Shree Narayan Singh is back with his new social drama Batti Gul Meter Chalu. After highlighting the issue of open defecation in Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Singh talks about undersupply of electricity in small towns in the latest release. The movie starring Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Yami Gautam and Divyendu Sharma in pivotal roles has released today.
Director Shree Narayan Singh says coming from a middle-class family, he has seen all the problems that a common man goes through and this is why they find a space in his cinema.
"I come from a small town Balrampur in UP. There is a small village near there, called Mahadev, I was born there. I have faced issues like sanitation, electricity, etc. Since I have faced real issues, I can connect with it," says Singh.
As a director, Singh considers himself lucky as he did not feel burdened despite the presence of stars like Akshay Kumar and Shahid. "In the two films, both Akshay and Shahid have played roles that are against their image and I am grateful for the support. I want more people to listen to the issue so the reach is wider with star presence," he said.
Batti Gul Meter Chalu faced financial hurdles and then there was a controversy over the writing credits but Singh is relieved to have overcome these problems. "I never expected that any problem would arise. I was shaken. Every film has a journey and maybe this was meant to happen. When you are in a situation like this, you do question yourself," he said. Talking about the controversy over writing credits, Singh said Vipul Rawal had submitted his story to then producer, Prerna Arora. He had liked the basic idea but roped in writers Garima Wahal and Siddhart Singh to develop it further.
"In the trailer that you see online, we have given credit to Vipul, saying, 'concept by Vipul'. We just picked up the concept and then he felt he should be given credit for story and screenplay, which we did."
(With PTI inputs)
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