Hopefully, the audience will be able to reflect on their own family: About Love director Archana Atul Phadke

The film showcases the excitement around a wedding in the family. The story is very Indian, yet universal.

The upcoming wedding in the family becomes a tool in the film to string time together. Though the film is hardly about the wedding itself. It paints an intimate portrait of three couples — real yet strange in equal parts, all living under one roof to understand the workings of love, and how it changes over time. ‘Phadke building’, home to three generations of the Phadke family, becomes a psychological model of its inhabitants. Hopefully, with this quirky yet realistic approach, the audience will be able to reflect on their own family.

Archana Atul Phadke

Was the process of filmmaking easier for you, since you were directing, co-producing and co-editing?

I like observing small ecosystems and the rhythms within them. As an intimate portrait, it was important for me to keep the crew small and non-intrusive. Which also meant I have to do everything myself. I had two co-editors on the film, which helped me look at my material objectively. Abhay Kumar (editor and producer) and Rikhav Desai (consulting editor) became key members in this process, as they dealt with the film and the characters very sensitively.

How intimate is this documentary, considering this is your family?

While filming, I was always playing a dual role — as a family member and a filmmaker. As a family member, I had access to this space and the people inhabiting it, and as a filmmaker, I was in a constant battle with myself to not let personal feelings affect the truth and cinematic language. Three months into shooting, I found the right balance between the two roles I was playing.