Showing posts with label Dhruv Sehgal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dhruv Sehgal. Show all posts
Dhruv Sehgal and I can play Dhruv and Kavya in our sleep now. It is like a second skin for us-Mithila Palkar
8:14 AM
Mithila Palkar and Dhruv Sehgal discuss their audio show, which is a prequel to their hit series Little Things
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; September 20, 2022)
After the last season of Little Things culminated in October 2021 on Netflix, Mithila Palkar and Dhruv Sehgal got busy with their lives, not knowing if the show will go on to make another season or not. A year later, we hear that Dice Media is back with Little Things, albeit with a difference. The new edition will be an audio show, where the writers explore how the characters Dhruv and Kavya met and began dating — much like the second season of Permanent Roommates He Said, She Said on Audible.
Unperturbed by the challenges of being on an audio medium, Palkar says, “We can play Dhruv and Kavya in our sleep now. No matter [what the medium], it is like a second skin for us.” However, she agrees that the show is not without its challenges, especially for an actor who uses everything at her disposal to effortlessly play a character.
“As an actor, I do find acting using just the voice a little hard because you lose out on the visual elements. [Usually], your voice modulates as per your action. It is not easy to emote or express with just your voice, but it is exciting, nonetheless. Dhruv and Kavya are home.”
Sehgal on the other hand finds the audio medium technically different, but otherwise the same. “More than difficult, I believe it took time to understand the few technicalities of [working on an audio show]. We took about two days to get the technicalities, but the idea is to create the intimacy of these characters. I believe you just have to be in the moment.” Sehgal believes he no longer questions the intention of his characters as that “ship has sailed and reached where it has to.”
While the series on Netflix was an instant hit, the actors are not pressured to ensure a hit as an audio show. “We don’t operate from the idea that we have to make it a big splash or the biggest show on Audible. We didn’t even approach the [visual] show like this. We do it with honesty and hope those people who are listening to it or watching it feel the story,” says Sehgal, adding that the show will focus on how different they were before they got together. “I think we [characters] were a little more shaky, agitated, and anxious. They got settled when they met each other.”
Modern Love to be adapted for India by Amazon Prime
8:22 AM
Vishal Bhardwaj, Hansal Mehta, Alankrita Shrivastava, Anjali Menon, Dhruv Sehgal and Shonali Bose
Popular American anthology Modern Love to be adapted for India; Amazon Prime ropes in noted directors Vishal, Hansal, Alankrita and more to helm the love stories
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; January 19, 2022)
Developer John Carney hit the right notes as he explored love in all its shades with Modern Love, the popular romantic comedy anthology adapted from The New York Times’ weekly column. Now, Amazon Prime Video is ready to tell newer love stories, only this time, the streets and coffee shops of New York will be replaced by the gullies and beating heart of India.
mid-day has learnt that the OTT giant has been working on the Indian adaptation of Modern Love over the past two years. The content team, headed by Aparna Purohit, has roped in noteworthy directors — Vishal Bhardwaj, Hansal Mehta, Alankrita Shrivastava, Anjali Menon, Shonali Bose and Dhruv Sehgal — to bring the stories to life. So far, actors Pratik Gandhi, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Wamiqa Gabbi have shot for their segments.
A source reveals, “The anthology series, over its two seasons, has explored love in all its complicated and beautiful forms. The Indian adaptation will be in a similar vein, telling everyday stories about relationships, tugging at your heartstrings with their honesty and simplicity. The stories have been developed by the six directors with their team of writers, and then vetted by Amazon’s writers’ room. Much like the original format, each of the actors will be fronting a segment in the anthology. Pratik and Wamiqa are known faces in OTT entertainment, thanks to their strong performances in Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story and Grahan. Similarly, Fatima is no stranger to anthologies, having been part of Ajeeb Daastaans [2021].”
The series was shot in different parts of Mumbai in late 2021. The source adds, “The filmmakers began shooting their segments in November. The show will move into post-production by next month as the platform hopes to release it sometime later in the year.”
(From left) Gabbi, Gandhi and Shaikh are among the actors on board
Shweta Tripathi, Dhruv Sehgal, Neeraj Madhav talk about shining in roles not traditionally associated with them
8:09 AM
As voting lines close today, and in the run-up to the mid-day and Radio City Hitlist Web Awards, nominees in acting categories Neeraj, Dhruv and Shweta on shining in roles not traditionally associated with them
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; March 9, 2020)
In an era where the top brass of Bollywood enjoys their reign over specific genres, their counterparts on the web platform are punching above their weight to ensure they are cast against type. Having shone in a spate of comedy films in South Indian cinema in the past, Neeraj Madhav's turn as a cold-blooded terrorist in Manoj Bajpayee-led The Family Man, has been equally laudable.
Sharing the couch with Dhruv Sehgal and Shweta Tripathi in the second edition of the Sit With Hitlist Huddle — that brings together nominees in the acting categories of the upcoming mid-day and Radio City Hitlist Web Awards on March 19 — Madhav's trajectory isn't far distanced from that of Tripathi. However, while Madhav was offered the role upfront when he accepted a "call from a random number", that turned out to be that of casting director Mukesh Chhabra, Tripathi admits that she had to work a little harder to bag roles that appeased her heart. "Before Masaan, everybody felt I was up-market, and would not fit into the role of a middle-class [person]. As actors, we need to keep breaking stereotypes," she says of her part in Amazon Prime Video's Laakhon Mein Ek.
Little Things writer-actor Dhruv Sehgal decided to take matters into his own hands after he was told to generate his own material, if he wanted to be part of roles he wasn't deemed fit for. "When you are 21 [years of age], you will always be limited, because you will always be at the mercy of someone else. Even now, I am called to audition for the part of a young father. When they say 'young', I tell them please make me old."
Uninhibited about having their acting chops tested over the long format of a web series, the trio, in fact, celebrates the fact that the extended narrative gives them scope and "space" to showcase their prowess. "On the OTT platform, one can live with the character for a longer period of time. The primary character's graph is juicier, [which means we are] spoiled. In feature films, even if one is the protagonist, how many lines and songs will s/he have when compared to a web series? On the OTT platform, even the primary characters grow, as the story progresses," says Tripathi, nominated for her act of a doctor in the final year of training.
Citing an instance of how the length of the project doesn't play spoilsport on the web platform, Madhav says, "In a commercial movie, if one takes a long pause, it gets edited. But, in a web series, one can dive into the character [by doing so]. Hence, an actor gets to explore the character better."
Having pulled of performances as nuanced as they are evidently implies that the trio has a trick or two that they employ to comprehend the psyche of characters. "The home work that I do [for a role] is find a person who is similar to my character. For Moosa, I couldn't do so, since I obviously don't know any terrorists," laughs Madhav, adding that in the absence of a role model, he trained his attention towards comprehending the character's emotional quotient. "There were many layers [to Moosa], so I worked on that and [held on] to particular moments."
Tripathi finds her inroad into understanding her character via external stimuli. "My costume is important, as is my playlist. I can get into a zone by listening to [a certain kind of] music. While shooting for Mirzapur, I had a playlist for Golu [her character]. For Massan, my playlist included songs from Guru and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak."
Hitlist Web Awards Timeline
- Voting lines close on March 9, at midnight.
- There are 14 categories you can vote in. Log on to www.hitlistwebawards.com to cast your vote.
- You can also vote via SMS. Send HITLIST <space> category name <space> your choice (a/b/c/d as on the website) to 57575.
- The awards will be held on March 19, in Mumbai.
- Watch the full Sit With Hitlist huddle with actors on the website, www.hitlistweb awards.com
I relate to Kavya in the third season of Little Things the most-Mithila Palkar
8:47 AM
Mithila traces her three-year journey with Little Things as she is nominated for Best Actor (Female) in the upcoming mid-day and Radio City Hitlist Web Awards
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; February 23, 2020)
In her role of Kavya, who navigates the ups and downs of a live-in relationship in Little Things, Mithila Palkar made people sit up and take notice. Three seasons later, she is a web star in her own right."From being unsure about what she wanted to do in life to finding a work-life balance, Kavya has matured into a responsible adult and a doting partner. I relate to that growth, and relate to Kavya in the third season the most," says Palkar, whose endearing performance in the love story has fetched her a Best Actor (Female) nomination in the upcoming mid-day and Radio City Hitlist Web Awards.
Dice Media's Little Things began on YouTube in 2016, and was later picked up by Netflix. "It had an instant connect with the audience because of its universal story of [two people navigating] a relationship," reasons the actor. The idea for a long-format series came about after Dhruv Sehgal and she did two sketches with FilterCopy. "That's when producer Ashwin Suresh suggested that Dhruv write those sketches to adapt to a longer format."
There have been several fun-filled moments during the shoot. "The tennis court scene in the eighth episode of season three is one of our favourites. It was one of the most challenging sequences to shoot and Ruchir Arun, the director of that episode, was ambitious about it. We spent an entire night filming it," she laughs.
The actor, who featured in the Irrfan and Dulquer Salmaan starrer Karwaan (2018), is hoping to gain a foothold in Bollywood while balancing her digital commitments. There has been talk that a fourth season of Little Things is on the cards. Ask Palkar, and she smiles, "You will know soon."
More About Little Things
- Prateek Kuhad has composed the music for the series
- Lead actor Dhruv Sehgal is also the creator and writer of Little Things
- Dhruv Sehgal and Mithila Palkar first met at the Thespo Youth Theatre Festival after which they worked together in a FilterCopy sketch
Cast Your Vote For The Hitlist Web Awards
Mithila Palkar has been nominated in the Best Actor (Female) category for Netflix’s Little Things 03.
The other nominees are:
- Shefali Shah (Delhi Crime; Netflix)
- Shweta Tripathi Sharma (Laakhon Mein Ek 02; Amazon Prime)
- Rasika Dugal (Out of Love; Hotstar)
- Geetanjali Kulkarni (Gullak; Sony LIV)
- Sobhita Dhulipala (Made in Heaven; Amazon Prime)
- Dia Mirza (Kaafir; Zee5)
- Little Things 03 enjoys nominations across five categories, including Best New Season, Best Actor (Male), Best Supporting Actor (Female) and Best Writing.
- There are 14 categories that the public can vote in. Log on to www.hitlistwebawards.com to cast your vote.
- You can also vote via SMS. Send HITLIST <space> category name <space> your choice (a/b/c/d as on the website) to 57575.
- Voting lines close on March 8.
I am a grammar Nazi and Dhruv Sehgal doesn’t care about grammar, so, we are at loggerheads over it-Mithila Palkar
8:05 AM
Set to debut in Bollywood, online sensation Mithila Palkar on juggling digital shows with big screen projects
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; March 13, 2018)
It is a decisive year for Mithila Palkar — after making a mark on the digital platform with her web shows, Little Things and Girl In The City, she is switching gears to the big screen. As she juggles her Bollywood debut Karwaan and the second season of Little Things, the self- confessed “grammar Nazi” talks about her love for acting and finding a reluctant supporter in her 90-year-old grandfather.
How did Little Things happen?
Honestly, things happened by chance. People wanted to see Dhruv [Sehgal] and me on screen together, and we thought a web series was the right way to go. Season 2 was always in the pipeline, it just took us two years to put it together.
Dhruv and you share a crackling chemistry.
He was the DOP of my first sketch of FilterCopy and the web show, News Darshan. He came on board Little Things when we didn’t find anyone to play the role. Luckily, our chemistry worked. Off- screen, we are not best friends. Neither are we in constant touch, but we understand each other’s thought process. I am a grammar Nazi and he doesn’t care about grammar, so, we are at loggerheads over it (laughs).
Now that you are making your Bollywood debut, will web take a backseat?
After Karwaan releases on June 1, I’ll start shooting for Girl In The City Season 3. Things have slowed down in the digital space for me, but films won’t put a stop to it.
Were you overwhelmed when Karwaan was offered?
Of course! Nandini Shrikent, who I’ve auditioned for in the past, was the casting agent for the film. Once shortlisted, I had to undergo a look test and was brought on board. I was sold on the fact that Irrfan [Khan] sir and Ronnie sir [Screwvala, producer] are associated with the film. Who wouldn’t want to act with Irrfan?
Your family wasn’t keen on you being an actor. How did you convince them?
I knew I wanted to be an actor at the age of 12. But I kept running away from the idea because I didn’t get support at home. I belong to a middle-class Maharashtrian family where nobody thinks of acting as a career. My grandfather was against it. He finally relented on the condition that acting will come second, first, education.
What has been their reaction to your work?
My grandfather was excited about my advertisements, but was skeptical of my work on the web. He didn’t believe that I was working because he couldn’t see me on television. But at 90, he learned how to use a smartphone, and now he watches my shows. Praise from him is humbling.
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