What do you do when your Desi parents want you to become a pharmacist but you want to make films? You do both.
Meet Tarun Verma – father, husband, pharmacist and filmmaker. We got the chance to chat with Verma regarding his recent film, ‘Conception’ amongst other things. Here’s what he had to say:
Q: Tell us about your journey to this point.
A: I realized very early on it wasn’t enough that I know how to write a script or direct actors. I had to learn the business of film. I spent about a decade away from filmmaking so I could learn business. Real estate, healthcare, passive income businesses, you name it, I’ve been in it all. It’s all helped me learn so that when I started up in filmmaking again, I really knew what I was doing and how to corral investors because I do that anyway in my day to day life now.
Q: As a pharmacist, what got you into filmmaking?
A: I was into filmmaking since college but I’m a good Indian boy so I went to pharmacy school for my parents. Turned out they were right because I came with high paying job and that helped me fund my earlier projects.
Q: Conception is one of those films that pulls at your heartstrings in many different ways. Was there anything that inspired you to tell this story? How were you able to make the story feel so raw?
A: This film is based on the IVF journey of my patients. I spent several years as a fertility pharmacist and after helping countless couples try to get pregnant, it hits you emotionally. To see these couples go through financial, mental, physical struggles, it just pierced my heart and I knew there was story as a filmmaker I could make about it. The reason it feels so raw is because… it comes directly from emotions of my patients, it’s true to their struggles.
Q: Simren and Kareem did an incredible job playing Ami and Vic. Can you tell me a little bit about your relationship (working and personal) with both of them? How did you guys work together to bring this script to life?
A: Kareem and I had done a film before and we’re just on the same wavelength. I wrote Vic with him in mind. I found Simren during the casting process. These two have been phenomenal. We spent a lot of time in pre-production and these two really over prepared for the scenes and that hard work really shows on screen.
Q: What are some of your favorite memories from the set?
A: I come from a comedy background so the scenes when Kareem throws in improv and we get to go back and forth on making the jokes funnier was definitely some of my favorite moments on set.
Q: What’s it like filming in Houston?
A: Houston is home. It was cool shooting all over Houston because it almost reintroduced me to different pockets of this city I forgot existed. It’s a massive city so there’s so many vibes here that it was cool to incorporate them into the film.
Q: A message you’d like to share with audiences?
A: The main message to take away is to talk about these issues. If you’re seriously dating, newly married, or even married for a while, talk about different scenarios with your partner. Maybe both of y’all don’t care to have kids or maybe one really does and the other doesn’t. Nothing is more devastating to a relationship than not being on the same page. What happens if you can’t have a baby? How far will you go? Where’s the line for you guys?
Q: What’s next for Tarun Verma? Any future projects you can share?
A: Hopefully in the next couple of months I can announce it but I can’t put anything out into the ether just yet. If the casting happens the way I want it to, you’re going to go…. “Tarun, no way you got these actors/actresses man!”. An exciting cast is the first step to creating an exciting film!
