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

Biswa, who is nominated for Best Creator for Laakhon Mein Ek S02 in the upcoming mid-day and Radio City Hitlist Web awards, traces how he developed the medical drama
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; March 1, 2020)

Making people laugh about the mundaneness of life is his forte, but Biswa Kalyan Rath has a knack for telling heartfelt stories in the garb of humour. Not surprising then that his recent offering, Laakhon Mein Ek S02, has been nominated in the Best New Season category and has fetched him a Best Creator nod at the upcoming mid-day and Radio City Hitlist Web Awards.

After the success of Laakhon Mein Ek, which revolved around an engineering student, Rath decided to examine the medical profession for the second outing. "We wanted to continue our human versus system narrative. The medical world was a natural choice after the engineering field since these are the two options most middle-class Indian kids are given," he reasons.

While there have been several shows and films on the malpractices in the medical industry, his team relied on on-ground research and personal experiences. "Abhishek [Sengupta], our director, had a lot of childhood stories since his father was a doctor. Hussain [Haidry, writer] had also worked in a hospital as a CFO. Meanwhile, my friend Sneha Vakharia gave us basic insight into how this system works. We also spoke to doctors, medical students and medical journalists."

Developing a show from scratch, with limited resources, is no mean feat. "Our ambition was much bigger than our budget. Every person in the crew burnt the midnight oil to make this show possible," says Rath, glad that Shweta Tripathi Sharma—their first choice for the lead role—gave her nod to the series.

In 2019, Rath also released his comedy special Sushi that has been nominated for Best Comedy (Non-fiction) at the awards gala. Ask him how he came up with the name and the funny man responds, "I visited Japan; that had a big influence on it." The material that didn't make the cut in this comedy special will be included in his next outing. "I wanted to make it relatable, and not too cerebral. So, I removed [sets] that didn't fit."

More About Laakhon Mein Ek
- The team had a doctor on set every time they shot a scene with any medical reference
- Shweta Tripathi claims that the makers referred to her as the 'Masaan wali ladki' before approaching her for the role

- Cast Your Vote For The Hitlist Web Awards

- Biswa Kalyan Rath has been nominated in the Best Creator category for Laakhon Mein Ek S02

The other nominees are:
- Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti (Made In Heaven)
- Vikramaditya Motwane (Sacred Games S02)
- Raj-DK (The Family Man)
Richie Mehta (Delhi Crime)

- Rath also enjoys a nomination in the Best Comedy (Non-fiction) category for Sushi (Stand-up Special; Amazon Prime)

The other nominees are:
- Going Downhill (Stand-up special: Neville Shah; Amazon Prime)
- One Mic Stand (Sapan Verma; Amazon Prime)
- Jestination Unknown (Vir Das; Amazon Prime)
- Comicstaan 2 (OML Entertainment; Amazon Prime)

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

Contender for Best Actor (Female) gong in the upcoming mid-day and Radio City Hitlist Web Awards, Shweta Tripathi Sharma quips that Laakhon Mein Ek creator barely knew her name when he approached her for show
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; February 26, 2020)

Thrilled as she is to have struck gold with web offerings, Shweta Tripathi Sharma has little patience for those who bracket her as a digital star. "There are a lot of things I like about the web — it's not [restricted] to one Friday; its reach is wide. The problem is that the industry brackets people as digital star or mainstream star. Thankfully, this is [being] shattered now. A brilliant actor is just a brilliant actor," says Tripathi, who has Mirzapur and Laakhon Mein Ek on her résumé. Her sincere performance in the second season of Laakhon Mein Ek has earned her a nomination for Best Actor (Female) at the upcoming mid-day and Radio City Hitlist Web Awards. In a country where the medical profession is considered among the most lucrative, Biswa Kalyan Rath's show delves deep into the issues that young doctors face. "There has been a lack of correct representation of doctors on screen, which this show hoped to rectify."

As part of her prep, Tripathi met several doctors, both newbies and experienced. "I asked them about the first time they met a patient, and the difference in their attitude after they had met over 500 of them. In a scene, my character is shown handing over the body of a boy to his family. While the actor in me wanted to be dramatic, as a doctor, I had to be composed."

The show marks her first collaboration with Rath. "Biswa and Abhishek [Sengupta, director] had written [the script] for 'woh Masaan wali ladki'. I doubt they knew my name," she laughs. Ask her if Rath is all business on set — a far cry from the stand-up comic that we all love — and she grins, "These oddballs had such funny demands. For a scene in which I had to make Maggi, Abhishek said that right when I stir the noodles, a tear should trickle down my cheek. I don't know how I managed that."

More About Laakhon Mein Ek
- On set, Tripathi was often asked to take a stroll in the sun so that she was tanned, in keeping with her de-glam character.
- Rath's experience as an IIT student was the inspiration for Laakhon Mein Ek S01.

Cast Your Vote For The Hitlist Web Awards

Shweta Tripathi Sharma has been nominated in the Best Actor (Female) category for Laakhon Mein Ek S02

The other nominees are:
- Shefali Shah (Delhi Crime; Netflix)
- Sobhita Dhulipala (Made In Heaven; Amazon Prime)
- Rasika Dugal (Out of Love; Hotstar)
- Geetanjali Kulkarni (Gullak; Sony LIV)
- Mithila Palkar (Little Things S03; Netflix)
- Dia Mirza (Kaafir; Zee5)

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.

Shweta Tripathi Sharma had been discouraged to venture into the web; adds she’s happy that OTT has allowed stories to win
Titas Chowdhury (HINDUSTAN TIMES; January 25, 2020)

Shweta Tripathi Sharma, who has been part of popular web shows such as Mirzapur and Laakhon Mein Ek, says that she had often been discouraged from taking up meaty parts on web platforms and shows. But she believes that actors working on the OTT platforms get to display their talent better as they invest a long time in a character. The actor, who will soon return with Mirzapur 2, reveals that she has been exposed to these clichés surrounding the web space and is glad that the tides are now changing.

She elaborates, “I’m often told that I should weigh in my options to ensure that I focus on doing movies more because they are the only avenue for an actor to earn their market status in the industry. I’m really happy because I’ve seen what the release of Mirzapur has done for all of us. The show is a sensation and by virtue of it, the actors are treated as huge stars.”

For the Masaan (2015) actor, the opportunities offered by the web space creatively satisfy artistes. “Shows such as The Family Man is simply out of the box. Manoj Bajpayee has delivered such a brilliant performance in it. It has been fruitful and satisfying exploring this platform as it gave me projects such as Mirzapur and Lakhon Mein Ek,” says the 34-year-old.

Talking about the star system that dominated the Indian entertainment industry for decades, she explains, “I’m only chasing good stories that shift the primitive ideas of what works and what sells. It’s important to reinvent and now that the content industry is booming, people need to stand up and realise that the entire star structure is crumbling. Stories are winning and those of us with foresight will back good stories above all.”