Mumbai, Jan 13 (IANS): Filmmaker Subhash Ghai who is gearing up for his new web film titled '36 Farmhouse' shares his experience of working on a film from scratch to release during a pandemic and why it is important for him to be in love with actors he works with.

Known for showing beautiful landscapes in films like 'Taal', 'Pardes', 'Yaadein', Ghai opens up on how he actually utilised the time during lockdown by writing the story of a film, composing music and also poetry that is used as part of the narrative in '36 Farmhouse'.

Ghai told IANS: "It was quite a unique experience for me especially because I think when crisis comes, creativity flows. This time the challenge was we were locked in our house. We cannot go out for shooting whereas I am someone who has done a lot of outdoor shooting in my film. So I thought how about writing a story where everything happens in a farmhouse and tell an engaging story through characters in such a manner that we can turn it into a full-length film. So I started writing."

He went on adding, "I always believe that our kind of storytelling is incomplete without music, be it background score or songs and poetry. During the lockdown, I wrote around 70 poems throughout the year. I also wrote two songs and made the tune of them. Then through virtual sessions with our music students, we created the music. Again, I had no idea that without going to the studio the way we used to record things earlier, now we can do everything like this! Then Sonu Nigam and Hariharan also joined and lent their voice for our song. I am fascinated."

The film '36 Farmhouse' is directed by Ram Ramesh Sharma and it features Amol Parashar, Barkha Singh, Sanjay Mishra, Vijay Raaz, Flora Saini and Ashwini Kalsekar among others.

As he worked with a bunch of new talents in the film, Ghai said, "I am so impressed by Amol and Barkha. Look I have to fall in love with the actor I work with and it is not just about following the script for their performance but having a great interaction with my actor is part of my process. So I build the relationship first with new actors. I am surprised to see how smart and sharp Amol is, to understand my mind. Earlier we used to explain actors a scene by acting it for them, but these kids are fantastic! I can say, I am ready to work with Amol again and he is going to be a star in the future."

The film releases on ZEE5 on January 21.