Anand Gandhi: Don't have to educate audience about crisis

Over the past five years, Ship of Theseus director Anand Gandhi had been writing his next, oblivious that it would turn eerily prophetic. Gandhi's film, titled Emergence, revolves around four scientists who have to find a way to save the population from a pandemic. With the world currently grappling with the Coronavirus, the director has gone back to the drawing board to tweak the story.

"[Earlier] we had planned to give information about the nature of a pandemic [through the film]. Now that we all know what it's like to be in the midst of one, I don't have to educate the audience about its nuances. So, we have had to make some changes in the script," explains the filmmaker.

Gandhi wished to cast Irrfan in the film

Since the universe of his story is unfortunately all too familiar to the world at large, Gandhi now intends to take a narrative leap. "I can directly take the audience to the next stage and depict how life could be post-pandemic. That is the new normal we will experience. That was always the crux of my story."

Sushant Singh Rajput

When conceived, the story was set in 2020. The director, who hopes to take it on floors next year, is fast-forwarding the setting of his sci-fi drama to 2025. While he had earlier expressed his wish to cast Irrfan in the film, Gandhi now plans to approach Sushant Singh Rajput. "It's unfortunate that I took so long to write it. I wish Irrfan would have been a part of it. Sushant is a dear friend. So, I always work on the assumption that he will be part of what I create. I have Australian actor Hugo Weaving in mind. I also need four women actors for the principal cast."

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