EXCLUSIVE interview of director Avinash Arun and actor-lyricist Swanand Kirkire for 'Three Of Us'

Three Of Us is the next Hindi film to hit the screens on November 3. As the title suggests, it’s about three people finding and losing themselves and embracing the journey called life against the backdrop of the gorgeousness of Konkan. The film stars Shefali Shah, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Swanand Kirkire, and is directed by School Of Lies and Killa fame Avinash Arun.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the director and the actor-lyricist opened up about the idea of the film, the experience of working with each other, and how Konkan also plays an integral part of the narrative.

Edited excerpts from the interview

Avinash, after the success of your show School Of Lies, tell us about your next film Three Of Us.

Three Of Us is very special and personal to me, especially working with all the actors, writers. Konkan holds a special place in my heart and I wish people watch it and enjoy and love it.

What is the importance of locations in the narrative of a film or a series, since you’re a cinematographer as well?

Cinema is about three things- Time, Space, and Matter. Space is very important because the kind of gravitas space has, it impacts your psychological thinking, your mind either goes faster or it slows down. If you travel to a place like Ladakh or Kashmir or Konkan, your mind automatically slows down. This happens because you enter into a meditative space and reflect a lot upon your life, your relationships and everything.

Swanand, you have written the lyrics for so many films like 3 idiots, Lage Raho Munna Bhai; how is the prep for you like, is it different for different films?

Every contribution that I’m expected to make has a different interpretation. Writing is something that happens organically but for me, trying to get down to the soul of the film is the most important thing. When it comes to acting, the preparation is totally different. When you’re writing a song, you put your understanding and thinking on the line and people say I think brilliantly, but an actor never knows what he’s going to portray and what the camera is going to absorb. My prep was to be in the moment and enjoy the fact that I was shooting with a filmmaker like Avinash, and artists like Shefali and Jaideep. My DNA is still that of an assistant director, when I saw Shefali act, I was in awe. It was a meditative process.

Avinash, what made you say that Shefali Shah, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Swanand Kirkire are going to be the three central characters of Three Of Us?

Shefali read the script, called me up and said she was doing the film. As a filmmaker, I don’t like to write too much, so when someone understands my process and supports me, believes in me, that’s a great feeling. Jaideep is someone I’ve known and we have worked together before, he’s my senior from FTII so we have that bond. I was initially reluctant because this was a vulnerable role but he agreed to be a part of it when he read the script. For the third character, the husband, he suggested Swanand Kirkire’s name, and I was like ‘I got my character.’

Swanand, what fascinated you about Avinash as a filmmaker the most?

The way he operates and the way he sees everything, his soul and sensitivity. I’ve known him for many years and I’ve seen his film Killa as well. I knew his journey from FTII. We were about to work together for Killa but when he came to me, he said, ‘There’s no need for a song here in this situation, right!’ And I was like, ‘He’s right.’ The script of Three Of Us is beautiful, and when the director and the DOP is the same, there’s no conflict and there’s just one voice.

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