Three-film YRF deal to struggling to even pay rent: Gandhari director on going bankrupt

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Scored three-film deal with YRF

“I jumped into the deep end and that film was film school for me,” he said and recalled that since he became friendly with writer Jaideep Sahni, who wrote Shaad’s film, he got a chance to sign a three-film deal with Aditya Chopra in YRF. Devashish was 27 at the time and saw this as a “victory.” The first film of the lot was supposed to be an animated film, which was to follow Roadside Romeo (2008). This was a part of YRF’s tie up with Walt Disney.

But, Roadside Romeo flopped and Devashish’s film was shelved. “Roadside Romeo had to succeed for my film to get made. I was in production for three years. Roadside Romeo tanked and they shut my film,” he shared and said that was “probably the first film ever to get shelved at YRF.” The partnership between YRF and Walt Disney fell apart after that, and Devashish chose to walk away from his three-film deal.

Devashish Makhija directed Gandhari, written by Kanika Dhillon, and starring Taapsee Pannu and Ishwak Singh.

Walked away from YRF

“I lost 3 years there,” he said and added, “I walked away. I said, ‘I have lost three years so let me go. If I feel like coming back I will but I have other stories inside me.” Devashish then travelled across Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Chhattisgarh to research stories based on adivasis and this research eventually helped him in making Joram, starring Manoj Bajpayee.

Devashish said that if that film YRF would have gotten made, “I would be making the Manish Sharma, Ali Abbas Zafar kind of films right now, maybe in my own way, I don’t know.” He said that the YRF deal falling apart bothered him for a few years, and for the next decade, he kept wondering if he had made the right decision. “It got shelved so it was not in my control and it felt right for me to walk away. It bothered me for a couple of years because I didn’t expect that after walking away, my films won’t get made,” he said.

“Every year that passed, I thought, ‘Did I make a mistake? Maybe two films of mine would have gotten made. I am still trying to make my first film,” he said and recalled that it wasn’t until 2016, 10 years after walking out of YRF, that his first film, Ajji, got made.

Devashish has previously directed Ajji (2017), Bhonsle (2018), and Joram (2023), but Gandhari was the first film which he directed off someone else’s script. The film was written by Kanika Dhillon.

DISCLAIMER: This article contains personal accounts of financial hardship, personal health struggles, and family loss shared strictly for editorial and informational purposes. The experiences and views expressed are individual narrative accounts and do not constitute professional financial, legal, or medical advice. Readers facing similar personal or financial distress are encouraged to seek guidance from qualified professionals.