Acclaimed filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj has come up with a new film. What makes his latest offering interestingly different from all his previous works is the fact that he shot it on an iPhone, iPhone 14 Pro to be more precise. Yes, you heard that absolutely right!
Titled Fursat, the 30-minute short film follows a young man, who can see the future through his magical device called “Doordarshak”. It features Ishaan Khatter, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Salman Yussuf Khan in lead roles.
At the screening of the film on Thursday, Bhardwaj spoke at length about experimenting with his filmmaking style and said that the team wanted Fursat to be a typical Bollywood film at the core but have its own layer and depth.
“We also wanted to have it in a musical format, something like we have seen in films like Chicago. Where once the song comes, the cast moves to a stage to perform. That gives a wider canvas to play with the inner emotions. I have been wanting to do a film like this and was looking forward to it. Hence, the question should be – how did I convince Apple for this?” he said.
Talking about the title of the film, the filmmaker said that Fursat for him means freedom or leisure.
“We are all running after what will happen next or pondering over what happened in the past. Amid this, we are losing our moment of leisure, our freedom to live the moment,” he said.
Recalling how hiring equipment would burn a big hole in his pocket in his initial years as a filmmaker, Bhardwaj said, “It was out of my reach. Cameras were so expensive, and then you had to hire a team and it was a lot of money per shift. Today, you have a gadget in your pocket, and all that you need is a good script. You can work on the content and it absolutely liberates you from all the jhanjat (hassles). Now one cannot say they have no money to make a film, you have your phone. It’s just an amazing time for filmmakers. We are sitting here and thus cannot judge, but when we look back at this, we’ll know it started a revolutionary phase. Now, I can shoot any film I want. There are many subjects where you don’t find a producer, they don’t want to spend money. But now I can shoot as many films as I want without seeking a producer.”
Fursat is streaming on Apple platforms, Disney+ Hotstar, and YouTube.
So, Kajol and Twinkle Khanna’s show, Two Much, is already near its fourth episode. And people keep asking: why do we love watching stars sit on sofas so much? It’s not the gossip. Not really. We’re not paying for the gossip. We’re paying for the glimpse. For the little wobble in a voice, a tiny apology, a family story you recognise. It’s why Simi’s white sofa mattered once, why Karan’s sofa rattled the tabloids, and why Kapil’s stage made everyone feel at home. The chat show isn’t dead. It just keeps changing clothes.
Why Indian audiences can’t stop watching chat shows from Simi Garewal to Karan Johar Instagram/karanjohar/primevideoin/ Youtube Screengrab
Remember the woman in white?
Simi Garewal brought quiet and intimacy. Her Rendezvous with Simi Garewal was all white sets and soft lights, and it felt almost like a church for confessions. She never went full interrogation mode with her guests. Instead, she’d just slowly unravel them, almost like magic. Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, they all sat on that legendary white sofa, dropping their guard and letting something real slip out, something you’d never stumble across anywhere else. The whole thing was gentle, personal, and almost revolutionary.
Simi Garewal and her iconic white sofa changed the face of Indian talk showsYoutube Screengrab/SimiGarewalOfficial
Then along came Karan Johar
Let’s be honest, Karan Johar changed the game completely. Koffee with Karan was the polar opposite. Where Simi was a whisper, Karan was a roar. His rapid-fire round was a headline machine. Suddenly, it stopped being about struggles or emotions but opinions, little rivalries, and that full-on, shiny Bollywood chaos. He almost spun the film industry into a full-blown high school drama, and honestly? We loved it up.
Kapil Sharma rewired the format again and took the chat show, threw it in a blender with a comedy sketch, and created a monster hit. His genius was in creating a world or what we call his crazy “Shantivan Society” and making the celebrities enter his universe. Suddenly, Shah Rukh Khan was being teased by a fictional, grumpy neighbour and Ranbir Kapoor was taunted by a fictional disappointed ex-girlfriend. Stars were suddenly part of the spectacle, all halos tossed aside. It was chaotic, yes, but delightfully so. The sort of chaos that still passed the family-TV test. For once, these impossibly glamorous faces felt like old friends lounging in your living room.
Kajol and Twinkle’s Amazon show Two Much feels like friends talking to people in their circle, and that matters. What’s wild is, these folks aren’t the stiff, traditional hosts, they’re insiders. The fun ones. The ones who know every secret because, let’s be honest, they were there when the drama started. On a platform like Amazon, they don’t have to play for TRPs or stick to a strict clock. They can just… talk.
People want to peep behind the curtain. Even with Instagram and Reels, there’s value in a longer, live-feeling exchange. It’s maybe the nuance, like an awkward pause, a memory that makes a star human, or a silly joke that lands. OTT gives space for that. Celebs turned hosts, like Twinkle and Kajol in Two Much or peers like Rana Daggubati in Telugu with The Rana Daggubati Show, can ask differently; they make room for stories that feel earned, not engineered.
How have streaming and regional shows changed the game?
Streaming freed chat shows from TRP pressure and ad breaks. You get episodes that breathe. Even regional versions likeThe Rana Daggubati Show, or long-running local weekend programmes, prove this isn’t a Mumbai-only appetite. Viewers want local language and local memories, the same star-curiosity in Kannada, Telugu, or Tamil. That widens the talent pool and the tone.
From White Sofas to OTT Screens How Indian Talk Shows Keep Capturing HeartsiStock
Are shock moments over?
Not really. But people are getting sick of obvious bait. Recent launches lean into warmth and inside jokes rather than feeding headlines. White set, gold couch, or a stage full of noise, it doesn’t matter. You just want to sit there, listen, get pulled into their stories, like a campfire you can’t leave. We watch, just curious, hoping maybe these stars are a little like us. Or maybe we’re hoping we can borrow a bit of their sparkle.
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