''Love Per Square Foot is a multigenerational love story' says producer Ronnie Screwvala

The cast and crew of ‘Love Per Square Foot’ chat about this quirky rom-com

February 13, 2018 04:07 pm | Updated 04:07 pm IST

You’re tired of living at home with umpteen family members. You then happen across an opportunity to invest in an affordable housing scheme. What do you do? Well, naturally, you team up with a potential love interest and attempt to take out a joint loan together as a faux married couple. That’s exactly what Karina (Angira Dhar) and Sanjay (Vicky Kaushal) set out to do in Love Per Square Foot , a new Hindi romantic-comedy produced by Ronnie Screwvala and directed by Go GoaGone actor Anand Tiwari.

It’s a story that’s close to Anand’s heart, given his take on modern relationships and how everything has become about more than just the central idea of love. He explains, “In the case of the film, there’s a debate over whether the home or the house is more important; and I see that resonating among youngsters today, and not just specifically to a house but also in terms of other conditionalities. The argument of the film is whether unconditional love can really exist in this time or is it something we actively seek out. The script developed from that thought in my mind.” Anand comments that honest storytelling has been integral to Love Per Square Foot , because it’s a plot to which everyone can relate from first to last act.

Ronnie, who heads up burgeoning production house RSVP, adds, “I think while we look at overall love, there’s a whole family life connected to that. I think what appeals to and resonates with the script are that the older and generations’ aspirations are the same whichever way you look at it. So you’ve got this young couple and you’re able to see their whole world — from their office to their respective homes. There’s quite a unique connect there as you see everything through their eyes, taking their parents into their narratives. So it’s a multigenerational story I hope people will love.”

Casting capers

Ronnie and Anand explain that they were spoiled for choice when it came to screen-tests and the casting of Karina and Sanjay. Anand recalls they were unanimously impressed with Angira and Vicky and casting director Honey Trehan was vital in these decisions as well as in regards to the casting of Alankrita Sahai who plays Sanjay’s intimidating boss, Rashi. What audiences will love even more are the actors who play Karina and Sanjay’s parents — Ratna Pathak Shah, Supriya Pathak and Raghuvir Yadav. It’s an ensemble cast in the true sense of the phrase and Ronnie and Anand couldn’t be more satisfied.

Angira and Vicky continue to feel the thrill of working with such veteran actors. “They came with an unmatchable yet contagious enthusiasm, even though they’re really intimidating,” recalls Angira.

Vicky, in particular, found himself attached to the script, “I see a lot of the narratives around me everyday; be it professional issues or relationships with your families, plus aspects of love and aspirations.”

The experience was a real treat for Anand, who’s known for his directorial work on the web series Bang Baaja Baarat. “It helps to have a script you truly believe in at the end of the day,” he comments, “I think I can speak for Ronnie too when we got really excited about this aspect. We lucked out in that have a cast that didn’t try to one-up each other but synergised in a way the script conveyed.” Given Anand’s background in theatre, Ronnie commends the organic turn the story takes because of the type of stage presence is very different.

Crossing cultures

The film doesn’t just see two people interacting, but two different backgrounds — Karina’s family is Christian while Sanjay is Hindu. Keeping it light-hearted while touching upon important facets of the cultures. “Our reference point was Anand Tiwari’s own personal story,” points out Vicky, “you’ll see the story unfold, leading up to a point where a couple finds ground in expressing love for each other while retaining their own aspirations in a city like Mumbai. Anand as poured his heart into this, weaving his own stories and relationships into the film. When you grow up, you have ideas of having your own house, but this film explores having a home as well as a house. It’s an aspect upon which we shed light.”

Angira, who previously worked with Anand on Bang Baaja Baarat , comments, “We adapted little bits of the people we’ve met throughout our lives into Karina and Sanjay. Anand analyses his actors and he knows how to trigger in-depth acting.”

Final love notes

It’s the middle-class setting which appeals to Ronnie, and he hopes that other people watching the film will connect lovingly with the film. “A bulk of our audiences who watch this film will identify with this; there’s the context of real money, real families and real connections.” It’s the setting of Mumbai as well, with which audiences will connect deeply, adds Anand, because he believes the city is an amalgam of a variety of Indian subcultures.

Anand also has his fingers crossed that people will watch and recall the old school means of love he grew up reading about, explaining, “I hope to make sure we don’t lose out on young conditionality of love and it’s a little bit of a utopic dream and I don’t want young audiences to get drawn to the complex way in which people best each other but just see an honest love story.”

‘Love Per Square Foot’ comes out today on Netflix.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.