Qarib Qarib Singlle director Tanuja Chandra: Irrfan and Parvathy brought their experiences of life to their roles

Tanuja also asserts that if she had treated Qarib Qarib Singlle in a typical Bollywood way, it would have undercut the film’s uniqueness. “For our kind of a story, a typical Bollywood film would undercut its uniqueness. So it had to be something fresh, and while doing so, I thought it needed a bit of slice of life kind of feel. I wanted to turn the ordinary in our lives unique. And I think humour is a great way to tell romantic stories. And again, a typical rom-com was not what I wanted, I wanted to show that two people genuinely share an engagement, people who are not hero-heroine like, making them like you and I, the real people who have their own flaws. They’re fragile and have their egos,” quipped the director.

On Parvathy and Irrfan Khan’s organic chemistry, Qarib Qarib Singlle director Tanuja Chandra remarked, “I luckily also had actors who played their characters just like that. They could show that even after being so different, they have some similarities. So, somewhere the casting also made the story come true. While writing the script, I always had Irrfan in my head. He is such an oddball, and he looks like a ‘shaayar’ (poet). So when he said his dialogue, it looked believable. If he had said no for the film, it would be challenging for me. Parvathy, I wasn’t familiar with her work, but she is a strong person even in real life, and that was needed for the film. At the same time, she is tender and has her securities and insecurities. They both not only come from different acting backgrounds, but from different geographical backgrounds also, and that just worked out for us. It was very exciting for me as a filmmaker to see these two very accomplished actors bring their experiences of life to their roles.”