Gurmeet Singh Talks Lessons from Farhan Akhtar and Ashutosh Gowariker

On The Filmy Charcha Podcast with Rahul Varun, Mirzapur Director Gurmeet Singh Talks About His Early Hurdles, Lessons from Industry Veterans and Experimentation

Prior to directing Mirzapur, Gurmeet Singh spent years as an assistant director and learning from industry veterans. During his chat with Rahul Varun on The Filmy Charcha Podcast, Singh talks about the early lessons that helped him understand more about filmmaking and the industry as a whole.

Reminiscing about his time working with Farhan Akhtar, Singh mentions that the filmmaker had reprimanded him on several occasions. However, instead of discouraging Singh, these experiences became an important part of his learning curve.

Singh credits Akhtar for teaching him discipline, precision and preparation while working on films like Dil Chahta Hai and Gandhi Bharose.

Additionally, Singh shares that the most valuable lessons were learned watching Ashutosh Gowariker prepare Jodha Akbar.

Coordinating junior artists, animals, cameras and entire departments was a task in itself. For a budding filmmaker, it was a masterclass in professionalism and keeping the morale of the team high.

Apart from learning at the feet of masters like Farhan Akhtar and Ashutosh Gowariker, Singh also got the opportunity to experiment with unconventional filmmaking with Warning.

The filmmaker shared that creating an underwater 3D film was a unique challenge as they had to rely on a single 25mm wide angle lens during the shoot

Working in such conditions was an exercise in patience and allowed Singh to better understand the technical aspects of 3D underwater films.

While Warning did not see the kind of box office success that such a film deserved, Singh mentions that the film continues to find new audiences even years after its release.

Discussing the difficulties of being a filmmaker, Singh states that there are several factors that are out of their control like the distribution of their films, audience retention and competition with other films that release at the same time.

With regard to his own struggles, Singh mentions that he has learned to stay calm despite setbacks like low viewership numbers and disappointing box office collections.

As someone who has had the chance to learn from industry veterans and experiment with his work, Gurmeet Singh understands the importance of patience and persistence.

Mirzapur is seen as exercises that allowed the filmmaker to push himself creatively while also learning about the technical aspects of 3D underwater films. However, what stands out most about Gurmeet Singh’s journey is his ability to continue despite disappointments.