Filmmaker Vibhu Puri’s Gustaakh Ishq has been receiving a lot of acclaim after it released on Friday November 28. Produced by Manish Malhotra, the film stars Vijay Varma, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Naseeruddin Shah. Puri spoke about the film and more in an interview with us.

Vibhu Puri on exploring old school romance in Gustaakh Ishq, “Hatred and bloodshed can only give birth to love and romance”

How did Gustaakh Ishq happen?

Manish had acquired the rights to a book set in the land of the Nawabs in early 1900s Lucknow. His team felt I was the right person to do justice to a world like that, so the project came to me. I read the book and loved it, but I was deeply caught up withHeeramandiand Taj, and I knew a story that elaborate would need time. I told him honestly that Iwouldn’tbe able to start writing it immediately. Manish then asked me if there was something of my own that I had written… something I wanted to make. In our very second meeting, I narrated the first half of the script that was close to my heart. He heard it, smiled, and said hedidn’teven need to listen to the second half —“I want to take this journey with you.” And just like that, GustaakhIshq was born.

Such a film in today’s times feels audacious

Shakespeare said, “My only love sprung from my only hatred.” Perhaps that’s why I believe hatred and bloodshed can only give birth to love and romance. And maybe this — right now — is the best time to tell a love story. But this oneisn’teven a tale. It’s a fable. A fable about good people. About goodness, warmth, heartfelt. About the kind of old-school romance people are secretly craving —real, tender, unhurried love between two beautiful hearts finding each other. In a world that’s loud and fractured, this is my small offering of softness. Of love.

What was it like working with Naseeruddin Shah?

I always thought Naseer saab was a lovely actor, until I directed him inTaj. That’s when I realised he is beyond words. Incredible in a way that only time, truth, and talent can shape a man. There could have been no one else who could play Babba — the old poet of wisdom. Naseer once brought Ghalib to life.I’mso grateful that the next time he is playing a poet on screen after Ghalib…it is in my film. I feel blessed. He is so real, so natural. He is grace. He is all heart.

This is Vijay Verma’s first lead role

I’veknown Vijay for two decades now — he was my junior at FTII. Even back then, he was raw, electric talent with those incredibly expressive eyes. There’s a sincerity in him that youdon’tcome across often. He’s a textured man — layered, thoughtful, unpredictable in the most exciting way. Someone who feels deeply and channels it quietly, without showmanship. He was always on my mind for this film. When I suggested his name to Manish Malhotra, he actually lit up — jumped like a kid who just heard great news. Because when you think of fine, lived-in performances, you think of Vijay. He’s that rare actor whodoesn’tperform the scene, he inhabits it. So subtle. So refined. So utterly compelling.I’mlucky to have him bring this world to life.

And Fatima?

Fatima is silence. She plays Minni with a stillness so real, so quietly heartbreaking, it lingers long after the moment passes. Shedoesn’tspeak much — shedoesn’tneed to. Her eyes carry entire worlds, tiny tremors of feeling, a truth you cannot fake. She said yes in two hours. Read the script, called Manish Malhotra and simply said, ‘I want to play Minni.’ That instinct, that clarity — it told me she already understood her. Having her in the film was pure joy. On set, she held Minni like something precious and offered her to the camera with such grace. And what a performance — delicate, raw, devastatingly honest. Fatimadoesn’tact Minni. She has dissolved herself into being Minni. I think she is the only actor who can make silence thunder.

Their romance is veryold world

The romance between Minni and Pappan is perfectly imperfect — and that’s its beauty. Nothing polished, nothing convenient. They meet in the small hesitations, in those fragile spaces where two guarded people slowly open up. And Fatima and Vijay are both so real as actors that thereisn’ta single false note between them. Every moment feels lived, not performed. What they create is quietly poignant — a tenderness that’s raw, honest, and human. Imperfect in all the ways that make it unforgettable.

Who are the target audience for Gustaakh Ishq?

This is a film for everyone. For everyone who loves love. Who has cherished tenderness, who has lived inside poetry, who has carved a name on the bark of a tree, who has held a hand on a moonlit night. This film is for you. A promise of love. A promise of waiting. It’s for your loved ones, your parents, your children — for anyone who has ever believed in the small, quiet, timeless things that make us human. This is that universal film about love and values — a story that belongs to all of us.

Also Read: From Couture to Cinema: Manish Malhotra’s Gustaakh Ishq proves he’s not just designing clothes, he’s designing stories