Captain Anuj Nayyar Biopic Dhoop Turns 21, Director Ashwini Chaudhary Calls It His 'Favourite Film' - Exclusive

Captain Anuj Nayyar Biopic: Dhoop, directed by Ashwini Chaudhary, completed 21 years. Loosely based on the life of Captain Anuj Nayyar, MVC and his family, the film starred Gul Panag, Om Puri and Revathi. On the biopic's 21st anniversary, Zoom spoke to director Ashwini who called it his favourite film. Excerpts from the interview:

21 years of your best-known film?It seems like yesterday. Memories of making Dhoop are still very much alive in my mind. Today I miss Om Puriji, S K Nayyar, whose character Om Ji played on screen, Jagjit Singh who sang five ghazals, Nida Fazli who penned them and Sanjay Chauhan who along with Kumud Chaudhary, wrote the script. Even after 21 years and many more films as director, Dhoop still remains my favourite film. Why is it your favourite?I believe it is my most honest film and that is why it still gets the same love today even after 21 years . Was the film made with the support of the Nayyar family?Yes , I saw Professor S K Nayyar’s interview with Barkha Dutt on NDTV . I went to Delhi met the couple few times in the process of writing the script. Shared the first draft with them and the first screening was also held for them in Delhi. I am still in touch with Mrs Nayyar who runs the Kargil Heights petrol pump. Were all the actors in Dhoop your first choices?Revathy, Gul Panag and Sanjay Suri were. For Prof Nayyar’s role, I first met Nana Patekar. And then Om ji . Dhoop got wide acclaim. Did its box-office failure disappoint you?It was made on a shoestring budget. The producers made money. There were no multiplexes at that point of time. People have been watching it on different OTT platforms for years now. That makes me happy. If you had a chance to make the film again, would you change anything?Not much in terms of script . There were some loopholes which I would like to correct . And then as director of course I was raw and fresh back then, so I think I can handle such a sensitive subject with more maturity today . What are you working on now?I have been producing films in Hindi , Marathi and Tamil as President of Golden Ratio Films. As director yes, just finished my next script it will start mounting now.