'Thought it would make a heartwarming, funny film'

New Delhi: Two strangers pouring their hearts out to each other is a thing of the past, said director Abhishek Chaubey, who is certain that his nostalgic adaptation of a Satyajit Ray story about two men meeting in a train compartment could not take place in the mobile era.

While Ray had set 'Barin Bhowmick's Ailment' in the 1960s and the 1970s, Chaubey and writer Niren Bhatt decided to move the story out of Bengal to the world of Ghazal singing in the 1980s and 1990s, just before mobile phones became an inseparable part of life.

"If I were to set the film in contemporary times, two people would not even talk to each other because they will be talking to somebody else on their mobile phones. If I can talk to my girlfriend, why do I need to talk to the stranger next to me? The world is invariably moving in that kind of situation where two strangers talking to each other, pouring their heart out is a thing of the past," Chaubey said.

The title 'Hungama Hai Kyun Barpa' is inspired by the popular Ghulam Ali ghazal that features prominently in the 54-minute movie. Bajpayee plays ghazal singer Musafir Ali, who was a kleptomaniac in the past. During a train journey, he meets Gajraj's wrestler turned sports journalist Aslam Beig. He remembers swiping Beig's favourite watch years ago and is filled with guilt.

"I love this story for the simple reason that I thought it would make a very heartwarming and extremely funny film. There are certain things that Ray does in his short stories. There is always a psychological exploration of the primary character, but most of the stories that he wrote either had some supernatural, science

fiction or some surreal element to it. In 'Barin Bhowmick...', while the psychological exploration is there, the story is also a comedy about manners," he shared.