One By Two has not lived up to its expectations but writer-turned-director Devika Bhagat is learning from her mistakes and ready to move on One By Two has not opened well, doing a business of barely two crore on its opening weekend. That must have been way below your expectations. Yes, it definitely is. There were two aspects I was looking forward to when One By Two released—firstly, good reviews, (especially from a couple of reviewers who I regularly follow) which was for my own creative appreciation. I am aware that I wasn’t making a pathbreaking film, but I was not expecting such reviews, some were decent but some very bad. But, then everyone has their own sensibilities and is entitled to their opinion. Secondly, I was hoping for a good audience reaction, which would have translated into good collections. I don’t know if any good word-of-mouth will boost the box-office figures, but as of now everything seems in the air! Which remark surprised you the most? We obviously thought that it was all in good humour, but all the reviews have made it clear that the toilet jokes did not go down well with them. Even though there were only two such scenes, one in the first half and one in the second, it was made to appear that the toilet humour was there throughout the film. The critics have also said that there wasn’t enough meat in the film, and that the film was slow and a bit of a drag. I guess, I missed that in the script or editing. Anyways, one learns from ones mistakes and in the future I will keep these things in mind. Abhay Deol and Preeti Desai are a real life couple. Could it be that the audience was expecting this romance to translate more on screen? It was made very clear from the beginning that the film was a slice-of-life, and not a romantic comedy. So, I don’t understand such expectations. Abhay Deol’s characters in all his film have been very niche and interesting, but in One By Two his character, Amit lacked that punch. Also what has been his reaction to the film’s poor collections? That’s true, but then like all actors, Abhay also wanted to try something different from the dark characters that people are used to seeing him as.The script was my own, and I guess I became a little over indulgent with my characters, which made them boring. When you think a film will work and it doesn’t, you have to do some introspection. Abhay and Preeti also did not expect this kind of a reaction and like me, are also doing their own introspection. You have written the stories and screenplays of films like Aisha and Jab Tak Hain Jaan. What is important to a character’s development and psyche in a film? And what next? It’s very important to establish what the characters choices are in a film, and whether they fit into the environment. And that was done well in One By Two, showing the middle-class Abhay in his cubicle and the affluent Maya hanging out in a bar. I have some story ideas which I will pitch to producers, and if things work out, then work on the script. And yes, I would like to direct again. geety.sahgal@expressindia.com
