‘A filmmaker can’t disguise non-coherence and call it art’: Raghav Khanna on the golden age of documentaries and Unbroken: The Unmukt Chand Story

What drew you to Unmukt Chand’s story for your next feature?

Those who follow cricket closely, remember the flamboyance with which Unmukt won us the U-19 World Cup in 2012, beating Australia on their home turf. This came just a year after India had won the senior 50-over World Cup. I can’t recall another junior cricketer who was so widely tipped to be the “next big thing,” with direct comparisons to Virat Kohli, who himself was still emerging at that time. For a moment, Unmukt was the next big thing. And then you remember him for that infamous Brett Lee delivery in the IPL, which, according to many, derailed his career.

Over the years, he faded from public memory. And suddenly, in 2021, I read that he was retiring from Indian cricket. That struck me, how was this young prodigy from just 6-7 years ago now stepping away from the game? I was curious. I reached out to him. I wanted to know: What happened? So I travelled to the U.S. to meet him, where he was trying to find his footing in the emerging American cricket scene. That got me thinking: why is someone with this level of talent leaving Indian cricket and moving to the U.S. of all places to still play cricket? I realized there was a human story here, a story of resilience and broken dreams.

I shared my vision with his family, and they were open to it, perhaps because of what they’d been through. I tried to capture that from a third-person lens. For the last two and a half years, I’ve followed him very closely, his ups and downs. This journey isn’t just about cricket; it’s about life. Every athlete wakes up every day and trains with no guarantee, no assurance of making the team or getting picked. But the effort still has to be 100%. You pay your dues in advance, with no promise of return. It mirrors life for all of us. At 19, you’re hailed as the next big thing. At 24, you’re forgotten. That reflects the harsh, unforgiving nature of sport, and life.

What does your documentary filmmaking process usually look like, from the initial idea to shooting?

The process of making a documentary is very different from fiction films. Many filmmakers are drawn to it because you don’t start with a complete script, you don’t know the ending. The story reveals itself, often in unexpected ways. As a filmmaker, you’re on a journey alongside your subject. When I started this film, I had some parts of Unmukt’s story already. His backstory, his emergence from a humble and very relatable background in Delhi, and how cricket, this powerful binding force in India, was such a big part of his and his family’s dreams. That was the foundation I could build on.

But another part of the story was unfolding in real time. That part was about coming to terms with failure, about recalibrating your life after a setback. It was also about the dynamic of a young couple navigating their identity as immigrants in a foreign land. It was about taking a leap of faith, leaving behind the comfort of the familiar to chase a dream in completely uncharted territory. We couldn’t predict how the next year and a half would play out for him, but we knew there were milestones ahead. It became a very intimate, personal journey. We spent around 40-45 days with him over two years, closely tracking his life. At one point, it really looked like he would make the U.S. squad for the T20 World Cup in 2024. He had a great run in the Minor League and a solid performance in the Major League. A part of me was hopeful, almost convinced, that we’d have a fairy-tale ending: Unmukt, in an American jersey, playing in the World Cup, against India. But that didn’t happen.

For two weeks, I just sat there, holding my head in my hands. I had spent two years of my life immersed in this, and now we didn’t have the ending we were building towards. I felt lost. And that’s when the essence of documentary filmmaking hit me. You don’t control the story. You don’t control the characters or their outcomes. That’s exactly why this form is so powerful. That’s why I love it. The story gave me a completely different ending, one none of us imagined. And now, in hindsight, I think it resonates even more deeply with people’s daily lives.

 

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You were part of the team that commissioned The Elephant Whisperers, which went on to win an Oscar. Can you sense early on that a project has the potential to connect so widely?

When you’re working for a streamer or a studio, your approach has to be twofold. First, there’s data: audience research, viewership patterns, engagement metrics. That data often points you in a certain direction, and it’s valid. Over time, you begin to trust that a lot of those signals are accurate. They help you assess the scale or potential reach of a project. How wide it can go, how deeply it might connect.

But at the same time, you have to rely on instinct. On the story’s merit. It’s a novelty. Its potential to be disruptive. And, most importantly, the director’s and producer’s passion and ability to tell that story authentically. That’s where the magic lies. That’s when real disruption happens, when someone tells a story in a way that hasn’t been done before. If you only follow data or algorithms blindly, you risk falling into the trap that television fell into: everything becomes formulaic, risk-averse, and driven solely by numbers. And storytelling suffers. You end up trading originality for short-term returns.

This is a high-risk medium. It operates in a space that’s often beyond what numbers can predict. And fortunately, both in India and globally, we have some really sharp studio and streaming executives who understand this balance, and make decisions with that nuance in mind. To answer your question directly: no, you can never be 100% sure that something will work. Whether it’s on the big screen or on streaming, that uncertainty is the beauty of this business. Nobody really knows anything.

In a previous interview, you described this as a golden era for documentary filmmakers. But at the same time, many acclaimed filmmakers have argued that they still struggle to get their films commissioned or screened in India. Many rely heavily on grants, often through a long and exhausting process. How do you see this contradiction?

I think we now have an ecosystem that enables storytelling in the documentary genre, something that simply didn’t exist 5–6 years ago. And that’s the result of a concentrated, deliberate effort. Today, there are studios, streamers, and producers who are open to backing documentary filmmakers and their stories.

Now, one thing that applies not just to documentaries but to filmmaking as a whole is this: a story is ultimately judged on its merit, the strength of the narrative, the clarity of the filmmaker’s vision, and the commercial framework within which it can be executed. For documentaries, that framework has expanded significantly in recent years. So yes, the opportunity is real, but with that also comes greater responsibility for the filmmaker. If you’re seeking commercial backing or mainstream distribution, then the onus is on you to tell a coherent, compelling story.

You can’t disguise non-coherence and call it art and experimentation. Experimentation absolutely has its place, and it’s valuable. But if you’re positioning your film within the mainstream ecosystem, then you also have to respect the trust being placed in you by producers, platforms, and, most importantly, the audience. As a filmmaker, your job is to tell the story truthfully, with a clear lens and a distinct voice. But you also have to be mindful that we’re all, filmmakers, producers, studios, platforms, ultimately working for the audience. That’s the end goal.

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It’s great that Unbroken got a theatrical release. What do you think needs to change, or evolve, to create a consistent ecosystem for documentary distribution and exhibition in India?

This is a twofold challenge. First, there needs to be a consistent supply of strong, engaging documentary stories that justify a theatrical release, even if it’s a limited or semi-wide release. Distributors and exhibitors need to feel confident that there’s a pipeline of films that audiences will show up for.

Second, and more crucially, it depends on audience acceptance. If viewers begin to feel that watching a documentary in a theatre is worth their time, money, and attention, if they see it as an experience, then we’ll start to see a real shift. That’s when we could witness the birth of a new distribution model for documentaries in India. We’ve had isolated successes here and there, but for this to happen in a sustained way, there needs to be a stronger engagement between the filmmaking community and the audience, stories that resonate, are widely appreciated, and lead to repeat behaviour.