Exclusive| Kussh S Sinha on working with sister Sonakshi Sinha in his directorial venture Nikita Roy: “It could give off the wrong impression, kept it very professional”

With years of experience in the industry, Kussh refined his skills behind the scenes before taking the helm as director.

Filmmaker Kussh S Sinha is preparing to make a strong mark with his directorial debut, Nikita Roy, a feature film slated for theatrical release on June 27, 2025. Featuring a stellar cast that includes Sonakshi Sinha, Paresh Rawal, and Arjun Rampal, the film is positioned as a supernatural psycho-thriller that breaks away from traditional genre classifications.

Kussh doesn't categorise Nikita Roy solely as a psychological or horror film. Rather, he concentrates on developing a realistic story that uses mood and nuanced storytelling to create tension.

With years of experience in the industry, Kussh refined his skills behind the scenes before taking the helm as director. After assisting renowned director Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Saawariya, he went on to direct a number of short films and advertisements. His directing sensibility and cinematic style have been greatly influenced by these experiences.

In an exclusive interview with Money Control, Kussh opened up about why he chose Nikita Roy for his debut, his vision for the film, and the dynamic of collaborating with his sister Sonakshi Sinha.

Excerpts from the interview:

1.What was that one factor that made you choose Nikita Roy for your directorial debut?

As a filmmaker or as any creative artist, when you you're planning to do something, you definitely want to do something interesting. You definitely want to do something unique. So Nikita Roy, this script, even in its, original form, had that at its core.

It was about an investigator. And, again, also a female led character against a very strong antagonist. So those factors really appealed to me, you know, that it was a world that I could feel would translate well to film or, you know, or to the cinemas. So that's why I found the script intriguing enough to decide to, work on it and make it my first feature.
2.What is it that you look for in a script beyond just a strong plot — something that really speaks to you as a filmmaker?

I look for whether it speaks to me first, whether I whether I feel that has potential, you know, it has to speak to you as a viewer first. That would I be interested in watching this. If and not in an individual sense, but as a viewer, like, you would I pay money to watch this film? Sure. If I get a hint of that and then the script needs work, I'm willing to put in that work to improve it. But I think at the core of it, this is what I genuinely look for in a I do this step first.3.You've largely worked behind the scenes before your directorial debut. How did working as an assistant director shape your vision as a filmmaker?

I think more than shaping my vision as a filmmaker because I I've seen this happen often when, assistant directors work with, senior director or a company's director.

Sometimes they end up imbibing their style or their particular vision also, which I don't think is very healthy for somebody who's trying to, you know, create their own space in the film, industry. For me, it helped me it helped instill a sense of discipline. I think being an AD, I would recommend it to anybody who wants to be in the same business if they can get on a set and assist because it really teaches you a strong like, it instills in your strong discipline and a and a very strong work ethic. So I think more than, sort of affecting my cinematic vision, I think it really helped me, evolve my work ethic.

4. Was it a conscious decision to avoid the spotlight, considering your family background, or did the craft naturally pull you in this direction?

I did avoid the spotlight to some extent because my personal philosophy is you should always be worthy of the spotlight. You don't just, go and stand there because other people in your family have earned the spotlight. I never went on to the Kapil Sharma show inside of my family having gone multiple times. Because I feel that platform is for people who have done something or might who have, you know, at least done whatever they've done. At that point, I was still working on my feature.

I hadn't come out with it yet. So I constantly told my parents that, look, I would like to, skip this. Even though it's a great option, it will be in front of millions of people. But I don't think I would wanna come at this point on it. And they understood that also. Because my dad, again, he's coming from a background where he had to find his own way, grow his own way. So, yeah, I think he understood that.

5. The film Nikita Roy is described as not quite horror, not just mystery. What inspired you to blur genre lines in this way?

I think that if you want the longer version of how I describe it, it's a mystery with supernatural elements. The shorter version is a supernatural mystery or supernatural. What inspired me I again, the same thought process. We're watching content. Like, people are consuming content all the time now. If you don't offer them something unique, which in this case would be a mixed genre story, why would they pay attention to your story? I mean, conventional horror has been done. Romance has been done a lot in indie cinema. Action is also sort of being done well.

But, again, it's all been done. So I think today, you have to kind of think ahead of the curve. Right? What can you offer? What can you create that people would be interested in watching, versus just making the same thing that everyone else already made? That doesn't call viewers to watch your content, and neither does it, help you, sort of create your own space if you spend up copying everybody else.

6. Can you walk us through the creative journey of making Nikita Roy? Were there any key improvisations or unexpected changes that shaped the final film?

There were a lot of creative improvisation even on the script level. To be, to be, like yeah. To be frank, the original script had quite a few controversial moments in it, which I didn't want to keep because I'm a filmmaker. I want to reach out to people emotionally. I want them to have a good time. I want them to feel, emotions when they're watching a film. But I don't want to offend people just for the sake of offending them. So there are certain parts in the original script that we completely removed because I felt personally that it's not required.

Also, regards to shooting, like, a lot of times, I'd I would let I mean, the actors would improvise, and I'd also be happy to let that happen because they're all very talented actors. You know, whether it's Sonakshi, Pareshi, Arjun sir, or Sohail Nair, or even Kalli Roy, or even. They're all very talented actors. So I I like it when the process is organic because ultimately, filmmaking is a very organic process. I know there are some directors who believe in it being a very technical process, which it can be. But at least when it comes to scenes and shooting scenes, I believe there should be room for improvisation.

7. How was it directing your own sister Sonakshi? Were you both professionals or ghar ka mamla tha?

No no, it wasn’t like Ghar ka mamla. Because I think that has a trickle down effect. If people see me behaving familiar because she's my sister, it can possibly give off the wrong impression in a professional environment. So I kept it very professional. She is an experienced actor. She has, you know, a she's done a multitude of films. I have to keep that in mind when I'm working with her. She kept it completely professional.

8. Recently Deepika Padukone backed out of a film seeking eight-hour shift. Do you think producers will understand this and is work-life balance for women artists feasible?

I think the work life balance, sort of scenario applies to everyone, not just female artists. I mean, everybody works very hard on a film. So I think this depends on case to case. We would like we would like to be fair to anybody who's part of a film. But then I think before someone signs on, they also know what they're getting into that sometimes film should they do go into overtime. No one's trying to stretch the clock out. No one wants anybody on set to shoot for, twelve hours or fifteen hours, but sometimes these things do happen. So how does one adjust there? So I think one has to be fair to both parties.

Also read: Exclusive| Kussh S Sinha breaks silence on rumours about his absence from sister Sonakshi Sinha's wedding with Zaheer Iqbal, says ‘I was there, whoever has…’

I think as long as there's clear communication between both sides before work starts, I think these types of scenarios can be avoided. But I will say that I think one has to be fair to both sides. It's not just about an actor or not just about a producer. Both are investing their time, money, and resources into making a film.

9. Would you like to shed some light over the controversies that revolved around your sister Sonakshi Sinha’s wedding and about you not being a part of it?

I'll just put it shortly. I was there. So, you know, whoever has put out that story, should have done the fact checking because I was clearly there.