Director Advait Chandan talks all things Loveyapa—from not treating it as a star kids’ launch vehicle to being proud of Junaid Khan’s conduct in promotions even as the internet slams his awkward behaviour
Khushi Kapoor and Junaid Khan in Loveyapa
Director Advait Chandan is getting the “exam-wali feeling” as Loveyapa readies for release this Friday. But this is an exam that the director was reluctant to take in the first place, he tells us. When producer Madhu Mantena bought the rights to the Tamil hit, Love Today (2022), and asked Chandan if he wanted to adapt it, his answer was a straight no. “I said that I don’t want to do a remake. After Laal Singh Chaddha [2022], I had decided I’d work on something original and not do a remake. I was writing something of my own,” he narrates. But when Mantena persuaded him to watch the rom-com revolving around a young couple, who exchange their phones before getting married, he had a change of heart. ADVERTISEMENTChandan was sold as far as the story was concerned. But he had reservations whether Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor were the right choice to lead the Hindi adaptation. With his dilemma, he went to the one person he trusts the most in the industry—frequent collaborator and Junaid’s superstar-father Aamir Khan. “I was unsure of both Junaid and Khushi. Maharaj [2024] hadn’t released, nor had The Archies [2023]. So, I went to meet Aamir sir and told him, ‘A film has been offered to me with Junaid and Khushi attached. I’m considering taking the film up, but I don’t know if Junaid is the right person for the film.’ He said, ‘Take up the film. If you think Junaid is not right for the part, then drop him. I won’t mind it and won’t create any pressure on you. You do whatever is right for your film.’ He suggested that I do readings, auditions, and hang out with them and if at the end of the process, I feel they aren’t right, I should let go of them. That was very reassuring,” he smiles. Advait ChandanOver the next two months of readings and prep, the young actors won Chandan over with their “hard work and dedication,” sealing their place in Loveyapa. While it marks the big-screen debut of Junaid and Kapoor, the younger daughter of late Sridevi, the director asserts he didn’t approach the film as a launch vehicle for the two star kids.
Chandan says, “If a producer comes to me with a budget and a good story, I will make it with anybody who is talented. Khushi and Junaid didn’t walk in with the attitude that ‘I am Sridevi’s daughter’ or ‘I am Aamir Khan’s son’. They came with the approach of making this film well. Khushi made a playlist for her character, she sent me colours that she thought Bani would wear. The pressure was not to launch a star kid. My responsibility is not to star kids, it’s to the audience who has given me their time and money. If I managed to entertain them, I have also done right by Junaid and Khushi. I approached them as two professionals, who needed to know their lines, be emotive and professional. They were all these things. By collaborating to make a good film, we all helped each other. What does that have to do with who is whose father?”
Aamir Khan and Advait Chandan
In the last few weeks, the two young leads have aggressively promoted the film. The director takes immense pride in the way Junaid, a self-confessed introvert, has made public appearances. Tell him that the actor’s awkwardness is glaring, and Chandan replies, “It takes immense amount of strength and courage to stand in front of an audience that is so quick to throw eggs and tomatoes at you, and troll you. He still stands, does that one step again and again, and takes all of that just because he is keen on calling people to theatres. I take immense pride in that boy. It’s easy to go on stage or feature in a reel when you’re a good dancer. But when you’re a terrible dancer, to stand on stage and do that hook step takes courage.”
But isn’t it unfair to make an actor, clearly uncomfortable with putting himself out there, engage in excessive promotions? Chandan shoots back, “Did your heart go out to him? If yes, then my job is done. This is what makes an actor a star.”
As he gears up for the Friday test, it also brings back memories of the last Friday two years ago when he had failed. Chandan’s Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) may be widely loved today, but upon release, the Aamir and Kareena Kapoor Khan-starrer had tanked at the box office. It’s understandable when the director says he is still not over it. “I went into a dark space. I took the failure to my heart; those days have still not ended. I still feel very emotional when someone says they like Laal Singh Chaddha. I care about the audience and every critic. I have read every comment on the film’s trailer on YouTube and every comment about the film on X (formerly Twitter). When the film didn’t land for a lot of people, it knocked me out.” While Aamir has publicly expressed that he believed his performance was one of the reasons for the film’s fate, his director disagrees. “Aamir sir has a lot of grace and maturity to process it, I did not. I just shut down. I didn’t know if I could make a film again. But then, I got back and said let’s do better this time. While making Laal Singh Chaddha, I cared about every aspect of that film. I cared about Aamir sir’s performance. His performance landed for me. When I remember the scene in which he is sitting at Rupa’s grave, I choke up even now.”
Did he fear for his career after the debacle of Laal Singh Chaddha, considering he was at the helm of a superstar vehicle? “A director absolutely fears whether he will get enough work after a superstar vehicle doesn’t work. I am grateful to Aamir sir because without him, I wouldn’t have the craft or a career. I wouldn’t be anywhere without him. The way Munna Bhai hallucinates about Gandhi ji, I hallucinate about Aamir sir,” he grins.
Director Advait Chandan is getting the “exam-wali feeling” as Loveyapa readies for release this Friday. But this is an exam that the director was reluctant to take in the first place, he tells us. When producer Madhu Mantena bought the rights to the Tamil hit, Love Today (2022), and asked Chandan if he wanted to adapt it, his answer was a straight no. “I said that I don’t want to do a remake. After Laal Singh Chaddha [2022], I had decided I’d work on something original and not do a remake. I was writing something of my own,” he narrates. But when Mantena persuaded him to watch the rom-com revolving around a young couple, who exchange their phones before getting married, he had a change of heart.
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Chandan was sold as far as the story was concerned. But he had reservations whether Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor were the right choice to lead the Hindi adaptation. With his dilemma, he went to the one person he trusts the most in the industry—frequent collaborator and Junaid’s superstar-father Aamir Khan. “I was unsure of both Junaid and Khushi. Maharaj [2024] hadn’t released, nor had The Archies [2023]. So, I went to meet Aamir sir and told him, ‘A film has been offered to me with Junaid and Khushi attached. I’m considering taking the film up, but I don’t know if Junaid is the right person for the film.’ He said, ‘Take up the film. If you think Junaid is not right for the part, then drop him. I won’t mind it and won’t create any pressure on you. You do whatever is right for your film.’ He suggested that I do readings, auditions, and hang out with them and if at the end of the process, I feel they aren’t right, I should let go of them. That was very reassuring,” he smiles.
Advait Chandan
Over the next two months of readings and prep, the young actors won Chandan over with their “hard work and dedication,” sealing their place in Loveyapa. While it marks the big-screen debut of Junaid and Kapoor, the younger daughter of late Sridevi, the director asserts he didn’t approach the film as a launch vehicle for the two star kids.
Chandan says, “If a producer comes to me with a budget and a good story, I will make it with anybody who is talented. Khushi and Junaid didn’t walk in with the attitude that ‘I am Sridevi’s daughter’ or ‘I am Aamir Khan’s son’. They came with the approach of making this film well. Khushi made a playlist for her character, she sent me colours that she thought Bani would wear. The pressure was not to launch a star kid. My responsibility is not to star kids, it’s to the audience who has given me their time and money. If I managed to entertain them, I have also done right by Junaid and Khushi. I approached them as two professionals, who needed to know their lines, be emotive and professional. They were all these things. By collaborating to make a good film, we all helped each other. What does that have to do with who is whose father?”
Aamir Khan and Advait Chandan
In the last few weeks, the two young leads have aggressively promoted the film. The director takes immense pride in the way Junaid, a self-confessed introvert, has made public appearances. Tell him that the actor’s awkwardness is glaring, and Chandan replies, “It takes immense amount of strength and courage to stand in front of an audience that is so quick to throw eggs and tomatoes at you, and troll you. He still stands, does that one step again and again, and takes all of that just because he is keen on calling people to theatres. I take immense pride in that boy. It’s easy to go on stage or feature in a reel when you’re a good dancer. But when you’re a terrible dancer, to stand on stage and do that hook step takes courage.”
But isn’t it unfair to make an actor, clearly uncomfortable with putting himself out there, engage in excessive promotions? Chandan shoots back, “Did your heart go out to him? If yes, then my job is done. This is what makes an actor a star.”
As he gears up for the Friday test, it also brings back memories of the last Friday two years ago when he had failed. Chandan’s Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) may be widely loved today, but upon release, the Aamir and Kareena Kapoor Khan-starrer had tanked at the box office. It’s understandable when the director says he is still not over it. “I went into a dark space. I took the failure to my heart; those days have still not ended. I still feel very emotional when someone says they like Laal Singh Chaddha. I care about the audience and every critic. I have read every comment on the film’s trailer on YouTube and every comment about the film on X (formerly Twitter). When the film didn’t land for a lot of people, it knocked me out.” While Aamir has publicly expressed that he believed his performance was one of the reasons for the film’s fate, his director disagrees. “Aamir sir has a lot of grace and maturity to process it, I did not. I just shut down. I didn’t know if I could make a film again. But then, I got back and said let’s do better this time. While making Laal Singh Chaddha, I cared about every aspect of that film. I cared about Aamir sir’s performance. His performance landed for me. When I remember the scene in which he is sitting at Rupa’s grave, I choke up even now.”
Did he fear for his career after the debacle of Laal Singh Chaddha, considering he was at the helm of a superstar vehicle? “A director absolutely fears whether he will get enough work after a superstar vehicle doesn’t work. I am grateful to Aamir sir because without him, I wouldn’t have the craft or a career. I wouldn’t be anywhere without him. The way Munna Bhai hallucinates about Gandhi ji, I hallucinate about Aamir sir,” he grins.
