Shekhar Suman is ready with his directorial debut Heartless. He tells Divya Kaushik that it focusses on the mother-son bonding and describes the emotional turmoil his wife and he went through when they lost their son Ayush
For years he has been on the camera donning various avatars, serious and not-so serious. He did justice to his role as an actor and a host and therefore was preferred by many in the industry. Now Shekhar Suman is set to release his directorial debut, Heartless, on February 7. The movie featuring Adhyayan Suman and veterans like Om Puri and Deepti Naval is a tribute to Shekhar and Alka’s elder son Ayush, whom they lost due to congenital heart disease. “This story has always stayed with me and through this film I want to highlight a mother’s unconditional love for her son. I have seen my wife Alka going through such tough situation where she was seeing her son suffering and could not do much. She even said that she would be glad if her own heart could be used to save her son’s life. The film is an emotional story of a mother and a son. I feel that it is emotions that make the film reach the hearts of the audience. That is why we remember films made by ace directors like Bimal Roy and Hrishikesh Mukherjee, emotions were so wonderfully weaved in their stories. Today movies are made with sole objective of earning crores and filmmakers care less if it succeeds in conveying the emotions of the story to the audience. My objective is not to earn crores, I would be happy if my film could reach out to masses and is appreciated for its good content,” said the actor and director who took over a year to complete this film. “The post-production and devising marketing and promotion strategies for the film took time. Marketing and promotions have emerged to be vital factors in the success of the film over the years and we were particular about the release date of the film as well,” he shared.
It is being said that the movie is based on the medical condition called anaesthesia awareness. But Shekhar denies that and said that story progresses because of this medical condition. It becomes a tool to take the story forward and to bring out the feeling of the characters. “It’s a hard-core romantic thriller. The film’s plot revolves around a medical condition called anesthesia awareness. It’s a very interesting but frightening phenomenon and one out of a 1,000 patients experience it. When they are anaesthesised, because of the anesthesia effect, they become unconscious from the outside, but remain conscious from within. They can hear the sounds around and feel the pain but could not express it to others. It is very painful. Not many people are aware of this term, anaesthesia awareness. Being a doctor’s son I was always interested in it and knew about it. But surprisingly when I spoke to people they told me that they have gone through such a condition but did not know what it is. Most women, while giving birth to the babies experience it,” explained Shekhar and adds that since the movie is based on his wife and his personal experience, making the movie was full of emotional highs and lows. “I was emotionally absorbed in the story and it was a draining process. But I enjoyed it thoroughly. It is my story and the biggest high was that I was able to tell it my way. Being a director you are the sole authority and I did my best with everything that was a part of filmmaking. To be a filmmaker you need to be a good storyteller and I kept that in mind throughout,” he said.
Shekhar added that Adhyayan will be reliving his brother's life in the film. “He understands the essence of the story and has done a brilliant job. I was glad that I didn’t have to convince actors like Deepti Naval and Om Puri. They loved the story and have helped me depict the story beautifully,” he ended.