Laxman Utekar on ‘Zara Hatke Zara Bachke’ and ‘Govinda Mera Naam’ comparisons: Vicky Kaushal plays a married man and that is the only similarity between them | Hindi Movie News

Laxman Utekar is back to narrate yet another tale from a small town and his characters’ struggles to achieve some big dreams. Utekar’s latest offering ‘Zara Hatke Zara Bachke’ traces the journey of a middle class couple, played by Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan, who are desperate to buy their own home. From divorce to battling pressures at home, Laxman Utekar’s new film promises a ‘hatke’ journey. Ahead of the film’s release, the filmmaker spoke to ETimes about all things ‘Zara Hatke Zara Bachke’. Excerpts:

How did you come up with the quirky title, since it was kept under wraps for a long time?

Actually, we were struggling as there were a lot of options for the title. There was ‘Ghar Ki Baat’, ‘Khel Khel Mein’, but we came up with ‘Zara Hatke Zara Bachke’ because the kind of content that is there in the film, it’s different from what we’ve seen before.

Did you always have Sara and Vicky in mind for this love story?

Actually we narrated this film only to Vicky and Sara. Vicky was always there in my mind because I always wanted to work with him. The moment they heard the script, they said yes to the film. So yes, actually they were a priority and my first choice.

Soon after the trailer was released, comparisons were drawn with Vicky’s previous film ‘Govinda Mera Naam’, your comments on it?

Actually ‘Govinda Mera Naam’ is a different film. In terms of story, content, the look, both are very different. I too didn’t realise why this comparison cropped up. Vicky playing the married man is the only similarity and people at times, tend to connect the two. But there is no comparison between the two.

How would you describe Sara Ali Khan as an actor?

Sara plays the role of a Punjabi girl in the film and the bubbliness that she has in real life makes her look like a Punjabi, too. And the most important thing is the chemistry that she has with Vicky. It looks very fresh. I always like to have a fresh pairing in my films, because I think that adds a lot to the story. Sara was perfectly suitable for this character, little ziddi, little bubbly. And Vicky is the loveable husband who can do anything for his love or for his wife.

Apart from pairings, the city seems to be the third character in your stories…

Yeah, I think the connection here is that I belong to a small town. And I think it becomes very easy for me to translate the nuances, colours and cultures of small towns on the big screen. I feel comfortable because that has been my own background. And we have so much variation in our country, I enjoy small town stories.

Any apprehensions ahead of the theatrical release, did you consider an OTT release for this film?

I always thought that this film would work in cinema halls. Because first of all, it’s a family film, you can say it’s a romcom, and at the same time it has a very good message. It’s not just a humorous, laughter ride, but it will reach maximum people in our country. In India, it is everyone’s dream to buy their own house and they struggle their entire life for the same. And that is why I feel everyone will relate to this film. Plus the songs are being loved by the audience, so I feel this film will work in theatres. My producer Dinesh Vijan’ has the same conviction.