Interview with director Varun Tandon

1. What was one of the most challenging moments you faced while making Thursday Special? Did this ‘setback’ change the direction of the final story?

The hardest part of making this film was just the act of being patient. I started writing the film back in 2017. My sister Krati joined me as a co-writer sometime later, and we worked really hard on the script. We planned to make the film in 2020, but then COVID happened. We didn't know when and how we would be able to make it. We stayed patient because we really believed in the story and were excited about it. This gave us the strength to keep going. Casting also took a lot of time, as did pre-production and post-production, but we kept going. These challenges didn’t alter our vision, they only made it stronger. We did learn that one has to be persistent while following their dream, no matter what.

2. What was the biggest inspiration behind Thursday Special?

The idea itself was the biggest inspiration for me. One day, while doing some free writing, I got this story idea and was excited about it. Even months later, I was still excited. This idea continued to stay with me even when I worked on other projects. A good test of any idea is if you're still kicked about it six or twelve months later. I was, hence I really wanted to share it with the world.

3. What message do you want the audience to take away from Thursday Special?

I want people to be engaged by the film and have an emotional reaction to it. Each person responds to art differently, so I'm happy if they have their own interpretation, their own take. I just hope they feel something.

4. We love how you paced every moment perfectly. What were the reasons behind your directing choices for each scene? Did you purposely hold the shot longer?

Thank you for complementing the pacing of the film. Much of the credit for that goes to our amazing editor, Amitesh Mukherjee, who truly helped shape the film.  During the edit, we spent a lot of time going through multiple cuts. We debated and discussed every single frame. We went through many revisions until we were both happy with the final cut. We didn't purposely hold the shots for longer; we just followed the rhythm of the dialogue, the action and how the actors performed. This shaped the pacing. A lot of direction choices were naturally built into the script. When the actors joined, we did many readings with them and things kept getting refined. So, did working with other departments.