Detective Sherdil star Diljit Dosanjh and Salman Khan have this common quality, reveals maker Ravi Chhabriya

The mystery genre in Bollywood is known for its cult classics like Gupt (1997), Gumnaam (1965) and underrated movies like Saboot (1980). But of late, we have hardly seen any good mystery thrillers. This week, Detective Sherdil has come on Zee5. Udta Punjab actor Diljit Dosanjh plays the lead role. We had a chat with filmmaker Ravi Chhabriya who has been Ali Abbas Zafar’s assistant since years. He was part of all the Tiger movies with Salman Khan. He tells us, “I will not say that the mystery genre is unexplored in Bollywood, but it has a lot more scope.” In Detective Sherdil, Diljit Dosanjh plays a comedic suave English-speaking sleuth with an ensemble of characters around him. “When Ali (Ali Abbas Zafar) Sir wrote the script, he wanted Diljit Dosanjh to play the cool and charming detective. When Diljit heard the script, he was super happy about the role. He said he wanted an English vibe to the character,” says Chhabriya. The filmmaker says it took Zafar and him six to seven months to write the script. He also did the screenplay of the movie. “I began to edit it myself. As you know, the visual writing of a movie happens on an editing table. It was crazy,” he said.

When Ali (Ali Abbas Zafar) Sir wrote the script, he wanted Diljit Dosanjh to play the cool and charming detective. When Diljit heard the script, he was super happy about the role. He said he wanted an English vibe to the character.

- Ravi Chhabriya on Diljit Dosanjh coming in main role

The filmmaker has been a fan of the mystery genre since childhood whether it reading Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie. “Being a Bombay boy growing up in the 90s, I loved Gupt,” he gushes. He says that most mysteries are whoddunits but Detective Sherdil is more like a “how done it”. He elaborates, “The audience kind of figures out who is the killer as the film progresses. We have tried a new way of story-telling on how could he or she have pulled it off,” says Chhabriya.

Describing Ali Abbas Zafar as a family member, he says he is in love with how the Tiger filmmaker creates films with passion and faith. “I adore how he deals with everyone on set. He is sweet and soft-spoken. I have tried to learn that from him,” he says. Chhabariya has been an assistant director on the Tiger franchise with Ali Abbas Zafar. He has described Salman Khan as a university of learning about films.

“Salman Sir is super charming. He is the university. On sets, he is not too talkative but when he says something he commands attention. As you work with him, you realise he has so many thoughts about the film, his scenes and cinema in general. He is totally into his character. Salman Sir also shares his life lessons, which helps filmmakers grow. It is like a masterclass."

- Ravi Chhabriya on experience of working with Salman Khan

He was also an assistant director on the sets of Jogi with Diljit Dosanjh in lead role. “I would say Diljit Sir is very understanding, calm and collected. He puts in his might behind you in every scene,” he explains. Is there anything in common between Salman Khan and Diljit Dosanjh? “They are very different as people. However, both of them are very charming with an irresistible aura around them,” says Chhabriya.

He also said that while people who say OTT films have harmed the theatrical business might be correct to some extent. However, Chhabriya added that as story-tellers medium did not matter as much. “The job is to cater to the audience through our stories whether it is on OTT or on the big screen,” he signs off.