Making your first film is tough, more so when it doesn’t fit the template of mainstream fare. But Vinod Rawat, Hrithik Roshan’s long-standing acting coach, was certain that Pushtaini—which tells the story of an aspiring actor in Mumbai, who takes a life-altering journey back home to Uttarakhand—would be made. “When I pitched the script to people around, they didn’t react positively. I understand it, because Pushtaini doesn’t have the familiar tropes of a Hindi film,” says the actor-director, who also served as a co-writer.