"Dangal" director Nitesh Tiwari says his years as a student at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay where he was encouraged to push the envelope were crucial in shaping his career as a storyteller.
His latest film "Chhichhore" is a tribute to his years as a student and the friendships he forged at IIT-Bombay.
"I think it was destiny that brought me to Bombay IIT. I could have gone to other IITs but I landed here. My biggest learning there was to try and do things differently because out-of-box ideas were encouraged. I have closely seen that life and I wanted to make a beautiful story out of it," he told PTI.
The director says he ended up tapping his creative side quite accidently as his seniors pushed him to get involved with theatre productions.
"I never thought I could write or act before Bombay IIT. My seniors pushed me to do that because there weren't many participants at that time. I realised I could write and act and it gave me a lot of joy."
"In a feature film, the challenge is to hold people's interest for two-and-a-half- hours or two hours. The principles of filmmaking don't change but it is you as a storyteller who comes into play."