Nitesh Tiwari Talks About the Film Bawaal: Evoking Emotions and Drawing Experiences from His Own Life

Nitesh Tiwari, director of Bawaal discusses how the movie looks back into World War II, and coming of age experience. It stars Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: July 10, 2023

Bawaal is a unique coming-of-age movie, according to director Nitesh Tiwari, who claimed on Sunday that it draws heavily from his own life experiences. In the romance drama starring Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, Ajay "Ajju" Dixit, a high school history teacher, is a little celebrity in his village. The movie follows the path of World War II through Europe and reveals the marital struggles of the main couple, leading Ajay to face his inner conflict. The renowned ocean line and Hotel Queen Elizabeth II served as the launch location for the Bawaal trailer.

This movie is quite unique, presumably because it contains a lot of personal material. This is the tale that must be shared. It all comes down to how we view life and other people. There are some life events that transform us. It is an emotionally complex piece that is about coming of age, Nitesh stated at the international press conference. Bawaal was filmed in several countries, including Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and India. The Auschwitz concentration camp is included in a few of the trailer's segments.

The director claimed that, although remaining mum on the movie's relationship to the Second World War, he made an effort to include historical events that shaped the main characters' stories. I enjoy playing my cards close to the chest. The trailer's purpose is to pick interest. Watch the film for all the answers... The situations and events that sort of contribute to the development of the characters and their relationships in the film have been preserved. Each incident was carefully selected. There is a tremendous amount to say about World War II, he said.

Nitesh Tiwari, known for critically acclaimed and financially successful movies like Dangal and Chhichhore, expressed optimism that Bawaal will amuse viewers while also urging them to "reset priorities. A movie should not end right when it does. When you are done, you should still have some of it. I've been aiming toward it with every one of my movies. I think Bawaal would make you pause and reevaluate your priorities in addition to entertaining you, he stated.

The director claimed that coming up with a plot was the hardest part. He gave the credit for writing a strong story like Bawaal to his wife, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (writer-director). I appreciate Ashwiny's generosity in sharing the narrative she wrote with me. I am aware of how challenging it is for creators to let go of their offspring, he continued. Bawaal is also an ode to Ashwiny's father-in-law, according to the co-producer, who is Sajid Nadiadwala's Nadiadwala Grandsons as well as her and Nitesh's Earthsky Pictures.

Nitesh's father was a history teacher and the director of education for all of Madhya Pradesh. Of fact, he was nothing like the persona we gave Varun. Papa loved to teach history and had aspirations of traveling throughout Europe. See and comprehend the events that actually took place in the locations he had read about. "I was planning to take him to Germany, but he became ill, so I was unable to do so. He has vanished. Bawaal is also a tribute to Nitesh's dad, she continued.

The actor claimed that Nitesh and Varun's connection to Kanpur, where they shot the high school scenes, contributed to their bonding in the movie. On July 21, Bawaal will be available on Amazon Prime Video in India and in 200 other nations and territories. Varun Dhawan remarked that it was an unforgettable experience to travel to Kanpur and conduct filming at the elementary school where his father, the director David Dhawan, was a student.

My father and my uncle both attended the same school where Ajju currently works as a teacher. He was a native of Kanpur. We used to discuss it and reflect on his time there, he added, adding that his father, Nitesh, and Amar Kaushik, the director of the film Bhediya, are all from Kanpur. As for Janhvi Kapoor, it was an emotional experience to visit Auschwitz.

We visited Auschwitz when we were in Poland, and it was a moving experience. It helped us understand the seriousness of the subjects we covered in the movie; the actor who plays Nisha in Bawaal continued. Producers Warda Nadiadwala, Sajid Nadiadwala, and Manish Menghani, director of content licensing for Prime Video India, also attended the trailer unveiling event.