director Ruchir Arun has spoken about the experience of making ‘Musafir Cafe’, in which he stars Vikrant Massey, Mahima Makwana i Vedika Pinto. The filmmaker said in a statement that the series has been receiving encouraging responses from viewers. Having directed projects like ‘Little Things’, ‘Ghar Waapsi’ and ‘Loot Kaand’, Ruchir said ‘Musafir Cafe’ required careful planning and teamwork throughout the production.The director opened up in an exclusive interview with ETimes: “One of the biggest challenges with feature-length storytelling is that you’re expected to shoot a lot more material than you would for a feature film, while maintaining the cinematic quality that audiences expect from streaming shows. That was our biggest challenge at Musafir Cafe – for me, the crew and the actors alike. Every day, we were trying to balance speed with craft, making sure that despite the pace of production, we never compromised the emotional or visual quality of the show. What made it possible was the team’s collective belief in the material. Our cinematographer, Anirrudh Patankar, our production designer, Naveen Lohara, and our costume designer, Roshni Bose, along with their incredible teams, cared deeply about these characters and this story. They pushed themselves on set every day, and I think that commitment is visible in every frame.”
Director Ruchir Arun praises Vikrant Massey’s performance
Talking about Vikrant Massey, Ruchir said that the actor’s natural style of acting made him the ideal choice for the character of Chander. He added that Vikrant’s honesty as a performer helped create believable emotions throughout the series.The director also highlighted how the actor encouraged his co-stars during filming, which strengthened the chemistry between the characters.He said, “Vikrant brings authenticity to his characters, and that’s exactly what Chander needed. Chander is an ordinary man experiencing extraordinary emotions, and Vikrant has that rare human quality that makes him instantly relatable. There’s nothing contrived about his performances. Every day on set, he drew on his own life experiences and emotional honesty to bring Chander to life, an incredible, incredible actor.” He constantly supports and uplifts his co-actors, and this generosity creates a genuine on-screen chemistry. When the actors trust each other, the audience believes the relationships. I think that’s one of the reasons why the emotional world of Musafir Cafe feels so authentic.”
Ruchir Arun on bringing a bestselling novel to life
‘Musafir Cafe’ is an adaptation of Divya Prakash Dubey’s novel of the same name. Ruchir revealed that the script had already been written by showrunner and writer Sharanya Rajgopal before joining the project. He explained that his main responsibility was to maintain the emotional depth of the characters while making sure the world looked believable on screen.Sharing her approach, Ruchir said, “To be honest, when I came on board, the first drafts of the script had already been written by our showrunner and writer, Sharanya Rajgopal. So the work of adapting the novel had largely been done by her. But these scripts had come out of the wonderful characters that author Divya Prakash Dubey had created and built around them, and she had built the world that Sharany felt rich around them. As a director, I then focused on preserving the soul of these characters and the authenticity of the world. Rather than recreating the novel, I wanted the audience to believe that these people were real and see themselves in Chander, Sudha and Preeti.”Apart from ‘Musafir Cafe’, Ruchir is currently directing ‘Nazdeekiyan’, an upcoming web series to be aired on OTT. While he chose not to reveal much about the story, he did confirm that it revolves around two couples and explores mature relationships.The filmmaker also said that the project is special as it marks his first collaboration with Dharma Productions.He shared, “It’s still too early to talk about the details of the project, but I can say that Nazdeekiyan is a mature love story centered around two couples, and it will be aired on Amazon Prime Video. It’s a very special project for me because it’s the first time, I’m working with Dharma Productions and what better place to tell a love story than another love story? to the audiences.” If Musafir Cafe explores how love evolves over time, Nazdeekiyan will explore relationships through a very different lens, and I can’t wait for people to experience that.”With ‘Musafir Cafe’ continuing to receive positive feedback, Ruchir is already focused on his next project. As audiences continue to connect with Musafir Cafe, the director hopes that ‘Nazdeekiyan’ will deliver another heartfelt experience.