Tejas Deoskar: I’m the only one to have two films releasing in different languag

Every director will tell you about the Friday jitters they experience when their movie is releasing. One can only imagine the pressure and excitement that director Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar will feel when his two movies, Ground Zero and Devmanus, hit the theatres on April 25. “Somebody told me that before this, only Priyadarshan sir had two films releasing on the same day. I’m the only one to have two films releasing in different languages,” grins Deoskar.

Mahesh Manjrekar and Renuka Shahane in  Devmanus

Language isn’t the only factor separating the Hindi offering, Ground Zero, and Mahesh Manjrekar’s Marathi outing Devmanus. Inspired by real-life events, the Emraan Hashmi-starrer chronicles the aftermath of the 2001 Indian Parliament attack. Deoskar explains, “Ground Zero is an intense action drama based on BSF Commandant Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey’s life and real events. Emraan plays him, and is seen [on the hunt] for a terrorist. Devmanus is an emotional thriller, where a man—played by Manjrekar—finds himself in a moral dilemma. I was initially apprehensive about both my movies releasing on the same day. I feel the audience gets divided, especially since the Marathi audience is a subset of the Hindi one. But the two production houses felt that both films had different viewers. They didn’t see it as a clash. The only thing I had to figure out was to run around for the films’ post-production, which was tough.”

Tejas Deoskar

While shooting each movie came with its challenges, the director believes Ground Zero was the more demanding one. “It was a tougher one to execute as action films are demanding. Plus, we were shooting in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir, and the region has certain complexities.” Having an earnest actor like Hashmi helped matters. “Emraan is a director’s delight. He asks a lot of questions related to his character and the story, and comes on the set having done a lot of homework. So, we’re halfway through when we start. Also, he has an uncanny memory,” shares Deoskar.

Working on Devmanus was a unique experience as actors Manjrekar, Renuka Shahane and Subodh Bhave are also directors in their own right. Deoskar reflects, “While there were four directors, including me, on the set, nobody overpowered me. There was mutual respect. We could collaborate, discuss their suggestions, and do what was best for the film.”