Four years after Made In Heaven dropped on Amazon Prime Video, creators Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti are back with its second season. The show that touches upon socially relevant issues against the backdrop of Indian weddings, drops online today. Sobhita Dhulipala and Arjun Mathur who play wedding planners and their on-screen teammates – Shashank Arora and Shivani Raghuvanshi – talk about their reunion and what’s in store for the audience this time around.

Speaking about why it took four long years to return, Sobhita shares, “It’s quite an extravagant show. It’s set against the wedding backdrop, which requires a large setup and grand set designs. There is no joy in compromising and putting something out just because kaam khatam karna hai. It’s made with love and sometimes it takes time.”

Arjun adds, “We faced two lockdowns during our shoots. The shooting was planned for eight months, but took around 18 months. We shot in extraordinary circumstances, completely out of our control, but finally, we are glad that we are here.”

Apart from the main cast, the season will also feature Mrunal Thakur, Radhika Apte, Dia Mirza Rekhi, Pulkit Samrat and Sanjay Kapoor, among others, as guests.

Says an excited Shivani, “It feels nice and fresh, because otherwise wohi chehre aapko dikhte rehte hai. The new cast members and characters will bring in freshness.”

Arjun adds, “We embrace these new characters and include them into our family. We become the hosts. After seeing season one, most actors were ready to jump in and take on the opportunity.”

Shashank shares, “From the newer lot, I enjoyed working with Radhika, Imaad Shah, Sarah Jane Dias, Mrunal… you learn something from every person that you work with.”

Arjun’s performance won him a nomination at the International Emmy Awards 2020 in the Best Actor category. He shares, “This has been a breakthrough show for me. After watching the trailer of the second season, I had to pinch myself. It is a matter of great privilege because as actors, we aspire to headline shows and shoulder the responsibility of big projects!”

Shivani adds, “I have grown up watching Zoya’s work. I have been a part of couple of projects, but after this show, people have started calling me Jazz (her character in the show).”

Sobhita: None, because I am never invited to one!

Arjun: I am a big fan of Virushka’s (Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma) wedding. I have followed it on social media.

Sobhita: In our Telugu culture, there is a ritual where a bride, after the Gauri puja, is put in a basket and all the uncles carry her to the mandap. It really looks cute; the bride in the basket looks like a doll.

Arjun: I just want to eat and go home. Just eating good food at a wedding makes me happy.

Sobhita: I just love the traditional part of a wedding. I want to do the puja and spend the money on vacationing. Mujhe destination wedding nahi karna hai… kitna paisa waste hota hai!

Arjun: I love beach weddings.

Sobhita: Oh, very exciting! There will be so much hype around this wedding. It will be fun heading the marketing division of this shaadi.

Arjun: I think I will sell tickets in black, for people to come and see this wedding (laughs).

Sobhita: Any massy Tamil hit number

Arjun: Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna

Sobhita: Showing up is not necessary!

Arjun: Empty stomachs are not compulsory!

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Arjun Mathur is one of the many examples of a true OTT find. After a string of supporting roles in movies, the actor got his due with Made In Heaven, even earning an Emmy nomination along the way. Proud to be part of the OTT boom, Mathur hopes that Indian digital entertainment can keep pace with international content instead of going down the rathole of appealing to the masses. As he headlines Lionsgate Play’s Jugaadistan, the actor discusses the changing face of content.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

The show used to be called Youth Special initially. Along the way, the title changed to Jugaadistan. The title also seems like a jugaad [laughs]. Everyone has a jugaad these days. In Mumbai, it is almost [the basis of] life. I loved the old title, so did everybody else. But it was changed, and that taught me that at the end of the day, one has no control over these things.

I thoroughly enjoy being part of an ensemble cast. Jugaadistan not only had some talented actors on board, but it also had Gen-Z actors. For the first time in my career, I felt like a veteran actor. It’s energising to be around new blood. They’ve grown up with more modern sensibilities than us. Concepts like solo-lead projects are a thing of the past. To tell a story with real human emotions, you need many characters.

It is trying to [change that outlook]. A project is accomplished with the help of so many people beyond actors — DoP, sound capturer, writers. Actors are merely the vehicle to put the story forward. A lot more credit should be given to the technical crew and the supporting actors.

As long as the OTT world is not run by simple economics, there is opportunity [for revolutionary content]. But, unfortunately, they are now being run [on the basis of] social media numbers or following. The truth is most OTT platforms have hired people who are making bad decisions. Instead of using the medium to create content that pushes the envelope, people are figuring out how to connect with the masses. They are floundering in their desire to do so. Our audience is international now, so we have to cater to them. Look at what Squid Games [2021] did for South Korea. What is stopping India from achieving something like that? Nothing except that we are thinking narrow. On the other hand, there is Delhi Crime — while it was a show playing out in India, its creative sensibilities made the international audience [sit up and take notice]. That is the most productive way to go forward.

It is easy to make up your mind [laughs], but harder to perform the action. Thankfully, we have management teams for that, and we have excuses like dates and economics. No one wants to hear, ‘Sorry, I am not into what you’ve written’. I don’t say that because even if I do not resonate with the material, it doesn’t mean someone else won’t.

We are shooting through the month of March, and then we’ll be done. It has been difficult. We started in February 2021, after many delays due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and witnessed two waves during our shoot.

Any pressure on the makers always trickles down to the entire team, but it doesn’t affect what I do. My approach is to play the character honestly and hope that people connect with it again.

In 2020, actor Arjun Mathur bagged an International Emmy Awards nomination for his performance in the web series, Made In Heaven. Having worked in a British series Indian Summers in 2016, he tells us that he is ready to work in the West. “My aim has always been to tell stories to a global audience, and whatever takes me there, I’m okay with it. I have an inclination towards Hollywood. I have a manager in Los Angeles and I had an agent in London, too,” he says, quipping, “I want to be in a Marvel movie!”

Talking about being on the right path, Mathur remarks, “I think the trajectory is already laid out. So, if I carry on with the path I’m on, it will take me wherever I’ve to get.”

Over the years, the 40-year-old actor has been seen in many independent films, including I Am (2010), Fireflies (2012) and Coffee Bloom (2014). Though there was a time when makers struggled to increase the reach of their indie projects, he believes that OTT platforms have changed the situation, marginally.

“I’ve watched that struggle. I’ve seen how the makers had to compete with big films and struggle to get show timings, which would be taken off within a week. For a while, the digital influx did make the struggle disappear, but there’s an all-new struggle emerging there too,” Mathur shares.