Saurabh Shukla believed he would need Lady Luck to get his desired actors for his directorial venture, Jab Khuli Kitaab. Who knows whether it was good fortune or the power of a good script, but Pankaj Kapur and Dimple Kapadia agreed to front his family comedy in days.

Revealing that he went to Kapur’s Versova office to hand the script — that revolves around an aged couple whose marriage is shaken by the unravelling of a secret — to him, Shukla recalled, “Pankaj said, ‘I will read it and tell you.’ Within a week, he said yes.” 

Dimple Kapadia and Pankaj Kapur with director Saurabh Shukla

When Kapadia’s name was suggested for the female lead, the writer and director initially shot down the idea. He thought she would be too big to front his mid-size movie. “She is such a huge star! At that time, she had done [Christopher] Nolan’s film [Tenet] and would have had no shortage of films. I would give my right arm to get her! So, we sent her the script.” 

Then came the twist in the tale. “On the third day, I got a call and she said in her beautiful, sexy voice, ‘Saurabh, I’m doing this film, nobody else will do it.’ I couldn’t believe it. Later, we had a chat where she discussed every nuance of the script. In her, I saw a woman who is not only talented, but has also lived a full life.”

March 6
When ‘Jab Khuli Kitaab’ will première on Zee5