When she was a child, listening to stories was a daily ritual for filmmaker Aleya Sen Sharma before she went to bed. Kicking off her journey as an ad filmmaker under the tutelage of ace ad-man, the late Pradeep Sarkar, Aleya debuted in the world of filmmaking with Dil Junglee starring Taapsee Pannu. Post that, it was her production house Chrome Pictures with friends Amit Sharma and Hemant Bhandari that produced the trendsetter movie Badhaai Ho. Now, she is ready with her second feature film Trial Period, starring Genelia Deshmukh and Manav Kaul, which has a unique storyline – rent a father. Aleya chats with us about the same besides her future projects.
What's the idea behind Trial Period?
I had this idea for Trial Period in 2014 and its only now that I finally could make it. I feel in any woman’s journey as a mom, whether single or not, every mom at some point feels the need for a Man Friday. Also, the Gen-Alpha is so filter-free and can ask you for everything since everything is a product for them in this digital era -- they think very differently. It’s about the unconventional relationships we have today. A man on a 30-day trial period as a dad was a bit out-of-the-box when I thought about it a decade back but now, people are open to such relationships and especially post-Covid, trying to grab on to whatever there is to make them happy.
There are several deeper layers in the film that have been addressed with a lace of humour.
But it has a quirky approach to the pangs of parenting and different opinions are explored in fun-filled ways. It’s a slice of life with a pinch of humour and reflects the need of the time.
Were Genelia and Manav your first choices?
Yes, and I was very lucky that they agreed. Since I have an ad background, when I write a film, I don't have an actor in mind. I just write the story first and when that’s done, casting becomes the first and most important task. It’s a difficult job because first, you imagine a character that doesn't exist and then start looking for someone to transform into it. I don’t quite believe in going for predictable faces and Badhaai Ho is one very big example where we broke that notion with Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao. Genelia suits the role perfectly because she has a very happy predisposition in general. Since Manav is an intense actor I was wondering whether he would be open to a genre which is quirky but he was absolutely excited about the film.
Your upcoming projects?
My next film Poru is based in the Northeast and is about a special child. Besides that, I will be making another film, Guldasta, that explores the relationship of three sisters at a deeper level.