'Budget Trip' director says it's 50 percent his journey

"Budget Trip"! No, it's not a new travel offer, but the title of a forthcoming film which tells the journey of a first-time filmmaker. Interestingly, it is being brought to the big screen by debutant director Chetan Morada, who says the romantic-comedy is "50 percent my journey and 50 percent of fiction".

He believes that the movie will appeal to viewers in the age bracket of 18 to 45.

A science graduate, Morada initially directed TV shows like "Kayamath" on Star Plus and "Kuchh Is Tarah" on Sony TV, and he even assisted filmmakers like Raj Kanwar.

He turns feature film director with "Budget Trip" and says that the motive was "to get the ball rolling and start making films, which has always been my passion".

The director, who has been toying with the idea for some time, got the green signal from Sandeep Kewlani because "Budget Trip" fitted into the producer's budget.

"Just needed a good producer who could see beyond the business of film making and look at its creative side also. My producer Sandeep Kewlani liked the idea and we went ahead as it fitted into the budget he was looking at," said Morada in an email interview.

The film revolves around Amit Kataria, who wants to make a film with Salman Khan, and is asked to come up with a bound script. How he bumps into writer Sourav Chatterjee and how they decide to take a budget trip to a serene place to write the script, forms the story's crux.

A keen traveler himself, Morada said: "In a way, it is 50 percent of my journey and 50 percent could be fiction, unless someone has experienced it. At the drop of a hat, I would love to travel to the mountains and do some writing whenever I have time off my regular work. So, in a way, there is some resemblance."

True to his nature, he decided to shoot the film in the lap of nature and shot most of the film in Kasol, a small village in Himachal Pradesh.

Just like the film's hero Amit, Morada too had to work within a limited budget, although he refused to reveal the exact amount spent on the movie.

"Budget Trip" has Vijay Raaz as the only known name in the cast.

Asked about the plans to market and promote the film, Morada said that the audience has become "unpredictable".

"It's an era of new age cinema where storyline is as important as the stars. Being a creative person, I didn't give much thought to marketing, but I did an honest job. More or less, the making of the film has been real fun for the entire team and I hope the audience will connect to it," he said.

The film is ready to release, and "we are looking for an auspicious date in the near future", said Morada.

What is the mainstay of the film?

"The strength of the film is that it will appeal to the age group of 18 to 45 years... even if you are not into film making, still somewhere you can relate to it," he said.

He feels Himachal's natural beauty has been beautifully captured by cinematographer Sanjay Gupta, and that it is another high point of his offering.

"Cinematography is something to watch out for in the film," he said.

For Morada, making the film was an exciting experience.

"Film making is a process. From scripting to casting to finding a producer who believes in you to filming -- it's like a roller-coaster ride with its ups and downs. It is like giving birth to a baby (not that I have experienced that), filled with beautiful, exciting and adventurous moments," he said.

As far as other projects go, currently, he is "working on a few ad films", and soon he will start casting for his next film.