Sooraj Barjatya: It is a new kind of ‘Uunchai’ for me as well

The writer-director on working with Amitabh Bachchan, the challenges of shooting with an elderly cast in the heartwarming tale of ‘Uunchai,’ the Rajshri Productions template, and more

When one asks Sooraj Barjatya why a youngster would watch  Uunchai, a tale of elderly friends climbing up to the base camp of Mt. Everest, the writer-director recalls how when he bought a smart phone for his father (Raj Kumar Barjatya), he could not figure out how it worked. “He was trying, but I took the phone from his hand and said I will do it for you. I should have allowed him to experiment and figure it out for himself.” 

Uunchai, he says, tells youngsters that their parents don’t necessarily want to sit at home. “They want to cross forests and rivers and climb mountains. I am 57 now and I also look at the next 10 years of my life. We all have to climb our own little heights for which we should prepare ourselves.”

The writer-director, who changed the face of Hindi cinema at the turn of the 1990s with simple, emotional love stories, where traditional family values mattered, reminds us that the Rajshri Productions has never dragged its feet from change. Be it  Dosti (1964) or  Saaransh (1984), it has dealt with the themes of selfless friendship and elderly protagonists in the past as well. “Elders should encourage youngsters to watch the film, because  Uunchai shows a friendship that is not dependant on social media and phones. They actually have time for each other.”

Excerpts from an interview:

The subject of  Uunchai came to me in 2016 when writer Sunil Gandhi narrated the story of four people above 65 years of age, who have been friends for 50 years. One of them dies and the other three take this trip upto to the Everest base camp, and along the way, discover that how young and alive they are.

I found out in real life that people upto 70 years of age can go there. I bought the rights, but I was looking for the right director who could do justice to this story of hope. As I have never done an outdoor film, I thought it would not be my cup of tea. However, the pandemic became the catalyst when we realised that things like money and looks don’t decide who is the hero; the one who has courage is the real hero. 

Uunchai is the story of courage and challenging oneself. The thought didn’t leave me. I have made it with a sense of liberty, not really bothering about how the first day collection will be like, how big the music is, or how opulent the sets are. It is a very real film, the most layered film of mine in terms of characterisation. It is a new kind of  Uunchai for me as well.