Although he has earned his bread and butter being a writer in the industry, with the films like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) and 2 States (2014), among others to his credit, over the last week, Hussain Dalal has been in the news for an acting gig. The writer landed the role of Munna in Toofaan after a bizarre phone call from director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. “He directed a film I had written — Mere Pyare Prime Minister [2018]. Every time we wrote something together, he would say, ‘Yeh role kar le.’ After he watched Judgementall Hai Kya [2019], he called to read out the opening scene of Toofaan and I knew I had to do it,” he says.

With his latest outing in front of the camera, Dalal has realised that he enjoys both writing and acting deeply. But does he prefer one over the other? “The more I write, the more I understand acting. I understand the challenges and frustrations of an actor, which improves my writing. I have 10 films a year, but for me, it has never been about picking what’s better. I just want to go to work every day.”

The writer has big projects in the pipeline, including Brahmastra, Ajay Devgn’s Rudra for Disney+ Hotstar, Suresh Triveni’s Jalsa, Dongri To Dubai, and Raj-DK’s next with Amazon Prime Video. Making time for acting in between his writing deadlines can’t be easy, but he says his passion for the art form drives him. “It’s easy to get lazy, but magic is created by the virtue of showing up everyday. I tread carefully with acting. I don’t need to pick up gigs to run my kitchen. It’s only now after Toofaan that I am considering acting as a viable career option.”

On the writing front, one of his most interesting projects is perhaps Applause Entertainment’s adaptation of Call My Agent, the French series that became a global rage. Set in the corridors of a Paris-based talent management company, the series gives a peek into the lives of stars and the PR machinery that keeps them shining. For Dalal, working on its adaptation has been a long party. “We have to tap that ‘chai se zyada kettle garam’ culture into a narrative. The star always walks alone; insecure actors bring an army of people. This industry doesn’t have an agent culture, so this was a tough show to adapt.”

Was he flooded with calls from stars, requesting not to bring the skeletons out of their closets? “The beauty of good writing is to attack culture and society, and not people. So, there are the satirical touches we’ve given, while retaining the format of the original.”

This adaptation is starkly different from Dongri To Dubai, inspired by Hussain Zaidi’s book of the same name. Dalal informs that the screenplay has been created by Zaidi and Rensil D’Silva. “Abbas [Dalal] and I joined in later to do dialogues and additional tweaking of the material. It’s a classic story of a boy who came from poverty and ruled the city; it’s in the same beat as Narcos, only rooted in Bombay of the ’60s.”

With her first attempt at comedy with Sandwiched Forever behind her, Aahana Kumra has trained her eyes on her next, the remake of the coveted French offering, Call My Agent. A tale brings to the fore the goings on at a talent management agency, as employees navigate tricky situations to cater to their high-profile celebrity clients.

But, will the desi adaptation be an earnest portrayal of what transpires in the show business? "We haven't toned it down at all. Shaad [Ali, director] says that Indians are more expressive than the French, so, there was no need to tone it down. My character, Andrea is showcased as one who is 'out there'. While the role has been adapted for an Indian setting, she is as [outspoken] as the original character is," says Kumra.

Apart from a stellar cast, including Rajat Kapoor, and Soni Razdan, several artistes play cameos in the show, says Kumra. "At one instance, when the actors were together, it felt like the entire industry had collected," says Kumra, adding that Farah Khan and Tigmanshu Dhulia also feature in it.

Mumbadevi Vehicles' owner Ketan Rawal usually provides three vanity vans to the crew of Soni Razdan and Rajat Kapoor-starrer Call My Agent, which went on floors in October. Over the past few weeks, that number has been upped to five, a demand that he is struggling to meet, given that similar requests have been made by several city production houses.

"I also got a call from Balaji [Production house], which has 17 projects currently on floors. They need 30 to 40 vans each day. I am unable to meet their demand because my vans are [also] being used by the crew of [Sanjay Leela Bhansali's] Gangubai Kathiawadi, and Rohit Shetty's Cirkus," says Rawal.

In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, and especially amid reports of the presence of a more transmissible viral strain, actors have become apprehensive about sharing vans, he says. "Earlier, character-actors would share vans. But, in the last three months, artistes have been uncomfortable. Each day, we get SOS-calls from production houses that need vanity vans, and we often run short of them."

Echoing Rawal's opinion, van-provider Mehboob Ansari cites that the biggest challenges are being posed by production houses employing ensemble casts. "While many actors would share vans in the past, now, even junior artistes are unwilling to do so. Several web series are being shot nowadays, and many actors are part of each. It is tough to meet the demand. Even though we have double-door vans, which can accommodate two artistes, now, even for a single-day shoot, each artiste wants a van for himself," says Ansari, adding that though production houses are struggling, business for van-owners has flourished. "Our work is on in full swing," he says with a sense of relief.

As though meeting the demand for additional vans was not troublesome enough, Ansari says several production houses request for vans with adjoining make-up rooms to meet the needs of the actors.

"Earlier, if a van did not have a make-up room, actors would [use a common facility]. But, now they insist on being provided with vans that have such rooms."

With the uncertainty of the situation encouraging filmmakers to wrap up their films in start-to-finish legs, Rawal says several vans are being occupied for extended outstation schedules.

"My vans have been stationed in Hyderabad for Thalaivi since October. As for Rashmi Rocket, few vehicles were used for the Ranchi leg. Several outstation schedules are being held in Lucknow, Bhopal, and Gwalior, which is causing a shortage in Mumbai," says Rawal, who has ordered seven new vans to combat the situation.

After the makers of hit show Call My Agent refuse to part with adaptation rights, Karan Johar's digital team reworking the script of their series for Netflix
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; March 12, 2020)

For long, Karan Johar has been planning a Netflix series inspired by the workings of Matrix, one of Bollywood's biggest talent management companies owned by Reshma Shetty. Since the concept was said to be loosely based on the hit French show, Call My Agent, the filmmaker was keen to procure the adaptation rights from Mother Production and Mon Voisin Productions that backed the original comedy. However, in the latest development, the makers have refused to part with the rights.

A source reveals, "Being the ethical filmmaker that he is, Karan wanted to make the show in the right fashion. But a year into the talks, the makers of Call My Agent refused to grant adaptation rights as the show is said to have a UK adaptation in the offing. The idea might be explored further as a movie in the near future. With this roadblock cropping up, Karan has now sent his creative team at Dharmatic Entertainment back to the drawing board. The team is now tweaking the material to create a unique story about the inner workings of Bollywood."

mid-day reached out to Johar and Netflix, who remained unavailable for comment.