Nikkhil Advani says was challenging to keep his own biases out of Batla House project

Making a film on a contentious subject is always challenging. For director Nikkhil Advani, it was even more as he had to insulate the narration of events surrounding the Batla House encounter in his next film from his own biases and examine the complexities in their entirety.

Advani said his focus was on the human aspect of what had happened during the police encounter in Delhi's Batla House in 2008. "How split-second decisions were made, the rationale, the personal history, ambitions, personal risks and conflicts," he said.

To do that, a film-maker needs to do a thorough research, backed by a strong screenplay.

Advani said the research on the project was done by his screenwriter-friend Ritesh Shah, an alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia university which is close to the site of the encounter.

In fact, Shah brought the story to Advani and had already worked on it.

"What fascinated me the most beyond politics or controversy was how humans behave under pressure, how people lead in crisis ..