'Kaun Kitne Paani Mein' is a satire: Director

Nila Madhab Panda

The subject of his film 'Kaun Kitne Paani Mein' might be on water scarcity but director Nila Madhab Panda says rather than making a preachy drama, he has tackled the issue in a satirical manner.

Nila Madhab Panda

Starring Radhika Apte, Kunal Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla and Gulshan Grover in lead roles, the story follows the change in financial equation between two villages, when they are hit by a drought.

"This story is of the place I belong to. I grew up in a drought prone area. You can easily make an arthouse film, very dark, deeprooted...But I decided to make it in a different way.

"What we noticed was how these people were surviving. They are surviving by having interesting talks, jokes... Based on this I thought to make a satire. This is a genre, which I really like. We don't have many satires in Bollywood," Nila told PTI during his visit here.

The director, who made his debut with critically acclaimed "I Am Kalam", said he does not like being slotted into the "social filmmaker" category.

"I am often told 'You are a social filmmaker.' That's the last thing I would want to hear. I tell stories that I have lived so somehow my films become serious. And when I look around, I feel 'Why doesn't anyone call Singham a social film?

It also had a message," he said.

Praising his team of actors, Nila said they uplifted the film with their performances.

"The cast has uplifted the story. This is the benefit of having great actors. I was really happy to have worked with these four actors. They all put in so much that we did not realise how time passed."

Shukla said the human story behind the heavy subject attracted him towards the film.

"The film has a very important theme but the story is human. We see people falling in love in films for various reasons but this is the first time there will be a love story (between Kunal and Radhika), which is based on need of water."

Grover, who plays Apte's father and Shukla's arch rival in the film, said 'Kaun Kitne Paani Mein' is the perfect entertainer boasting of sincere performances.

"I get this feeling that people think it is a very preachy film or it is raising awareness about water scarcity. But I see it as a very entertaining film, with amazing acting, great story, good humour and an unusual music."

The film releases this Friday.