As Coffee with D hits theatres today, we speak to debutant director Vishal Mishra toknow more about the making of this satire, his experience with noted comedian Sunil Grover and more.

Vishal Mishra (Extreme Right) with Vinod Rahani, Anjana Sukhani, Sunil Grover and Dipannita Sharma

Being a NIFT alumnus one would think that you wanted to be something else before becoming a filmmaker, how did direction happen?

Watching films was my passion and the medium has fascinated me since childhood. I love writing ghazals and stories, so in order to tell these stories in the best manner possible, direction came as a natural progression. 

Your short films went to Rio and now your first film is here. What’s your story?

After my course at NIFT, I worked at various places. During my tenure with JJ Valaya, I made a short film, which was very well received and gave me the courage to go ahead into the world of cinema. Post that, I started my own Bollywood trade website, Box office capsule, and managed the whole website and worked as a film critic and got a closer look at the industry and how it functions. Moving on to direction and making films was a planned and conscious decision and I am enjoying every bit of it.

Coffee with D has a lot of caricatures of real people beginning with the protagonist who is clearly inspired by Arnab Goswami. What was the idea behind it?

I made my short film during my last corporate job in the fashion industry and that gave me a platform and confidence to enter the world of cinema. As far as naming the character Arnab is concerned, it was done only to give the audience a clear connect and perspective. According to me,  any other name would had made it more Gutthi, less the character. 

How did you come up with the idea?

The idea germinated from a series of jokes about the underworld don through some facts that I had read up on. People around me loved those jokes and that gave me the confidence to write a full-fledged film on it. 

When and how did casting Sunil Grover as the lead happen?

Ace producer, my mentor and close friend Shabeena Khan suggested Sunil, when I was looking for a lead. I met him and and we spoke for 25 minutes and he was convinced to play the part. It happened in Feb 2016, a month before we started to shoot. 

Tell us about your upcoming films. They seem to be bigger than your debut; why didn’t you then start with the film with Kunal Roy Kapur or Himmesh Reshammiya for your feature length debut?

For me all my films are equally important and close to my heart. I am more interested in making small budget films, which are interesting and fun, and stories that can connect to the masses. Even my next release Hum Honge Kaamyaab, is set in a small town and is a sweet romantic comedy.

What are you expecting from Coffee with D in terms of success and acceptance?

We have already achieved half the success with so much noise around the film and such a fab response to the trailer. Now I just want people to enjoy the film and my producer to recover his investment.