No stars, no studio, just a caravan: How Nukkad Natak took the road less travelled to reach theatres

The film’s roots are deeply personal. Growing up on the IIT Dhanbad campus where his father was dean, Shekhar noticed a jarring social divide. “It struck me that the IIT campus and the slum had been co-existing… yet there was a stark contrast between these two worlds,” he told The New Indian Express.

For Shekhar, making the film came down to two difficult tasks. “I feel there are two things that are very hard,” he said in an interview with NDTV. “Writing a very good script is very hard, and the second thing is money.”

He pointed out that talent was never the problem. “We realised there is so much talent if you are not chasing stars. There are so many brilliant actors in Mumbai. I had first seen Molshri and Shivang in a play — they are phenomenal actors.”

The real hurdle was funding.

To bridge the gap, he turned to his IIT network. While he noted that most IITians are analytical and viewed movies as the “worst possible investment,” about 30 to 35 alumni eventually put in money.

According to The Hollywood Reporter India, the first round raised Rs 40-50 lakhs, but the struggle didn’t end there. To finish the edit, the team had to find new investors. An elderly man who saw them filming on the Dhanbad campus was so impressed that he urged his daughter to fund the project.

The film was shot at IIT Dhanbad, where Tanmay’s father is a dean, with the director’s family stepping in to provide lodging and even home-cooked meals for the crew.

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Survival in the industry

For lead actress Molshri, Nukkad Natak represents a break from the audition cycle. “Mushkil to hota hai to survive, pay the rent,” she said, detailing how she edited books and wrote children’s stories to stay afloat.

“Most lead and supporting roles are already cast behind closed doors. The auditions that come to us are for one-day roles, one-line roles, or background parts. You give 200 auditions a year and end up shooting for just two or three days,” Tanmay said.

Knocking on closed doors

Even after completing the film, which premiered at the Kolkata International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Award, finding backing proved difficult.

“We went to every production company, every director, every producer’s office. We called, emailed — but no one responded,” Shekhar said.

Access itself was the biggest barrier. “Sometimes guards wouldn’t let us enter offices. Even if we reached reception, we were turned away. Many times, we stood outside offices hoping someone would come out so we could meet them.”

How Imtiaz Ali tried helping

Their persistence eventually paid off — in an unexpected way. “We met Imtiaz Ali like that only,” Tanmay said, adding, “We went to his office three or four times. Once, we saw him stepping out of his car — we had a ten-second window. We handed him a letter. He wrote back later.”

Ali watched the film, appreciated it, and even made calls on their behalf , though nothing materialised with OTT platforms.

Taking the film to the people

Eventually, the team decided to stop waiting for the industry — and go directly to audiences. They rented a caravan and set off on a six-week road tour across 12–13 cities including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Kota, Delhi, Kanpur, and Kolkata.

“We branded the caravan with Nukkad Natak and went to schools and colleges. Some days, we even performed on the streets,” Tanmay said.

They sang songs, hosted small events, and even screened the film in villages, documenting everything online. The campaign also included a viral Instagram series, How To Enter Bollywood, which captured the struggles of outsiders trying to break into the industry.

“I now have a much better sense of what people in other cities watch, listen to, and talk about,” Tanmay said. “As a creator, it’s helpful to stay in touch with people.”

Whether the marketing works, he added, “We’ll know after the release, when we see if people come to theatres.”

Hope for theatrical success and OTT deal to pay off loans

However, Nukkad Natak faced friction with the CBFC over LGBTQ+ content. Tanmay said, “I was expecting 13+, but they started with an Adult certificate.” After a “back and forth” and several changes, they secured a UA 16+ rating.

With total costs, including marketing, reaching Rs 2–2.5 crore through loans, the team now hopes theatrical success leads to an OTT deal. “If the film earns Rs 10 crore, we’ll only get about Rs 3 crore as producers. After taxes and theatre shares, roughly one-third comes to us,” Tanmay explained.

A dream finally reaching theatres

While international awards (including Best Actress wins for Molshri in the UK and Germany) have validated Nukkad Natak, Tanmay noted that theater owners often view festival wins as a “negative,” fearing the movie will be “boring.”

Still, Nukkad Natak has secured around 15 screens, a milestone the team still finds surreal. “We still can’t believe our film is releasing,” Tanmay said.

For Molshri, the hope is that casting directors finally see her potential. For Tanmay, the film’s reception will dictate his future. “A lot depends on this film,” he says, adding, “I have scripts written… I am looking forward to making a romance film next.”

For now, the caravan has reached its destination – theatres. Whether audiences follow, that story begins today (February 27).