The Salacity (Prime Video) Director Jaimin Bal Exclusive: From working as a junior assistant director on the sets of Om Shanti Om to becoming an independent filmmaker in the US, Jaimin Bal has come a long way. Over the years, he has carved a path for himself by exploring dark themes and the complexities of human behaviour through cinema.
Instagram/@jaiminbal, @farahkhankunder
His recently released psychological thriller, The Salacity, now streaming on Prime Video (yet to be made available in India), is another step in that journey. In an exclusive conversation with Filmibeat sub-editor Mimtaz, Jaimin opens up about what drew him to The Salacity, his fascination with morally grey characters and the creative challenges of independent filmmaking. He also looks back at his early days on Om Shanti Om and reveals how working with Farah Khan influenced his filmmaking journey.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
1. Your films often explore dark themes, crime and the more disturbing sides of human behaviour. What draws you to these stories, and is there a part of human nature you find particularly fascinating to explore through cinema?
Jaimin: What interests me is the distance between the person we believe we are and the choices we actually make. Someone can speak sincerely about loyalty while betraying another person’s trust. Someone else can be so convinced of their own righteousness that they stop recognising the cruelty of what they are doing. That contradiction gives a filmmaker a great deal to explore. In The Salacity, infidelity opens up questions about trust, judgement and the desire to control someone else’s life. The blackmailer believes he has the moral authority to punish other people. What fascinates me is how that certainty can become permission to cause harm. A psychological thriller allows those questions to unfold through behaviour and consequences. I want an audience to feel the suspense while recognising something unsettlingly familiar in the way a character explains himself.
2. The central character believes he is doing the right thing, even as his actions become increasingly disturbing. Did you want audiences to question his morality, or question their own beliefs about justice and betrayal?
Jaimin: Both, because the two questions are connected. The Salacity deals with something most people can recognise: betrayal can cause profound pain. But acknowledging that pain does not give someone unlimited authority over another person’s life. The central character’s belief that he is doing the right thing is exactly what makes his behaviour disturbing. I would like viewers to examine the moment when they begin to accept his reasoning. They may agree that dishonesty has consequences, yet still have to ask who gets to decide those consequences, and what limits should apply. His certainty deserves as much scrutiny as the people he condemns. For me, understanding a character’s logic does not require agreeing with him. The film’s moral tension lies in that space: we can take betrayal seriously while questioning someone who uses it to justify coercion and control.
3. Do you believe audiences today are more fascinated by morally grey characters than straightforward heroes and villains?
Jaimin: I think audiences are drawn to characters whose behaviour they can follow, even when they find that behaviour uncomfortable. A character becomes compelling when we can see how a desire turns into a decision, and how that decision changes what happens next. Contradiction feels convincing when it has an emotional logic. Calling someone “morally grey” is not enough to make them interesting. A heroic character can have enormous depth, and a disturbing character can be shallow if the writing simply relies on shock. I am interested in what the person wants, what they are prepared to justify, and whether they can recognise the damage they cause. In The Salacity, the central character’s claim to moral authority gives us something to examine. We can understand the reasoning he uses without accepting his actions. That tension can hold an audience’s attention because it keeps us questioning him as the story unfolds.
4. As an independent filmmaker working in Hollywood, do you believe indie filmmakers have greater creative freedom than those working on big studio productions, especially when exploring dark, unconventional themes like those in The Salacity?
Jaimin: Independence can give a filmmaker more room to pursue a personal vision, but that freedom comes with very practical responsibilities. You have to find the resources, bring a unit together and find a way for the finished film to reach an audience. Those pressures affect creative choices. My experience with The Salacity has been one of independent international filmmaking: an English-language psychological thriller shot in Mauritius with an international cast. As both producer and director, I have to think about the artistic choices and the people and resources needed to achieve them. One of my earliest lessons came from watching Farah Khan at work on Om Shanti Om. I was a junior assistant director, and her energy, sincerity and efficiency made a strong impression. Watching her helped me understand how much directing involves managing a unit and balancing different demands alongside the technical work of filming. I would never say independent filmmakers are automatically freer than studio directors. We face different constraints, and the real challenge is protecting the film’s intent while working responsibly within them.