Understanding Vasantrao Deshpande was most difficult, says Nipun Dharmadhikari

Filmmaker Nipun Dharmadhikari had made only contemporary films like Baapjanma (2017) and Dhappa (2019). His upcoming film Me Vasantrao, however, is a biopic of the late classical vocalist Vasantrao Deshpande. Apart from being a period film, Me Vasantrao is also a musical simply on account of its subject.

Working on this film was a different experience for Dharmadhikari. “The two films I did earlier had two songs each and none of them had lip-synch,” he said at the launch of the music album at the Swatantryaveer Savarkar auditorium in Dadar, Mumbai. “So this was a different experience. There are 22 songs in this album. The film has even more. Most of them are lip-synch.”

This, however, wasn’t the most difficult part for the filmmaker. “Most difficult was to understand how he [Deshpande] was as a person," he said. "A lot has been written about him. There are various interviews as well. But after going through some stuff, it seemed as if he was different every time; [so] how exactly was this person?

“Even after trying to write something about him for eight or nine months, when I was unable to come up with anything, it felt like a roadblock. [Lyricist] Vaibhav [Joshi] was also part of the process. We didn’t know what we should do next.”

Dharmadhikari found a solution by taking an unusual path. “This might sound [like a] cliché, but it seems he only made us understand that we should concentrate on why he was like this instead of what he was,” the filmmaker said. “We started searching for what he must have felt in a particular situation. From there on, the journey became easier.”

The music launch took place at the hands of the chief guest, singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan. Produced by Jio Studios, Me Vasantrao sees Deshpande’s grandson Rahul playing the lead. The film will be released in theatres on 1 April.