Filmmaker Kiran Rao has opened up about her long gap between directorial projects and expressed the wish to direct movies at the speed and confidence with which Rohit Shetty works on films.
Kiran returned to direction in 2024 with Laapataa Ladies, 13 years after making her debut feature Dhobi Ghat. The film received critical acclaim and was also selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars.
Laapataa Ladies cast poses for a photo with producers. File image/ANI Kiran Rao reflects on her 13-year break
In an interview with Variety India, Kiran spoke about whether she felt the urge to direct during her long hiatus.
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"Obviously, I want to just keep directing. Every director just wants to go from film to film. I wish I were Rohit Shetty. Like, literally, while he’s editing one film, he’s directing the next film and promoting the third. If I had the confidence to just do that and not be so worried about the outcome, I would make many more films."
She explained that she tends to be extremely careful while choosing projects and thinking about their execution.
"But I’m almost too careful about the viability of a project, the story and what I want to say. This is something that everyone should think about because films take a lot of resources; they’re not just nothing. I try to be mindful of that. But yes, I’d love to make many more films," she added.
Multiple projects already in the works
Kiran also revealed that she is currently "working on five different projects". According to her, one project is a supernatural horror film, another is a noir drama, while a third has comedy-drama elements similar to Laapataa Ladies.
Her latest directorial, starring Pratibha Ranta, Nitanshi Goel, Sparsh Srivastava and Ravi Kishan, found a wider audience after its release on Netflix in early 2025.
Rohit Shetty busy with Golmaal 5
Meanwhile, Rohit Shetty is currently working on Golmaal 5 after directing Singham Again in 2024.
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The upcoming film features Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kemmu, Shreyas Talpade and Akshay Kumar. Sharing his excitement on Rohit’s birthday, Akshay wrote, “Happy Birthday @itsrohitshetty 🎉 On your birthday, the madness just got bigger and louder. Excited to be joining this crazy family of Golmaal 5! Let the chaos begin.”
