Exclusive: Hichki director Siddharth P Malhotra’s next will also be with YRF

Yesterday, filmmaker Siddharth P Malhotra celebrated two years of the release of his previous film Hichki (2018). The Yash Raj Films movie saw Rani Mukerji play the role of a teacher suffering from Tourette’s syndrome.

We now learn that Malhotra’s next will also be under the same banner. In an exclusive conversation with Cinestaan.com, Malhotra said, “Very soon you will hear about it. It is for YRF. We are working on the script. Once we are done, Yash Raj will announce it.”

Asked whether he has thought about the casting, the director answered, “Nothing right now. Everything is in the works.”

In an Instagram post yesterday, Malhotra had said no studio was ready to accept Hichki. “From the time We Are Family (2010) didn’t do well, I was trying to make Hichki, but nobody was willing to make it," he revealed. "I took it from the biggest actors to the smallest actors and from the biggest studios to the smallest studios. Everybody listened to it and felt this is the story of a mad hero [the protagonist was a male earlier]. I was also told to remove Tourette’s syndrome.” 

The process took a toll on Malhotra until he met Aditya Chopra, head of YRF. “For almost seven years I went through a mental and physical breakdown," he said. "Then Adi Chopra came into my life and said that if I make the film as well as I narrated it, then it will turn out to be good. Those words were like music to my ears.”

Looking back, Malhotra feels satisfied he did not have to make compromises on Hichki. “This was one film I was not willing to change," he said. "In that bargain I wrote five more films. But I kept going back to this film. I am glad it was told the way it was told.”

Malhotra is currently producing Tribhanga, directed by Renuka Shahane. The film, which will be released on Netflix, stars Kajol, Tanvi Azmi, Mithila Palkar and Kunal Roy Kapur.