‘Garmi’ director Tigmanshu Dhulia: ‘As young students, at NSD, we felt one must speak up against the wrong’

Director Tigmanshu Dhulia, whose new OTT series 'Garmi' revisits his 2003 film 'Haasil'.

For filmmaker-writer-director Tigmanshu Dhulia, storytelling is all about the world a plot is set in, and how that world affects the characters. In his recent outing, the filmmaker explores a world that he is extremely familiar with — student politics in the Hindi belt. His latest political thriller drama, Garmi, which releases tomorrow (April 21) on SonyLIV, traces the journey of protagonist Arvind Shukla who leaves his little town at the behest of his father, to pursue his dream to crack the Civil Services and become an IAS officer. The series directed by Tigmanshu and produced by Swaroop Sampat and Hemal Thakkar, stars Anushka Sharma, Vyom Yadav, Puneet Singh, Vineet Kumar, Jatin Goswami, Pankaj Saraswat, Deepraj Rana, Mukesh Tiwari and Disha Thakur in key roles. In an interview with Moneycontrol, the filmmaker talks about his inspiration for making the series, his love and connect with the Hindi belt, memories of his happening student life at Delhi’s National School of Drama (NSD) and Allahabad University. Edited excerpts:

Garmi is the 2.0 version of your 20-year-old film Haasil (2003), starring Jimmy Sheirgill, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Irrfan and Ashutosh Rana. Would you agree?

Yes, the idea to make Garmi stemmed from this track of ‘let’s revisit Haasil’ (2003). I started researching on Garmi in 2020. The idea came from the fact that everyone would tell me to make content for youngsters. But whatever stuff is coming out now with young characters is not something which I make. I don’t watch such films; as they don’t interest me and, I feel, that world is kind of fake. They only deal with a few youngsters who stay in metropolitan cities, but baaki ka Hindustan kya keh raha hai? After 20 years of Haasil, it is a completely new generation. What are they thinking, what is their value system, unki morality ka sense kya hai? So, let’s talk about them, I thought. I’d made Haasil, so I thought let’s revisit Haasil and talk about campus culture, campus politics, university and the youngsters of today.

Is the story set in Allahabad University?

We have not said Allahabad anywhere in the series, it’s a fictitious city. I went to Allahabad because I knew the space, the campus, the city. It was for the location, because the city has some great locations, but it kind of represents north India, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, the entire Hindi-speaking belt. This mass of land, they all kind of think similarly, because we share a common history. So, the DNA is almost the same, puri tarah nahi but kaafi kuchh.

The lead character of Garmi, Arvind Shukla, played Vyom Yadav, what about him do you connect with? Does he remind you of your student life in Dehradun, Allahabad and the NSD?

I only studied briefly, for six months, in Dehradun. I was born and brought up in Allahabad. I am a pure Allahabadi. Garmi is not about a plot, it traces the journey of this character. Arvind Shukla comes from a chhota sa kasba, not even as big as a gaon (village), where there is an intercollege and his father is a principal there.  He has aspirations of UPSC and becoming an IAS officer. Ghar mein behenein hain, he has responsibilities at home. The boy is very intelligent and kaafi tezz hai padaai mein. He wants to stay but his father wants him to go to town because ‘maahaul se seekhta hai aadmi’ (people learn from their surroundings). Just like everyone, he also has a flaw in his character, a tragic flaw — he loses his temper easily. He can’t control his anger, uska haath uth jaata hai, ya woh kuchh bol deta hai. That is his problem. I have traced his life in the university. He comes from a Hindi-medium background, but is determined to learn English. Uske andar hai lalak English padhne ki. This story is simple but this is not his world. Garmi has a lot of young actors, who have done the best work in it, created a very interesting world, one in which many people have spent a part of their lives, so,  it will be a nostalgic piece for them.

You have seen students’ politics in your time as a student in the Hindi belt. What is the most noticeable changed that you found while researching for this series?

When we were students, we would go to study on cycles or scooters. But these days, there are SUVs parked outside campuses and these are 21- to 23-year-old youngsters. That itself explains it.

In your early 20s, during your NSD days, you’ve been part of morchas, relay hunger-strikes, got written about in newspapers for protests... What led to all that?

I did my graduation from Allahabad University for two years. Ours was probably the last batch that graduated in two years, after that, it became a three-year stint. University mein, for two years, we were busy with too many activities — there was theatre, guitar playing, a band, classes, studies. I graduated, aged 19, and joined the NSD. In those days, as young students, we felt that if there was something wrong happening, then you must speak up against it, aawaaz uthana thaa. As soon as I entered drama school, we had a major protest. In my batch, we had a lot of good students including the late Nirmal Pandey, Sanjay Mishra, Navneet Nishan and just within 10-15 days of joining the NSD, we had a major event. There was a rule at NSD, that once you join the drama school you cannot work outside or earn money, because every student was on a scholarship. Before joining, Navneet had done a film and some dubbing was left to be done so she had to come to Mumbai for that. And that was why she was made to leave NSD. While it was great that NSD had strict rules and discipline, we felt it was unfair that she was asked to leave. So we protested, ‘strike karo, boss’. And everyone was surprised that we had hardly been 15 days on the campus and we have gone on a strike. Our point was that she hadn’t taken any new work — she’d just gone to complete the pending work, so she should not be rusticated. We went on to strike for 15 days and they had to take Navneet back! Drama school had a huge legacy, many stalwarts have been its alumnus. And so, it was common that if any protest at the drama school would become big news. A big photo with the headlines ‘National School Of Drama students go on strike’ would be published on Page 3 of the newspapers. So, kaafi tehelka sa mach jaata thha.

When you were making Garmi, how did you decide on the number of episodes?

We gave the story a good ending and left it there, and left it such that if this sees good success then we'll make a second season.

You’ve been working in this industry for around 25 years. What has been your biggest takeaway?

My biggest takeaway is that filmmaking is an art form and you cannot be bigger than the film.

What is your advice to young filmmakers?

Keep observing, because only that is your ATM. The day you stop observing, you will stagnate, you'll become boring.