Abhishek Chaubey’s Sonchiriya remains a defining western of our times, a film that explores themes of salvation and righteousness, while subverting expectations. Yet, Chaubey now believes the film could not be made in today’s cinematic landscape. In an exclusive conversation with SCREEN, he explained how, in the current climate, “nobody will even give 10 rupees to make it” and, if it were made, it likely wouldn’t pass the censors.
“Today, you would not get money for it at all. Even before the censors and all that, nobody would give you even Rs 10 to make it. It just wouldn’t happen.” Asked if a streaming platform might back a film like Sonchiriya, Chaubey was blunt: “No, streaming would be worse. It would not be funded at all. No way.” Co-writer Sudip Sharma, known for creating shows like Paatal Lok and Kohrra, added, “And even if it somehow got funded and made, it wouldn’t clear the censor boards. And nobody would come to see it in theatres.”
Abhishek Chaubey argues that even streaming platforms will not back Sonchiriya now.
“We won’t find any actor only,” Chaubey said, reflecting on how the film belonged to a bygone era with little scope for similar work today. “See, the thing is that there was a phase. Sonchiriya was the last film of that phase, I would say. There was a time when actors could take risks. There was an appetite for alternatives among the audience. For about 15 or 20 years, there was space for alternative cinema, and many alternative filmmakers found success during that period. That era is well and truly over. Today, at every critical stage of filmmaking, Sonchiriya would collapse.”
Watch the conversation on Sonchiriya in the new episode of Cult Comebacks
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Earlier in the conversation, Chaubey also spoke about working with the late Sushant Singh Rajput and why he chose him for the film. The filmmaker felt he was a better fit than the typical “Bandra boys” of Bollywood. “The reason was very simple. We discussed his name among us and came to an agreement that there was something desi about Sushant. You know, with the other stars, these Bandra boys, I mean, not that they can’t do it, but it’s a longer journey to get from who they are to that world. For Sushant, it would be easier. He comes from a small town and has some idea of the kind of world we’re talking about.”
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