Milind Dhaimade, Varun Shah – You Are My Sunday #LFF2016

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Milind Dhaimade, director, and Varun Shah, producer of the film You Are My Sunday from the 60th BFI London Film Festival.

Friends, football and everyday struggles. The charming simplicity of the nature of You Are My Sunday, Indian comedy directed by Milind Dhaimade, is not only carried wonderfully but is also what makes the film so universal. The themes dealt with in this film, from the need for more space and independence to the desire to fall in love, can be understood by anyone and the fact that this film also achieves this in a straightforward and realistic manner also speaks in favor of comedy as a film that can achieve with the right mix of maturity and childishness what more serious films often can’t in terms of representing everyday problems.

You Are My Sunday is also enriched by the performances of the cast. Dhaimade shares with us that he believes casting to be a vital step in the making of the film. Besides this and much more, in discussing the origins of the film, he retraces his journey to the making of You Are My Sunday, which started when he was filming commercials, along with producer Varun Shah, who also joins us for this chat. Their desire, ultimately, was not to compromise their idea for the film. In this too, many might be able to identify with the makers of this film.

YOU ARE MY SUNDAY. Set in densely populated Mumbai, this buddy movie about a group of amateur footballers is a real treat. Milind Dhaimade’s feature debut finds a group of five men struggling to balance their busy work and home relationships with their desire to escape every Sunday to Juhu Beach – the one place with enough space to relax and play their beloved game. It’s paradise. But then, during one match a senile old man joins in and kicks the ball into a nearby political rally. The punishment for the unintended misdemeanour is harsh and the friends’ despondency at not being able to play becomes a reflection of each individual’s own pressure-cooker life, threatening to boil over and severely test their bond of friendship. Dhaimade’s depiction of straight men sharing emotions and love for each other as they struggle to win the day is both a rare and welcome sight.