audiences happy, and that’s very important for us. We can’t shy away from that as storytellers. So, I may keep saying that we are making mainstream cinema, and I want that cinema to be back, but at the same time, we also need to know what’s working.
“If I get a film which is for a certain budget, and the budget is big, then I also need to know (where) that kind of money has to go, and what the audience is expecting from it.”
She also said she will be watching the highly anticipated “Dhurandhar 2” in theaters. The film, directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh, will arrive in cinemas on March 19.