5th September is a simple story told with utmost honesty – Kunal Shamshere Malla

Kunal Shamshere Malla started his career as an educationist and entrepreneur. Since he always had a creative bent of mind, he ended up acting in a few films. He turned producer with the film ‘1978 – A Teen Night Out’ which released in 2018. Now, he dons the director’s hat for ‘5^th September’, a film which releases in theatres on 18 July. Kunal has also played one of the key characters in the film.

In this interview, Kunal talks about the challenges associated with making a sports drama, directing veteran actors and newcomers, the importance of a script, upcoming projects and more.

In an interview, you have stated that ‘5^th September’ is the biggest Bollywood film to have come out of Uttarakhand.

We have tried our best. Our film has been screened at various film festivals and won more than 40 awards. It is getting a wide release across the country. We shot the entire film in Uttarakhand. We have tried several new things with this film. It is a Hindi film but has two Garhwali songs. I hope our film manages to give a facelift to the Garhwali film industry. We hope the entire world realizes how beautiful and glorious Uttarakhand is while watching the film.

The cast comprises of veteran actors like Sanjay Mishra, Atul Srivastava, Victor Banerjee, Kavin Dave, Sarika Singh Dave, Kiran Dubey, Deep Raj Rana and Brijendra Kala. along with a bunch of newcomers. How was the experience of directing all the actors?

This is my first film as a director. When you are making your debut film, you have a lot of enthusiasm within you. You are not aware of the complications you could encounter along the way. It is relatively easy to make a film with 4-5 characters. Making a sports film is very tough. Our film has a large number of characters. Shooting the football sequences was very tough. We had a good sports choreographer on board. Though there were challenges, the entire experience was very good. Once I decided to go ahead with this subject, I didn’t look back. It was an honour to get the opportunity to direct so many veteran actors in my first film as a director. The youngsters, too, performed very well. The emotions have come out beautifully. ‘5^th September’ is a simple story told with utmost honesty.

How long did it take for you finalize the script?

It took us three years to lock the script. At one point, we got a writer from Mumbai involved. We were, however, not too satisfied with the results. I re-wrote the script with my life. When you have gone through certain experiences yourself, it is easier to write about them. I have always been a fan of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s films. I feel we are slowly forgetting the art of telling a story in a simple manner. I wanted to make a film which would bring a smile on the audience’s face and a tear in their eye. Through this film, I have tried to tell a simple story about the equation between students and teachers and the dreams which we live for.

In films, you started your career as an actor. When did you decide to become a filmmaker?

There was no plan to make a film. For the longest time, I didn’t think that I was capable of making a film. A few years ago, I produced a film and now, I have produced and directed a film in the form of ‘5^th September’. We shot the film over two schedules. I feel all of this has happened because of God’s blessings.

What are you making next?

I will be directing a police procedural next. It is based on a real-life case which was solved by an officer from Rajasthan. We are working on the script at the moment. I have always believed in working very hard on the script. Unless you get the script right, you should not move ahead.