Kabir on why he roped in fresh faces for his show on Subhas Chandra Bose
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; December 19, 2017)

With the debacle of his Salman Khan-starrer, Tubelight, behind him, Kabir Khan has shifted his attention to his upcoming web show, The Forgotten Army. Having kicked off work on the series, based on his documentary by the same name, Khan refutes suggestions that Bollywood bigwigs are associated with the project. “There are no Bollywood actors in the series,” he says, close on the heels of reports that indicated Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan’s association with the outing. “We thought of approaching them, but then chose to cast fresh faces.”

The series, being touted as Amazon’s first international series from the country, is based on Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army. That it will also release in countries that do not recognize Bollywood talent was another reason to avoid casting the actors, says Khan. “It’s better to invest in the story and trust new talent, than spend heavily on actors for such a platform.”

Given that the series will release in 204 territories, as Khan claims, he has roped in talent from across the globe. “We have soldiers from the Indian, Japanese, British and Burmese armies, and talent from across the globe. The best part about the casting is that the characters will speak in their native language.”

The action for the series, he adds, is being helmed by Sham Kaushal. “But we are also collaborating with teams internationally.” Having returned to the set on December 15, Khan calls the “laborious and painstaking process of filmmaking”, enjoyable. “We started shooting in Film City and will wrap up the ongoing schedule by January 4. Then, we head to Thailand, near the Burmese border, and will shoot a major chunk there, and in the jungles nearby. We’re keeping the series realistic. So, the number of people involved with the project is large, especially since we’re showcasing a war between two countries.”

Khan refutes suggestions that filming for his series was deferred. “We always planned to wrap up our Thailand schedule by February. It is relatively dry in the area around this time. And we needed it to be that way.”