‘Generous of Fawad Khan to do Kapoor and Sons’: Shakun Batra says he isn’t sure if a film like this can be made today | Bollywood News

It feels as if only yesterday that Shakun Batra’s Kapoor and Sons  first graced the silver screen. A film that very much defined what one might typically call a slice-of-life cinema. Death and dissolution haunted the narrative, yet alongside his co-writer Ayesha Devitre, Batra managed to illuminate the ordinary textures of a family we all recognise, we all have lived in, we all continue to inhabit. Be it the irritable father, ever counting expenses; the mother, whose affections subtly favour one child over another; the gentle grandfather confronting mortality; the siblings, struggling to coex. Each figure resonated with the familiarity of lived experience. The film’s brilliance lies in its ability to connect, across generations, across moods, in ways that feel both intimate and universal. It is no small wonder, then, that it not only won hearts but also marked its territory at the box office, even as the landscape of the past decade has shifted so drastically.
In an exclusive conversation with SCREEN, as it completes 10 years, Batra reflects on the genesis of the film, the challenges of casting, getting Fawad Khan to inhabit a gay character, collaborating with the Rishi Kapoor, and of course, about the infamous plumber scene.
Excerpts edited for clarity and brevity
When you look back, how did this film’s journey begin?
Well, it started with a story. We thought we’d tell one about two brothers and their family. It felt fun to give them some quirks, like a funny granddad, a dysfunctional core, and then it just grew from there. You never quite know what it’s going to become when you begin; it slowly turns into a larger journey these characters are on.
All three of your films, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, Kapoor & Sons, and recently Gehraiyaan, primarily explore generational trauma. Why do you keep returning to this theme?
(laughs) It doesn’t reflect very well on my family, but yeah I guess these are things you don’t always realise. You just begin, and they start to show up in your work. It’s not a conscious choice at all. It’s something I feel everyone somewhere relates to. And ‘trauma,’ I know it can be a heavy word, but everyone carries some past with them. I’ve always felt that we’re all, in some way, a collection of our past until we reach a level of awareness where we can truly let go.
How was it pitching this story to Karan Johar, who earlier made his own kind of a film about a dysfunctional family with Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. But Kapoor & Sons really subverts the typical Dharma Productions mythology on its very head. 
Karan understood the space right from the beginning, because he understands emotions and families very well, so I think that really helped. And moreover, he was always very supportive of the films I wanted to make. Of course, in the beginning, we were all a little unsure, especially about how to go about casting, so that took some time, but even there, he always had our back.
Talk to me about casting the film, and the many rejections you faced while casting Fawad Khan’s part.
We wrote the film almost 12 years ago, at a time when it wasn’t common for actors to play a gay character. People were concerned about how it would be portrayed and whether audiences would accept it. So it took us a while to find the right person. In hindsight, that was the best thing that could have happened, because when Fawad came on board, I realised that no one else could have brought what he did to the film. He was incredibly generous, because that was always going to be the hardest part to cast. The film really came together once he agreed to do it.
It all happened then very quickly, Alia came on board, even though it was a small part, but she believed in it. Sidharth also said yes. Then Rishi sir, I was truly blessed to have him. What a legend. He was initially unsure, wondering how the makeup would work, whether it would look real or not. But then we got Greg Cannom, the prosthetic art, who happened to be in India working with Shah Rukh on Fan. Overall, it was hard, we sent the script to many actors and faced a lot of rejection. Many people loved the script but weren’t sure about doing it. I’m just glad it all came together the way it did in the end.Story continues below this ad
Rishi Kapoor in a still from Kapoor & Sons.
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You’ve said working with Rishi Kapoor was rather tough, yet his character delivers much of the film’s humour and moral focus. In fact, he has those witty one-liners, some even bordering on adult humour. Was that ever a point of conflict?
Yeah, we did have our disagreements, but not about the dialogues at all. My writer Ayesha co-wrote those lines, and Rishi sir was completely on board with them. In fact, he had a lot of fun delivering them and would often crack up on set.
What kind of references did you have while envisioning the film?
Not many, actually. One of my all-time favourites is Hannah and Her Sers Woody Allen. Then there’s Rachel Getting Married, the Anne Hathaway film. And of course, Monsoon Wedding. Those were the main ones I had in mind and wanted to achieve something like what they did to me when I watched them.
The film manages its tonality really well, balancing a poised emotional pitch with full-blown melodrama. How did you arrive at that balance?
I think I was very clear that it needed to feel conversational, like in real homes, where people overlap and don’t wait for someone to finish speaking. That was the idea: conversations had to constantly overlap, and the camera had to react to the actors. So the approach was that the camera wasn’t always fixed or predetermined, it was free to move wherever the moment took it. Because of that, all the actors had to stay in character at all times. It was a very Dogme-like style, where the focus was on creating a lived-in, alive environment.Story continues below this ad
The “Bible” of Kapoor & Sons is the infamous plumber scene, which has gone on to become a cult moment. Do you remember shooting that in particular, and what was the atmosphere like on set?
Well, the atmosphere on set was always a bit stressful, because I wasn’t sure if I had enough time to finish, we were always running behind, trying to wrap up and get all the shots in. So that pressure was always there, even for this scene. But we had rehearsed it multiple times, and even during the readings, it was already funny. I remember at the end of one of the readings, everyone kept laughing, and Rajat told me not to change a thing. I knew the scene was working, so I didn’t try to alter it on the day. I usually keep a day off before shooting a big scene so everyone can prepare, and that’s what we did, we got together, discussed it, and everyone knew exactly what they were doing. After that, you just go and shoot. Honestly, on set, most of the time you don’t have the luxury to overthink, you’re just focused on keeping things moving and getting through the day.
Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah in a still from Kapoor & Sons.
In Kapoor & Sons and Gehraiyaan, characters who cheat often meet fatal consequences. Is that a deliberate choice you as a screenwriter or simply karma catching up with them?
That’s an interesting question. Sometimes it feels like it’s happening to them organically, and sometimes it feels you’re creating it. It’s about whether you make things happen, or if it’s luck, or destiny. Those questions keep me philosophically engaged while writing. I stay involved because I want to see what happens to these characters as I often don’t know myself when I write.
Was it a tough call to kill off Rajat Kapoor’s character?
He actually died in the second draft of the script. In the first draft, Rishi Kapoor’s character died, and we weren’t sure if the story was working. Then, while jamming on the script, we realized that if Rajat died, the movie made much more sense. It gave the film impact, you see that you don’t have control, and the only time to act is now. It just heightened the emotional stakes.
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Do you think a film like this could be released in theatres today?
I don’t know, it’s a tough one to answer. Honestly, I’m not sure what could happen today. Times are very different, so I feel fortunate it got made when it did. I’m not sure it would happen now.
Lastly, do you ever think about writing a sequel and revisiting these characters?
No, I’ve never gone there. It feels odd, Rajat’s character is dead, and I don’t know what I’d do next with them. And it’s one of those stories that felt complete and right as it was.