Ayan Mukerji: It was my destiny to do 'Brahmastra'

Nestled in a remote corner of the old Dharma Productionsrsquo office in Khar is Ayan Mukerjirsquos workstationmdashthe birthing ground for Brahmstra One quick look around and you find props books research material and everything else that is required to create what is touted to be one of the most awaited films of the last few years We sit down to chat with the filmmaker who returns nine years after the blockbuster Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani 2013 to discuss a film that no one expected him to make and one that everyone cautioned him againstAlso ReadAyan Mukerji introduces secret society of sages featured in Brahmastra dissects various astrasAyan MukerjiBirth Of BrahmastraldquoWe jumped into the ocean without a floatrdquo starts Mukerji with a laugh when we asked him where he began For a homegrown first of its kind superhero movie he had no reference point ldquoSome of these big things if you know too much when you begin itrsquos so daunting that yoursquoll never start It was my destiny to do this movie Someone walked into my office and saw the trishul and realised the amount of shiva energy in this project She said that anything with Shivarsquos name is difficult but when the results come it will be heartening It threw up odd challenges Karan Johar producer had announced a release date of 2018 With every passing phase of this film I believed even more that we are on to make a film thatrsquos unique incredible and special If we get this right we make an impact thatrsquos beyond a mere successful run of the boxoffice The impact of Star Wars Avatar or Bahubali We were walking with the giant movies in our mind We knew we were not a regular film Building something of this nature was bound to take timehelliprdquoThe VanarastraGenesis of the AstraverseBorrowing the motifs from mythology Mukerji knew early on that his film is a blend of modern age philosophy blended with the stories of Gods and Goddesses wersquove grown up with He explains ldquoThe elements came over the years I am connected with Hinduism I am inspired by Lord Shiva because my family feels spiritually connected with Maa Durga Ma Kali and Shiva Puranas It was always a part of my life I was obsessed with stories of Gods and Goddesses as a kid My favourite film as a kid was Har Har Mahadev which is a film with Dara Singh as Shiva I used to watch the movie and it spoke to me When we were starting the reference in my mind was of Raone which Shah Rukh Khan made That film was drawn from technology robotics I got to draw from mythology and was looking at a film on technology It was so abstract that it was years before we could craft a storyrdquoAlso ReadAlia Bhatt mighty impressed with the Fan Art of her upcoming film BrahmastraIn Mukerji we found a fellow Potter head too which he credits as inspiration Not only did that nudge him to rake up the courage to build a universe from scratch but he also believes Brahmastra has a similar fantasy spirit ldquoAfter my teenage years I realised the Harry Potter series were one of my favourite creations of all time I was lost in those books That degree of entertainment and stimulation had not happened in our movies The genre attracts me When the idea came to me I was in the Himalayas There is a primal feeling you get in the mountains where you feel connected to the roots of this nation If we get into the heart of the story of Brahmastra one must remember that it is a modern film It unfolds in India today A part of my natural filmmaking wrote about modern characters and modern relationships I have kept that alive in the film We have discussed spirituality in a relatable fashion that connects with todayrsquos generation Through action fantasy the VFX all the masala love story at its core there is a spiritual depth which we were trying to achieve I was chasing what spirituality means to me and translated that celluloid I had followed that essence in Wake up Sid and Yeh Jawaanihellip as wellrdquoA lot of our technical research followed thereon From reading Devdutt Patnaikrsquos works to bring in interesting motifs to researching on the unspoken truths about Shiva Mukerji amassed it all into the screenplay ldquoYou know there is this word people throw around a lot energy We are all chasing positive energy I have tried to marry my modern philosophies with stories that run deep in our country and bring it together in Brahmastra Bit by bit we created the astraverse Vanarastra Nandiastra Prabhastra Jalastra Pawanastra and Brahmastra It starts with a visual of rishimunis meditating in the Himalayas and is bestowed with a vardan of brahmshakti These astras are manifestations of different energies that exist around usAlia Bhatt and Ranbir KapoorFinding his support system in AliaRanbirThe filmmaker has no bones in admitting that he and his leading man Ranbir Kapoor have a vast gamut to cover with the franchise ldquoIt is a vast subject and if anyone would have understood my abstract notions it would be Ranbir We are close as people I can say anything to him in the most vulnerable state It has always been our equation which is why we could make a Wake up Sid together He can hear me out deeply He allows directors to share vision no matter how abstract how vague it is He internalises this character He and Alia had to carry the film with me It is a pregnancy that is in you Every dinner conversation every chill session has always been about this movierdquo He sheepishly admits that he has been a vibe disruptor in far too many hangout sessions ldquoSince 2011 Ranbir has been hearing about Brahmastra The prep was different He has the fire connection in him so there were people who helped him understand how that element will work at a screen levelrdquoIn an industry designed to churn movie after movie every Friday was there never any pressure from his actors or producers or the Star Studios rebranded name of the studio to make it fast ldquoI have been bullish through the making of this film I found myself through this movie But people allowed me to make the movie I am making Even when they didnrsquot allow me I was forceful in asserting my vision But I have never been egotistical about the fact that it is my creation I knew my thinking was in a good direction But I am still making a commercial mainstream movie So it needed to have the artistic finesse like Harry Potter Lord of the Rings Bahubali which is great storytelling palatable to everyone People around responded to me with kindness The film has it in itself to be bigger No one will come to the theatres to watch an ordinary film If you want peoplersquos time you have to make it special I hope Brahmastra does well so storytellers chase out of the ordinary ideas in mainstream space We need to reduce the amount of churn James Cameron took so many years to make Avatar K Asif took a decade to make Mughal E Azam I find time itself a silly conversation If you want people to invest in you you have to take the time and do good workrdquoFuture of the franchise Somewhere between 2014 and 2022 during the filmrsquos making OTT space in India grew abundantly One might believe that the web could be the next direction for Mukerjirsquos astraverse Does he agree ldquoAs we started to build our fantasy derived from Indian inspirations we were caught up in the filmmaking process of how to translate it on celluloid The subject we have is a blackhole and while I had a basic story for part 2 and 3 the thinking has shifted drastically from our end The main astra is the Brahmastra and then there are other astras protected by the group These astras exist in modern India which is a dynamic space for stories Ideas upon ideas came For instance Vanarastra is an astra which whoever controls has the power of a supervanar something inspired from Lord Hanuman The spirit is different from Lord Shivarsquos energy which is the driving force for part one We feel we could take these ideas and make another filmrdquoHe and his core team Mukerji says has only worked on this project since 2015 ldquoThere is a different fun in making a movie like this That you are completely consumed by Remember the frenzy around Game of thrones I feel we can create something like that on the back of Brahmastra My emphasis right now is on the filmrsquos trilogy and to make it high quality It is not about making a hit film with ten sequels We have to maintain qualityrdquoWhat Brahmastra means for IndiaOpportunities and investments to create such homegrown projects are rare In such a scenario one always feels the pressure of doing it right As the creator of the universe that releases soon for the world to see Ayan feels this is the foot in the door for more of such storytelling to follow ldquoBrahmastra is an original film and it is only coming together now with the VFX work done I hope there will be fan theories and conspiracy theories once the film releases As a studio Disney has been tied with the film through the making It is listed as one of their major international releases I did a talk at the Disney Studio Summit which was the first time an international film had gone there We were amongst Avatar and Marvel presentations and I was talking about Lord Shiva and Kali Ma The concept of Shakti I realised people responded to it and everyone enjoyed it Brahmastra is means to a larger end in terms of storytelling We must allow this storytelling to seep in outside India Slowly people will watch the film and understand the imagery of Shiva what it means There is an interest in local subcultures With Disney on board not only are we hopeful of a big global release but an international access on streamingrdquoAs he nears close to release he is coming up for air finally ldquoMy core team and I have been too caught up in doing this project 11 years since the idea nine years since Yeh Jawaani released and seven years since I got into the office with the script of the film A part of me is looking forward to the day that the film is released and I can go to a cute bistro and eat lunch with friendshelliprdquo Well earned one would say