Aye Zindagi might be just another film for moviegoers. But for Satyajeet Dubey, the actor playing the lead role in the film, it was an emotional journey he will not forget for years to come. Written and directed by Anirban Bose, Aye Zindagi is said to be a real-life story and revolves around 26-year-old Vinay Chawla (Satyajeet Dubey) who has been diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. With little hope left of survival, he turns to a grieving counselor named Revathy (played by Revathy) for help who eventually becomes an important part of his battle against death. The film also touches upon organ donation.
Although he chose to keep most bits about the film under wrap, Satyajeet Dubey told News18.com that the film is close to his heart. “I’ve seen a lot of losses while I was growing up so when I read the script, I could resonate with a lot of it. Even the organ donation bit because when my uncle passed away he was nearly 40 to 43. I don’t know somehow it occurred to me that time, I was 12 or 13, to tell my grandmother to donate his eyes. So because of him, two people could see,” the 32-year-old actor said, revealing that a six-year-old girl and a 55-year-old woman received the donation.
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For the film, Satyajeet underwent an intensive physical transformation. The actor said that he lost 11 to 12 kgs within a month’s time to fit the role and continued to stay on limited food throughout the month-long shoot. While the transformation is evident on the screen, Satyajeet said that it was a taxing experience.
“It was the most torturous experience of my life ever. It was literally because it was triggering anxiety of the past. Sitting on that makeup chair for three-four hours a day. You shoot for 12 hours, it took three hours to travel to and from the sets. I was hardly sleeping and just working and because we were supposed to fit the film on a tight budget. We had to finish the film within 30 days,” he said.
“It was quite laborious or torturous would be an understatement. By the third or fourth day, I’ll be very honest, I thought ke yaar, maine panga le liya. Will I be able to you know to finish it off? I was just so cranky and I was just down and out. But then I thought, if you crave greatness, if you want to do some great work, you have to do that sacrifice, you have to go ahead and embrace it. And that’s what I told myself, I was like, I owe it to the people who are fighting that battle. And I owe it to them and my family members who are not there anymore, ke boss, this is what one goes through,” Satyajeet added.
Aye Zindagi marked Satyajeet’s first film with Revathy. Speaking about his experience of working with the veteran actress, Satyajeet said, “The most beautiful thing in the world is simplicity and grace, and that’s what Revathy ma’am is all about. During the shoot, we would not talk about heavy things. We used to share a van and there was a door in between our makeup spots. I had a playlist made for Vinay (his character). When I began playing the songs, Revathy ma’am was like, ‘Arre Satya, you are playing such lovely songs, open the door. I can smell some coffee as well.’ I was like you like coffee as well? Great! So when we would be getting ready, we used to play the music and enjoy our coffee together. On sets, when we were doing our scenes together, there was a divine exchange of energy.”
Not many might know, Neena Gupta was supposed to play Revathy’s role. When we asked him if he knew about the reason Neena’s association with the film did not work out, he said, “I also heard, but I think there were some major issues with the dates. I am not the right person to ask about this. I think jo hota hai acha hota had and I couldn’t have asked for a better co-actor.”
Aye Zindagi hits cinemas on October 14.
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