<p>Mumbai: Sudhanshu Saria says it was exciting to tell a spy story through a female protagonist as it opened up new possibilities in <em>Ulajh</em>, his upcoming thriller fronted by Janhvi Kapoor.</p><p>Set in the intriguing world of Indian Foreign Services (IFS), <em>Ulajh</em> follows the journey of a young IFS officer, played by Kapoor, who gets embroiled in a dangerous personal conspiracy after getting appointed for a career-defining post.</p><p>The patriotic thriller is written by Parveez Shaikh and Saria while Atika Chauhan has penned the dialogues.</p><p>“I never look at stories from a gender lens, I don’t think genres need to be about gender. For me, Parveez’s choice to make the protagonist a woman was exciting and that opened up possibilities in a fresh way," the filmmaker told <em>PTI</em>.</p><p>Spy thrillers are one of the most popular genres in Hindi cinema and Saria is happy that they get to be one of the firsts to come up with a spy thriller, led by a star like Janhvi.</p><p>"I know there's a wave of spy thrillers that will come now. There’s a Yash Raj Films one with Alia (Bhatt) and Sharvari (Wagh) in it, but I’m excited that we get to lead that charge. For me, Janhvi is as much a superstar as any of those before who have done these big massy spy thrillers,” the director said.</p>.5 Powerhouse roles of Janhvi Kapoor you must see before 'Uljah'.<p>Known for <em>Sanaa</em> and streaming show <em>Big Girls Don’t Cry</em> Saria said he started working on the movie three years ago when Junglee Productions approached him to direct the movie.</p><p>"I was really surprised that they thought of me," said the <em>Loev</em> fame director, adding he was awestruck by the twists and turns in the movie.</p><p>“I saw a real possibility in the script of reinventing the genre. This was three years back, I always think of what our audience is going to be looking for in 2025-2026 or 2024, when you are sitting in 2021... It ticked all the boxes for me. So, for me it was a very easy yes.”</p><p>The film boasts of an ensemble including Roshan Mathew, Gulshan Devaiah, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang, Meiyang Chang, Rajendra Gupta, and Jitendra Joshi.</p>.<p>The casting process for <em>Ulajh</em> was a significant undertaking, taking approximately eight months to assemble the talented ensemble, Saria said, adding he was delighted to be working with such accomplished actors.</p><p>“It made directing such a joy. Every day I would go on the set, I would look at the call sheet and be like, ‘Which exciting actor combo pair am I going to work with?’. For me, it is always about serving the audience. I work for the audience, and the idea of keeping them excited and serving up actor after actor, and putting them in the same film, I was very greedy about it.”</p><p>The film is slated to release in theatres on August 2.</p>
<p>Mumbai: Sudhanshu Saria says it was exciting to tell a spy story through a female protagonist as it opened up new possibilities in <em>Ulajh</em>, his upcoming thriller fronted by Janhvi Kapoor.</p><p>Set in the intriguing world of Indian Foreign Services (IFS), <em>Ulajh</em> follows the journey of a young IFS officer, played by Kapoor, who gets embroiled in a dangerous personal conspiracy after getting appointed for a career-defining post.</p><p>The patriotic thriller is written by Parveez Shaikh and Saria while Atika Chauhan has penned the dialogues.</p><p>“I never look at stories from a gender lens, I don’t think genres need to be about gender. For me, Parveez’s choice to make the protagonist a woman was exciting and that opened up possibilities in a fresh way," the filmmaker told <em>PTI</em>.</p><p>Spy thrillers are one of the most popular genres in Hindi cinema and Saria is happy that they get to be one of the firsts to come up with a spy thriller, led by a star like Janhvi.</p><p>"I know there's a wave of spy thrillers that will come now. There’s a Yash Raj Films one with Alia (Bhatt) and Sharvari (Wagh) in it, but I’m excited that we get to lead that charge. For me, Janhvi is as much a superstar as any of those before who have done these big massy spy thrillers,” the director said.</p>.5 Powerhouse roles of Janhvi Kapoor you must see before 'Uljah'.<p>Known for <em>Sanaa</em> and streaming show <em>Big Girls Don’t Cry</em> Saria said he started working on the movie three years ago when Junglee Productions approached him to direct the movie.</p><p>"I was really surprised that they thought of me," said the <em>Loev</em> fame director, adding he was awestruck by the twists and turns in the movie.</p><p>“I saw a real possibility in the script of reinventing the genre. This was three years back, I always think of what our audience is going to be looking for in 2025-2026 or 2024, when you are sitting in 2021... It ticked all the boxes for me. So, for me it was a very easy yes.”</p><p>The film boasts of an ensemble including Roshan Mathew, Gulshan Devaiah, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang, Meiyang Chang, Rajendra Gupta, and Jitendra Joshi.</p>.<p>The casting process for <em>Ulajh</em> was a significant undertaking, taking approximately eight months to assemble the talented ensemble, Saria said, adding he was delighted to be working with such accomplished actors.</p><p>“It made directing such a joy. Every day I would go on the set, I would look at the call sheet and be like, ‘Which exciting actor combo pair am I going to work with?’. For me, it is always about serving the audience. I work for the audience, and the idea of keeping them excited and serving up actor after actor, and putting them in the same film, I was very greedy about it.”</p><p>The film is slated to release in theatres on August 2.</p>