“We needed to speak about this conflict between knowing better and your conditioning—[between] what you are supposed to do, ought to do, and want to do. This movie is like the Hangover, but for orgasms. And Radhika came from a very honest space.”

Radhika Anand, writer, Karan Boolani and Rhea Kapoor

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Kapoor, who has produced Aisha (2010), Khoobsurat (2014) and Veere Di Wedding (2018) has a knack for making it flamboyant yet keeping it real. This is also the first film that doesn’t star her sister, Sonam; but it is the directorial debut of her husband, Boolani who comes from advertising. He has directed ads for Pepsi and Google, and also made the documentary, The Healing Feeling. When we ask Boolani how he prepared himself to direct a female sex comedy written by two women, produced by a woman, and about the female orgasm, he laughs, “I know less about women now!” But quickly adds, “It was like directing any other movie. In the end, it’s filmmaking.

It’s storytelling, and it’s a script. You always look to empathise with the characters. That’s what I did. It’s my first film so I was discovering myself and the tools available to me. And I leaned on my writers and producers for their expertise.”

He admits to have been party to a lot of girl talk, thanks to hanging out with the Kapoor sisters, and their gal pals, which include designer-actor Masaba Gupta and food entrepreneur Pooja Dhingra. Kapoor confesses that the conversations she had with her single friends during the pandemic added to the core of the movie. “The movie is about connections and relationships—with others and yourself—and sex is a big part of that. This is the story of every girl; this is how we feel. It’s about looking in, and following your voice.”

For Anand, the process of writing with women and for women was, “the most enriching part. Here was a female producer, and my co-writer was [stand-up comedienne] Prashasti Singh. We became a gang. A lot of it does come from personal experience… strange anecdotes from all our lives. For the first time, I didn’t feel even a bit of hesitation for what I was saying in a scene because I knew they would understand.” This is where Kapoor chimes in with a laugh, “Writing it was such a safe experience. It has been a masterclass in what it feels like to be a woman.”

She is right.

We have gotten used to making male-centric sex comedies, usually starring even the same actors. Remember Tushar Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh in Kyaa
Kool Hai Hum? Anand’s case in point: “We were very candid and raw. And yes, this is how women speak, no matter what you think!” It also doesn’t stoop to male-bashing. “All the men who may have treated the main character badly, also have an arc. There is a reason why they are how they are,” she says.

The ultimate vote of confidence for Boolani came when his mother, who is a cinema buff and watches a movie every Friday, liked it. “She sounded nervous, and I could feel that. But when we organised a screening for her and her friends, she said, ‘OK, this is great. I can ask everyone to see it.’ That’s when I smiled. Phew!”