As a filmmaker, you have to react to the times,” says Sudhir Mishra, at one point in our conversation. The line probably best encapsulates his movies — be it Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2005) that is set against the Emergency, or Serious Men (2020) that studies class difference. Expectedly, his next, Afwaah too is built on the pillars of realism and relevance.  

Through the Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Bhumi Pednekar-starrer, the director explores the menace of misinformation prevalent in India today. “If you repeat a lie often enough, today, it becomes the truth. You cannot convince a dumb lot of people that this is a lie. That can have dangerous consequences. I thought that was a great basis for a thriller, which also comments on our times,” says Mishra. He lived with the central idea of Afwaah for quite some time before putting pen to paper. After he finished scripting, the director could only imagine his Serious Men collaborator Siddiqui in the lead role.