Friendship First

The lead characters of the three friends — Govind, Ishan and Omi — remain true to the book. Yadav plays Govind Patel, an ordinary Gujarati guy who wants to set up his own business. Rajput plays Ishan, the 23-year-old who dreams of becoming a professional cricketer. The trio is completed by Omi — played by Sadh — the son of a Hindu priest who goes for local bodybuilding sessions and is perhaps the most loyal of the three friends. The only romantic angle of the story is between Govind and Ishan's sister, Vidya, played by Amrita Puri.

Title and music

Abhishek found the title that would capture the spirit of the film in the land it is set in — Gujarat. "Kai Po Che" is the victory call in the region's kite-flying competitions. "I knew many people would not understand it, but its phonetic energy felt like something that would have a lasting effect on the audience's mind," he says.

For a director who seems to possess the right ear for music, Abhishek wanted songs that wouldn't disturb the narrative. As a result, there are just three songs in the soundtrack. For an earthy, soulful sound, in sync with the film's middle-class Gujarati milieu, he roped in composer Amit Trivedi and lyricist Swanand Kirkire — both of whom he wanted to work with. "Amit gave me the three tunes in three days, and initially, I was not fully convinced. I thought how can he not struggle even a bit? But when I woke up the next day with the tune of Manja refusing to leave my head, I knew I had the music for my film," said Abhishek.

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