If only I could fix the present: ‘Berlin’ director Atul Sabharwal

Atul Sabharwal wrote ‘Berlin’ for the big screen, just like the period drama ‘Jubilee’, but both ended up releasing on OTT platforms. “When you’re writing a series, you aim for it to come out on a big platform. But whenever I write a feature film, the goal is always to have it on the big screen,” the director said.

It’s been over 10 years since he directed Arjun Kapoor in ‘Aurangzeb’ and Sabharwal said how much the entertainment industry’s economics and landscape have changed since then. “Now, when you’re making a movie, it’s not just about the film itself. There’s a studio involved and there’s money invested. Decisions are made based on how to best protect that investment or how to get the most out of the project. Those decisions aren’t fully in the hands of the director or the filmmaker,” he added.

Having said that, Sabharwal is thrilled with how well audiences have received his spy thriller ‘Berlin’ on ‘Zee5’. The film is based on his short story ‘The Decipherer’, which was told from the perspective of a deaf-mute character, with no mention of the roles played by Rahul Bose and Aparshakti Khurana. “In the short story, most of the action takes place inside the mind of the deaf-mute person. But a film can’t be like that, so I introduced the external element of an interrogation,” he said.

Having worked with Khurana in ‘Jubilee’, Sabharwal didn’t think twice before casting him as Pushkin in ‘Berlin’. “He’s one actor who balances both drama and comedy effortlessly. The credit for the performance goes entirely to him,” Sabharwal said.

Interestingly, both ‘Jubilee’ (for which he has written the screenplay) and ‘Berlin’ are period dramas. ‘Jubilee’ is set in the mid-1940s, during the era of undivided India, while ‘Berlin’ takes place in politically turbulent Delhi. When asked if he has a particular fascination with any time period, Sabharwal smiled and said, “Yes, the present. If I could only fix that.” He’s currently writing ‘Jubilee’ part two along with a few feature film scripts.