'Stree 2' maker Amar Kaushik said- I never thought that the film will get such a response

Your father was a forest officer and your mother was a school teacher, so they had no connection with cinema, how did the passion for cinema develop in you?
To be honest, it was he who contributed to my early days of cinema. He gifted me a VCR (video cassette recorder) in my childhood. When we lived in Arunachal, there was often no electricity, but my father would definitely bring 4 cassettes from the market while going to buy ration. When we played a movie, it would take four to five days to finish, because the power kept coming and going. Memories of movies like Maine Pyar Kiya and Khoon Bhari Maang are still fresh in my mind. The credit for all the movies I watched in my childhood goes to my father. My mother was a teacher, so she used to read out very interesting stories to me. She was very fond of reading. She had a store of books. When there was no electricity, I used to listen to stories from my mother and when there was electricity, I used to watch movies on the VCR. In this way, my interest in cinema and stories was aroused because of my parents.

Is it true that your first short film 'Aaba' was based on your mother's story?
Yes, of course. After studying mass media communication, I came to Mumbai. I was an assistant director for a long time. I was the assistant director of director Rajkumar Gupta in Aamir and later I worked as a co-director in No One Killed Jessica and Ghanchakkar. This was at the time when short films were trending on YouTube. In those days, my mother also came to Mumbai to meet me. During the conversation, my mother started telling me about her childhood spent in Arunachal. I thought it was very interesting and thought of making a short film on my mother's words. I did not have a budget. I borrowed money from my director friends Rajkumar Gupta and Vipul Dixit. I went to Arunachal and gathered the students there. Worked with them. Hired an aunty to cook food. From there I took actors who had never faced the camera. I found an 80-year-old grandmother, an 85-year-old grandfather and a granddaughter and made a film with them and edited it. When I showed this film to people, they liked it very much. My film Aaba was screened in 67 festivals including Toronto. Now people realise that at least he knows how to tell a story.

Talking about your film Stree 2, it rained money at the box office. Did you expect this?
No, I never thought so. To be honest, when you were saying this, I also said touchwood. I never thought that the film would get such a response, but it was certain that people would enjoy it. For the last 6 years, wherever I went, people would ask the same question that when is Stree 2 coming, so there was a pressure. But then I did not take that pressure as pressure but started writing as an energy. Now the film has been released and the love I am getting from people is tremendous. To be honest, now the pressure is what will I make next? But I have decided that I will make something new.

Horror films have always had a niche audience, but you have introduced a new genre like horror-comedy?
Making a horror-comedy was not a well thought out strategy. I had to make my first feature film as a director. But I have always been fond of comedy. Even in the early days of my career when I was an assistant, the directors would put me forward in comedy scenes. I think as an audience I like comedy cinema. When I was making Stree, people said that I should not start my career with a horror film, but the humour in horror came to me automatically. Those characters came to me automatically. I never thought that I was making a new genre like horror-comedy. People just gave it this name. I just wanted to make a humorous story.

Your other two films Khel Khel Mein and Veda had big stars like Akshay Kumar and John Abraham, but what about the tremendous response your film has received in comparison to those films?
I understand that both the films that came with us were good, but we don't have the answer as to why our films were appreciated so much. Only the audience knows. If the audience was in our control, we would have been making money every Friday. As far as big stars are concerned, Akshay Kumar is also in our film. Actually, all of us makers thought that the weekend of 15th August is very big and everyone can get a chance. I was busy giving the film till 13-14th August. I had no idea what was happening in the outside world?

In 'Stree 2', you also included Varun Dhawan and Akshay Kumar of Bhediya in a new avatar, now what will be new in the horror-comedy universe?
I just want people to beg to go to the theatres. I remember my childhood and how eager I was to watch a film, I just had to see it. I want that desire to be rekindled in people. The tickets should be black. If that atmosphere comes back, it will be fun. I want to make films that make people happy. As far as the world of horror-comedy is concerned, I myself am excited about what I will make. It may or may not have the same actors as before or it may have a new cast. But one thing is for sure, I will not cast any actor in it.