Karan Wahi turns director with short film Have You Met You?

Actor and host Karan Wahi has turned a new leaf in his life. He has turned into a writer-director with his short film, Have You Met You? in which he has acted as well. The Indian Idol season 7 host thinks, “it’s a wonderful feeling to be a storyteller”.

He says, “I have been writing stories and working on ideas for a long time. I like writing and reading a lot, so I jot down ideas. Not all ideas work out, but this time, one concept got clicked. I took it to few friends, who lent me their support [to actualise it]. My friend, Gaurav (Bajaj; actor-producer) saw the potential in the story and suggested we make it into a short film.”

Talking about the film that stars his actor friend, Sehban Azim, Karan says, “The film is based on the concept of happiness. I cast Sehban, as I wanted someone totally opposite to me in nature in real life [to play the part]. I know him, and I was sure that he would be perfect for the role.”

Though Sehban was busy with his TV show, he shot for the film on the day he had his off, so it was shot in a day’s time, says Karan. The actor-turned-director-writer is glad that his friends didn’t try to interfere in his direction or give too much advice during the making of the film. “I had told them that they would like the end product and thankfully they had faith in me and my vision,” he says.

Initially, Karan wanted to make the film for the web and put it up on YouTube, but after watching the film and seeing the reactions of his friends from the industry, he has decided to send it to film festivals. “It’s not a big deal to send a film to the festivals, but yes, winning an award is huge. When you send a film at festivals, people talk about you and your work, and one gets great exposure. The basic idea of making this film was that even if one person is touched by the thought in the film, then my job as a storyteller is done.”

But, how did the thought of directing the short film himself occurred to him? “I had written the script and didn’t know how it would be interpreted by any director, who would have his or her vision too. My idea may or may not have looked like what I had originally written. Whether it’s a success or a failure, I wanted to take the onus of it completely. I hope many people see it.”