Director Arun Chandu recently shared insights about his film 'Gaganachari' in an interview, focusing on the challenges of sci-fi filmmaking, particularly the significant costs involved in creating futuristic settings. Despite these financial constraints, Chandu highlighted how 'Gaganachari' successfully brought its envisioned world to life on screen, maintaining both believability and visual impact.

‘Gaganachari’ is different from your previous films. Why science fiction?

Science fiction is the easiest for me to tell, write, and direct. This is also my favourite field. One such short film was what I had planned to be my first film. The story is of a father and daughter arriving from another space station to the Earth, which is devastated by nuclear winter. It should be a story with a duration of 20–30 minutes. I wanted to cast Prithviraj Sukumaran in that film. I presented the story to Prithviraj, and he liked the story. But it didn't happen. I usually talk about space and science fiction with my friends.

Tell us about ‘Gaganachari’

The filming for ‘Gaganachari’ was completed three years ago, but it hit the silver screens quite late. But in the meantime, it has been screened at several film festivals and won awards. Films that are usually delayed in release after filming do not get enough attention in theatres because they lose their relevance. However, since ‘Gaganachari’ tells the story of the future world, we faced no such problems. The audience welcomed the film with open arms. The film, which was released in 40 theatres, is now screening in 120 theatres. That is the success of ‘Gaganachari’. I am grateful that I have been able to convey things that I wished through humour. Many of the people working behind the scenes did not know what this film was about during the filming. However, they all stayed with the hope that there would be a good product. Their support is the reason for the success of this film. I thank them for this success.

Does the film exhibit the narrative style seen in movies like 'Aavasavyuham' and 'Purusha Pretham', directed by Krishand RK?

The trailer for ‘Gaganachari’, which was screened at several film festivals, got leaked and published on YouTube without our knowledge. Seeing that, Krishand expressed his desire to see ‘Gaganachari’. After watching the film, he suggested some changes to the film for commercial success. The movie reached theatres with those changes included.

How was the cast fixed for each role?

I am a big fan of Ganesh Kumar, and I really like KG George. Ganesh Kumar, who played the character of Baby in K G George’s ‘Irakal’, made me like him as an actor. He is such a versatile actor who can deliver his characters perfectly. He has handled comedy well in this film. Gokul Suresh is a good actor too. But he has not had enough opportunities. Gokul starred in my ‘Sayanna Varthakal', and he has done a good job with his character Alan in ‘Gaganachari’. I am sure that he will become a good actor in the future. Anarkali also gave a good performance. I maintained a good relationship with Aju Varghese after working behind the scenes for the film ‘Thattathin Marayathu’ He has helped me with my film ‘Saajan Bakery’ too.