Trial Period director Aleya Sen reveals why she cast Genelia Deshmukh and Manav Kaul in the lead roles

“I knew that I wanted faces that are absolutely unpredictable to be seen together,” reasons filmmaker Aleya Sen when asked about the lead pair of her second feature film Trial Period. The quirky film stars Genelia Deshmukh and Manav Kaul in the lead roles supported by an ensemble featuring Shakti Kapoor, Gajraj Rao, Sheeba Chaddha, and others. Trial Period is produced by Jyoti Deshpande (Jio Studios) and Hemant Bhandari, Amit Ravindernath Sharma and Aleya Sen (Chrome Pictures). The film will be streaming on JioCinema from July 21.

In an exclusive conversation with Cine Blitz, Aleya Sen talks about the conception of Trial Period, her reasons for casting Genelia and Manav, revelations as a filmmaker and more.

What was the first idea or emotion or visual that gave birth to Trial Period?

Aleya Sen: It happened when my son was growing up and I realized what Gen Alpha is about. They have absolutely no filter and they can ask for anything. Having said that, I don’t see it as a good or a bad thing. That is the difference between generations.

I was extremely fascinated when I was like do this, don’t do that, eat this and sleep on time, etc. And my son said, “Can I just remove the Y in your name and put X and make you Alexa?” [laughs] I was shocked, “Can a five-year-old say something like this to me?”

In the film, the child is asking for a father on trial but trust me, speak to most of the moms, single or not single, they want a counterpart who would do the tasks typically done by mothers. So, yeah, that’s where it germinated.

Also read: When Rajesh Khanna realized that he was not God but Dog

Were you sure since the beginning that it was going to be a feature film or did you toy around making a short film or an ad film with that idea?

Aleya Sen: It was always a feature film. In fact, this was the first feature script that I ever wrote. I wrote the first draft back in 2014. But I think for its time it was way ahead as a thought itself. Now is a good time when people are accepting unconventional relationships which are beyond live-in – unconventional relationships that are not defined and finding connections that are accidental. So, that was the first.

The second was that it is about a mother. It’s about her being a hero as a mother. There are stories about mothers being heroes but those mothers are either CBI officers or sportspersons etc. But there was no story about a mother being a hero as a mother. I think this is a good time for a combination of all this coming out. Of course, there are layers to the story beyond just a child asking for a father for 30 days.

Speaking of layers, what were you trying to capture or address through Trial Period?

Aleya Sen: You’ll understand it better when you watch the film. But whatever little I can tell you is that it does show a certain kind of layer about parenting. It’s about very basic daily things whether the child would eat a porridge or a paratha. But it comes across as funny for the viewer.

In the larger scheme of things, when a mother and a father have different opinions about the same thing you can’t say this is right and that is wrong. Because both are thinking about the welfare of the child. So, that will definitely be a takeaway.

And the other thing is the unconventional relationship – he is neither my friend nor my lover and nothing else. But he is the most important person. So, coming to create a definition that does not exist would be a takeaway.

Also read: Priyanka Chopra Jonas: “I had always believed that I am destiny’s favourite child”

What about Genelia Deshmukh and Manav Kaul clicked for you to cast them in the lead roles?

Aleya Sen: When I write a film, I don’t keep an actor in my mind. I write as true as it can be to the character. When I get into the role of the director is when I want to take my script to the next level. If you replicate the script as it is then there’s no fun. The key aspect of taking the script to the next level is casting.

Being an ad filmmaker helps me. Because my brain is not trained to think that this actor will bring these numbers (Box Office) etc. I first try to see what a breakthrough in a clutter of content will be where you’re seeing so many faces. I knew that I wanted faces that are absolutely unpredictable to be seen together.

Genelia is a mass face. People love her on social media. Manav is extremely intense. I didn’t know whether he’d be up for a script like this one. My reason was that I wanted to break out of this chaotic mirage of faces that we have. If you see beyond Manav and Genelia too, the faces I have selected which are Gajraj Rao, Sheeba Chaddha, Shakti Kapoor and others are actors who have brought something to the film.

Releasing a film on OTT might be risk-free money-wise. But what are the other risks or challenges faced by OTT releases?

Aleya Sen: This is a natural progression. We can be in denial if we want to be but the fact is that the pandemic was a shift of dimension altogether. Three people sitting in a room are on three different devices. The advantage of OTT is that you can release a film at a time frame that you want. There’s a large scale of subscribers.

As a maker, I know that this is the last leg where things are there in theatres. Obviously, there’s a change in economics. You will calculate if you want to go to theatres with your family. No one can match the economics of OTT. So, the theatre will have to have a different reason for it to be existing. It’s not good or bad, it is called evolution.

Also read: Screenwriter Sumit Arora on his career: ‘It has been a journey of doing interesting things’

What were the revelations for you during the filming of Trial Period? Any striking moments?

Aleya Sen: This time I felt that I was far more prepared in terms of communication. I wanted to do it this way where I could tell my actors that if you stay in the character, it helps me. Because I’m not shooting the film linearly.

I tried that we are in a bubble where my actors could get that sense of being in that character. Also on the post, it’s very difficult to edit scenes. The first cut of the film is 3 hours. Then bringing it to 2 hours 20 minutes. Then I’m like, “If I cut further, nobody will understand the film.”

So, I gave myself a break of 20 days and when I came back I understood what to do. It is this process that I figured works for me. I have to give myself the time. I can’t have a loose edit. I don’t want someone from the outside to come and tell me.

Do you have a particular ritual or routine as a director on a shoot day?

Aleya Sen: Absolutely. I have this thing – after I get off the car, the first thing I do is that I go sit in front of my monitor and open the page from the storyboard that I have to shoot and I quickly run myself through it. It’s like the last-minute revision before the exam. The whole crew could be waiting for me, but I have to go through my storyboard and process it in my head that I have to shoot this today and then I’m like, “Let’s start”. So, that is my ritual.

After Trial Period, what are you going to be making next?

Aleya Sen: I am working on two films parallelly. One is at the stage of casting right now. It’s called Podu. The other one is called Guldasta. Both the films are written by me.