I don’t even realise that it’s been 10 years. It’s been a fun and enriching ride: Maneesh Sharma

Ten years back, when Band Baaja Baaraat (BBB) hit theatres, it made the industry insiders as well as audiences sit up and take notice of a young director, Maneesh Sharma’s fresh, pristine storytelling technique. Not only was his filmmaking style uniquely entertaining, but it also shone through due to sheer grandiose and a ‘real’ touch. A decade later, the filmmaker is content with the trajectory of his journey.

“The best proof of how great this journey has been is that I don’t even realise that it’s been 10 years. It’s been a fun and enriching ride hopping, skipping and jumping from one passion project to the other,” says Sharma, adding that the journey of making “each film is unique.”

He explains: “It is also reflective of how you feel and what matters to you at that stage of your life and career. With the final product, you win some, you lose some and hopefully, in the process you learn things too. All in all, I am happy to have gone with the flow and would not really want to ‘fix’ anything.”

The Delhi boy, who also helmed films such as Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl, Shuddh Desi Romance and Fan, feels the “high point” for him has been the “unexpected turn of becoming a producer.” He says: “It was never a part of my life plan or career plan. Moving from one directorial to the other through the first half of my career, it didn’t even cross my mind to explore any such opportunity. It was Adi’s (filmmaker Aditya Chopra) vision for me and overnight, I became a producer while I was prepping for my dream film. And it’s turned out to be such a rewarding journey in itself.” 

But now that he has produced multiple films such as Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Sui Dhaaga: Made In India, Hichki and upcoming Jayeshbhai Jordaar, does he feel that the entire process brings a lot of responsibility? “The feeling of responsibility is inherent to working in a collaborative set up. Each member owes it to each other and collectively you owe it to audience. It’s been immensely fulfilling to collaborate with different creative minds and storytellers, and I love the repeated rush of creating something new and flirting with the fear of the unknown,” he says, adding he is set to move behind the camera again in 2021. “Early next year, I will go all guns blazing,” he says.

After having spent a successful decade as a storyteller/filmmaker, ask Sharma if he has any special goal in mind, and he says: “See, the goal is to create a diverse body of work over the course of my career. I look forward to dabbling in different genres as well as diverse formats, and tell engaging stories in as many engaging ways.”