Low Fidelity

Ahead of the release of his new film, filmmaker Shakun Batra talks about sex, relat ionships, and what it means to be in love

What if love isn’t the rock we’re told it is, but an expansive, tumultuous sea where all bets are off once the shore is out of sight? It is this question that has plagued Shakun Batra all his life and the only way to find solace, has been penning stories that question our ideas of love, fidelity, and everything in between. “It’s the little things that drive me as a storyteller. Exploring the ambiguous crevices in human relationships helps me accept my experiences, and myself, better.”

To Batra, love is a Ship of Theseus – the sum of volatile parts that keep changing every second. “My experience with love has taught me that it isn’t a singular emotion, but a vast spectrum of which romance is only a small, overemphasised part,” he says “Even indifference is a part of it. It is what’s left of love once the romance and affection evaporate.” He believes every wedge of the spectrum is in itself, a story of aching beauty waiting to be told. “We need to tell richer stories that explore love over different stages; more ‘Ijazat’s and ‘When Harry Met Sally’s.”