The Advocate and The Tattoo Murders (Kamathipura) director Shravan Tiwari has already shot two projects in Varanasi and has conceptualised yet another based on the holy city.
Born in Prayagraj, the self-taught filmmaker (49) says he wants to explore horror genre against the backdrop of Varanasi.
“I shot for majorly for my film 706 (2019) that starred Atul Kulkarni, Divya Dutta and Mohan Agashe. During the pandemic, I also worked on my upcoming web-series Murshid starring KK Menon, Zakir Hussain and Tanuj Virmani. I am extremely fascinated with the city and have numerous stories in mind that I’m looking forward to shoot there,” he says.
Sharing more about the city, Tiwari adds, “The mystic locations of Varanasi can be aptly used in making a unique horror film, something like Anthony Hopkins starrer The Rite. Such plots will find a great premise in the city of mysticism.”
The director wrapped his film Aazam with Jimmy Shergill, Indraniel Sengupta and Abhimanyu Singh. “It’s in post-production and we hope to release in March next year. Besides, my other project is a story of a terrorist in Kashmir and we are in talks with Urmila Matondkar and Rajat Kapoor. We hope to start the shoot early next year in Uttarakhand.”
Though born in UP, he grew up in Gujarat and after completing his MBA from Pune he took up a job in media industry for almost two decades. Tiwari started making films and learnt on the go.
“I have not gone to any film school nor have assisted anyone. I did pick up good team and learnt hands on with trials and errors. I have made many mistakes and have learnt from them. Technology has made things very simple for everyone. I write and edit all my stuff, as I am confident about my craft I like to explore more. Initially one should go slow and take less risks, later on you can up your game. Thankfully, I am in a phase where there multiple opportunities to opt for.”
Tiwari’s debut Gujarati film The Advocate (2013) that he penned, directed and edited fetched regional state awards in three categories.
“I also made a Hindi film The Last Don (2014) with Gujarati actor and another one titled Firoz that could not release. I will surely remake it someday. Meera Chopra and Tanuj Virmani starrer Kamathipura which was renamed The Tattoo Murders (2021) is streaming on OTT platform,” he shares.