Ranvir didn't want to do 'A Death in the Gunj' with Konkona

Actor Ranvir Shorey says he almost lost out on being a part of Konkona Sensharma's directorial debut "A Death in the Gunj" as the former couple was facing some tough time in their relationship.

Ranvir and Konkona separated in 2015 after five years of marriage, around the time when the actress wrote the story.

"She had already thought of me for this part but unfortunately things weren't going well between us at the personal level, so I didn't want to be a part of it by the time it was ready to shoot," Ranvir told PTI.

"But Konkona kept the pressure on me and eventually I also relented. How much can you refuse the mother of your child?"

Ranvir says he knew Konkona had a knack for direction.

"I always told her that she should direct because she had an eye for it. But I think more than me, it was her mother's saying which had an effect on her and she decided to give it a thought."

Ranvir is part of an ensemble cast in the film which features late actor Om Puri, Vikrant Massey, Kalki Koechlin, Tanuja and Gulshan Devaiah among others.

The "Bheja Fry" actor says he didn't have to work too hard to get into the skin of his character, Vikram, a local guy from a royal family who is "kind of a brat."

"I was aware of every development in the script, so it wasn't such a hard work for me to play my role.
"Konkona had great clarity about these parts, each character was distinctly different. She had it pretty clear in her mind that even though there are so many characters, all are very different from each other."

Ranvir says it is too early to judge her skills behind the camera.

"It's too soon to have an impression of her as a director because she is just one-and-a-half film old, she has done a short film before this. She has done far more work as an actress.

"But turning director after being an actor helps. Technical aspects notwithstanding, most of the times on sets you're dealing with actors, production designers or director of photography."

The film's world premiere was at Toronto International Film Festival post which it travelled to Busan International Film Festival and was the opening movie at MAMI last year.
"This is not a mainstream film, it doesn't have the star power or the marketing budget of a mainstream film. It's a niche film and I think this is the proper process for an indie film, go travel and muster some support," Ranvir says about the film's festival journey.

"A Death in the Gunj", scheduled to release on June 2, is set in the colonial town of McCluskieganj in the winter of 1979. What starts as an uneventful family holiday takes a twist when the guests start playing with the spirits.