Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh is now gaining speed at the box office where gradually, the film is nearing the 50 crore mark soon but has earned a lot of critical acclaim so far.

Debutant director, Karan Singh Tyagi sat down for an exclusive conversation with IWMBuzz, where he went on to talk about an array of things ranging from the criticism the film has faced on a few instances, giving the Bagh scenes a different take, Ananya Panday’s portrayal of Dilreet Gill and box office pressure among other things.

Q. The commercial aspect of Kesari Chapter 2 was clearly intentional because it’s meant to have that kind of wide-reaching impact. But there was some minimal criticism from people who felt that, since it’s a period piece, maybe it should’ve focused more on authenticity rather than broad appeal. Do you believe in that criticism?

Karan: See, I want my movies to be watched by the maximum number of people. I want to make large, big-scale entertainers. I’ve grown up on the cinema of the nineties. One of my heroes has been Rajkumar Santoshi. I love the force, the impact, the power that his movies always had.

I’m a huge fan of Shoojit’s work. I feel the last thirty minutes of Sardar Udham are outstanding. But the call I took with my DOP was that we wanted to show the massacre from the point of view of a 13-year-old Sardar boy.

In fact, the reaction I’m getting is that people across the country are loving and enjoying Sankaran’s entry into the courtroom. And for those who haven’t liked it, I accept their criticism with all humility. My only humble submission is that I want my movies to be watched by everyone in this country.

Q. There have been countless depictions of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Yet this film offers a unique take on it, which I personally found to be its biggest triumph. Was that always the intention from the start?

Karan: When it came to depicting the massacre, I studied all the movies that have showcased it so far. Gandhi did it well, and Shoojit Sircar’s Sardar Udham—I’m a huge fan of Shoojit’s work. I feel the last thirty minutes of Sardar Udham are outstanding. But the call I took with my DOP was that we wanted to show the massacre from the point of view of a 13-year-old Sardar boy.

We wanted the audience to feel like they were inside the bagh—how would they feel if their family was killed in front of them? Would they feel suffocated? Tortured? So we aimed to make the massacre sequence as visceral as possible. Once we made the decision to shoot from the boy’s point of view, everything fell into place.

I feel very lucky that Ananya Panday brought so much of her own personality to the role.

That’s the first massacre sequence. The second time it appears, we were clear that we wanted to intercut Sankaran’s knighting ceremony with the final moments of Bargat’s journey in Jallianwala Bagh. On one hand, there’s the crowning moment of Sankaran’s life; on the other, the boy’s world is being torn apart. That contrast was very important. I feel these two approaches are why the massacre sequences worked.

Q. The inclusion of Ananya Panday’s character, Dilreet Gill, was also quite fascinating. These are characters we’ve barely heard of before. Her track and Neville McKinley’s added a lot. Tell us more about her character.

Karan: Dilreet Gill is our homage to India’s first female lawyer. India got its first woman lawyer in the 1920s, and we based Dilreet’s character on her.

She’s a mix of vulnerability and strength. She’s the moral conscience of the film. She’s the one who rattles Sankaran Nair and pushes him to fight the case. In a way, they form a great team—she’s like the Watson to his Sherlock.

I feel very lucky that Ananya Panday brought so much of her own personality to the role.