Sumeet Vyas has marked his directorial debut and is currently shooting for a new web series, Raat Jawaan Hai. Ask what prompted him to make the switch and he says, “As an actor or writer, you play a very small part in the process. As a director, you can contribute a lot more and that feels nice.”

Having dabbled in films, TV and OTT, it’s with the latter that the actor-writer gained a lot of success. However, he has one grouse with web platforms. “Ninety percent of content on OTT today, in India or internationally, is action, violence, thrill and genres which are serious and hectic to watch. We’ve completely forgotten the Seinfeld, F.R.I.E.N.D.S and How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) kind of shows. In India, we had shows like Dekh Bhai Dekh, Wagle Ki Duniya and Malgudi Days,” the 40-year-old shares, adding, “Those shows were like an escape [from reality] or a relief. They used to be our happy place.”

So, the Permanent Roommates and Tripling actor wants to go back to this era. “The idea with our show is to create something that becomes a happy place for our generation... I hope we have chosen quality over quantity and are not telling another run-of-the-mill story,” he says.

Vyas insists he wouldn’t want to direct himself. “It requires a lot of confidence to tell someone to look into my eyes and think they’re in love with me. I don’t think I would be able to do that,” he ends.