Sunday is that
day of the week, for most, when you can take a break from routine and do something you love. For a lot
of people in Goa, age notwithstanding, this would involve football, either
playing it or watching it. So relating to a story about a group of guys whose
football ground is being snatched from is quite easy. ‘Tu Hai Mera Sunday’,
directed by Milind Dhaimade, is about five friends who are living in
claustrophobic Mumbai and have to fight for a space to play their favourite sport.
Through their struggle, they get closer and explore the various relationships
in their lives.
So what’s the story
behind the interesting title, ‘Tu Hai Mera Sunday’? “Sunday relates to
happiness and the joy of doing something we love; this is the theme followed in
the film. Sunday represents the feeling of being happy with a person or a
game,” explains Milind, excited about the first week of his directorial debut.
The film features
Barun Sobti, Shahana Goswami, Manvi Gagroo, Rasika Dugal, Vishal Malhotra,
Avinash Tiwary, Jay Upadhyay, Shivkumar Subramaniam and Nakul Bhalla. Vishal
plays the role of Dominic D’Souza, a Goan catholic boy living with his mother.
The film was released
last week and has received great reviews but the film is hoping for better
timings in theatres. Featuring many upcoming actors, the film portrays real
life characters, making the story completely relatable to the struggles of
daily life. “I wanted real life characters in the film. We have Dominic
speaking in Konkani and English with his mother while Mehernosh, played by
Nakul Bhalla, is a Gujarati-speaking Parsi. They are all struggling for space
24/7 in Mumbai and even on Sunday, their space is taken over,” says Milind.
He further adds, “We
had a very good time making the film but the tough part was getting the film
out. Our cast caught the media’s attention as they are new talent and
completely amazing. Aamir Khan had come for one of the screenings and he left a
very encouraging message for the cast and crew.”
The film was shot in
Mumbai and Goa. “The last part of the film was shot in Goa because I wanted to
show the other side of Goa. In films, our state is usually associated with
drinking and partying, but there is so much more to Goa. I wanted to show the
football side of the story, the matches in the villages, the open grounds to
play football, the community spirit when it comes to cheering for a team. All
of this makes a contrast with Mumbai, where there isn’t an inch of ground to
spare,” says Milind.
The film has been to various
festivals, including the Mumbai Film Festival, British Film Festival, London
Film Festival and New York Indian Film Festival. “The film has been well
appreciated at the festivals, which was a great surprise for us. It is a happy
film but it also shows the realistic side of India, the other side that is
rarely shown to viewers,” adds Milind.
Milind started his
career as a theatre actor and moved on to advertising as an ad filmmaker. He
along with his wife, Rajul, formed their company, Love and Faith. After years
in the advertising line, he went back to his love of scriptwriting and has been
working on this film since 2013. He also adapted the play, ‘Loretta’, into
English, from the original script written by Pundalik Naik. The play was
inspired by the tiatr genre and was directed by Sunil Shanbag.
Milind
Dhaimade is originally from Cumburjua as both his parents are from that
village. However, his trips to Goa have lately been with Rajul, to relax and
get productive with their work. “My father was one year old when he moved to
Mumbai and my mother joined him in Mumbai after marriage. I used to visit Goa
very often in my childhood and I could speak Konkani fluently. Now, I come to
Goa as a tourist and my wife and I come to relax, rejuvenate and exercise here,
more than we do in Mumbai,” says Milind.
