Showing posts with label Malgudi Days. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Malgudi Days. Show all posts
Like Malgudi Days, I wanted to narrate Raat Jawaan Hai with tasalli-Sumeet Vyas
8:12 AM
First-time director Vyas says he wanted to capture the simplicity of life in Raat Jawaan Hai
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; October 15, 2024)
It had been actor-writer Sumeet Vyas’ long-time dream to start directing. The opportunity presented itself when he met writer Khyati Anand Puthran at their kids’ playgroup. Their collaboration, Raat Jawaan Hai, is a story about three best friends who are new to parenthood. To Vyas, the Barun Sobti, Priya Bapat and Anjali Anand-starrer is about the smaller things in life. In conversation with mid-day, the first-time director talks about the Sony LIV show, his own experiences with parenthood, the interesting casting and more.
Edited excerpt from the interview.
After writing and fronting road trip shows and dark shows, what prompted you to direct something on parenthood and friendship?
The show’s writer is Khyati Anand [Puthran]. It was a coincidence that our kids were friends, and played together at a nearby park. In March 2022, she told me she was writing a script about early parenthood and friendship. She asked me whether I’d like to direct it. I read the script and liked it. She had written two episodes, and we began working together from there. Moreover, we were both going through the phase, so we could bring in our personal experiences. As we developed the story, the plot became more about friendship. We realized that friendship is the first victim of [parenthood] as one is not able to give their friends the same time as they did before.
Do you feel it is tougher for women compared to men?
Of course! If two partners are actively involved in parenting, then it becomes difficult. For example, my wife [Ekta Kaul] has taken a break from work. She is taking care of the child, so how can I go off to party somewhere? I finish my work and go home. I have very little time to spend with Ved, so I’d rather do that. Male or female, whichever parent decides to stay back and take care of the child, it affects them the most. Their social life is as good as non-existent.
While making the show, did anything surprise you?
The one thing I’ve understood about parenting is that it is very similar yet different. Every person’s right and wrong is different. So when they become parents, their rules differ. You cannot generalize parenting because we’ve all grown up in varied circumstances and economic backgrounds.
In an episode, Barun Sobti’s character says that dogs are better than children. Did you get any flak for it?
Avinash [Sobti’s character] is around friends, so he doesn’t have to filter what he says. He has a child and now, he wants to have a dog. When Suman [Bapat] reprimands him, asking whether it’s the same, Radhika [Anand] says that the animal doesn’t have the responsibility to grow up, take care of his elders. From the time kids are born, they are told they have to come first in class, learn tennis, become a scientist and what not! [laughs].
A lot of people now are opting to not have babies. Your take?
To each his own. I don’t think any aspect of life completes you. I always wanted to have a child, and I have friends who didn’t; either option is fine. No matter what decision you take, the grass is always greener on the other side. If your kid is crying in the night, while your friends are chilling, you may miss it. On the other hand, they may feel that you are lucky to get to play with a child. In India, we shouldn’t be worried about this. We have an abundant population [laughs].
What made you zero in on this cast?
The first actor we approached was Priya, she is also Khyati’s friend. When Khyati was writing the part, she had Priya in mind. When we approached her, she was more than excited to be a part of it. She is exceptional in the show. Anjali was a complete surprise. I had never seen her previous work. Sony recommended that we meet her. The ease with which she carries herself is quite something. Barun’s casting was out of the blue. We were struggling to find Avinash. I saw Kohrra [2023] around that time, called him and suggested the role. He is a desi guy, and loads of fun.
Did you ever feel the urge to be on the other side of the camera?
Not with this show. From the onset, I always wanted to direct it. There is a certain pace that I wanted for it. Like when we watched Malgudi Days, [even though] the episodes were all 30-minute-long. I wanted to narrate a story with tasalli. If someone cannot watch the show for 30 minutes also, and he has to watch five reels, then he may not watch it. I didn’t want to compromise on the temperament. If people can relate to the story, they will watch it.
Being a first-time director, did you feel you had to prove yourself?
No, I thought I would. But from the second or third day, I found my groove. We shot for close to 40-45 days at a stretch. I didn’t feel I had to prove a point to anyone. I wanted to tell the story as honestly as I could. The story demands a certain pace because it is about smaller things [in life], there is no melodrama to it. One reference point I had is of a film that I had acted in many years ago, English Vinglish [2012]. There is innocence in this narrative, which is why it connects with a larger audience.
To each person he knew, he was always “my Ranjit”-Quasar Thakore Padamsee
8:25 AM
Theatre director Quasar Thakore Padamsee pays tribute
As told to Reema Gehi (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 18, 2020)
Ranj”, “Jeet”, “Chottu”, “Freako”. Growing up, I knew Ranjit (Chowdhry) on screen. He had acted in films such as Khatta Meetha, Baton Baton Mein and Khoobsurat. He had even acted in Badal Sircar’s play, Evam Indrajit—he acted opposite my mum (Dolly Thakore)—directed by Vikram Kapadia.
Even though he may have played the role of a shopkeeper or taxi driver, he paved the way for the early generation of actors to be featured in American television. The absolute gamut of the work he has done has been incredible. Many people now know him as that recurring character in Cosby or Vikram, the telemarketer in the American TV show, The Office.
He wasn’t a salesman of his own work. He loved cinema, but he had cut his roots in theatre. Not because of his mum (Pearl Padamsee) or dad (Alyque Padamsee), but he really cut his teeth in theatre.
Ranjit was in and around Bombay a lot when I was growing up. When I was a kid, I always found him ‘cool fun’ to hang out with. He always made you feel at ease. He got married and went off to work in Toronto. And I didn’t see him much. Then, when I was 14, I went on my first trip abroad with my father to New York. AP and I were walking on the road, when we heard someone scream, “Alyque”. We were surprised to see Ranjit and he said if he did shout ‘dad’, all of NYC would turn. He had that kind of presence. Within hours of that meeting, Ranjit and I took off. AP loved New York but hated all the touristy stuff. So Ranjit took me to the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty. We were waiting in the line to go up the Statue of Liberty, when a few people came up to him and told him that they loved him in Mississippi Masala. It was a fantastic moment. I do believe that he should have worked more than he did. When you see him play a street urchin in the children’s film Hungama Bombay Ishtyle, you realise how much the camera loved him.
But acting is the work of his you saw; what I loved about him was his mind. Ranjit was a wonderful writer. He was one of the writers of Malgudi Days. Everyone loved the show, but since I knew him, there was a certain excitement to it. And because he had a writer’s mind, he brought great pathos to all his characters. You see that in the film Sam & Me (a film he wrote and acted in), and for which he received great acclaim in Cannes. How he would read a line was different than most actors would.
One of the aspects of living away was that he couldn’t be there for every occasion. So, he would send us a letter to be read. Farid (Currim, actor) and I would “arm wrestle” over it. Because whoever read the letter, invariably, became the star of the evening. His take on things was always hatke—he would say something fun on a solemn occasion or speak about the beauty in a fun evening. He encapsulated his quirkiness in a letter in an incredible way. In fact, when Dad would receive letters from Ranjit, he would send it to all of us just to read because they were written so beautifully.
Though our meetings were few and far between, there was always some kind of connection. As we grew up, we became four children (Raell, Shazahn, Ranjit and I) of my father. When Ranjit’s son (Avi) was born, there was so much excitement because we became uncle and aunts. It was a big moment for all of us, I remember.
We both bonded over our disdain for the IPL. He, like me, felt IPL was not cricket. AP, however, loved the IPL and we would fight with him over this. Ranjit would send me emails discussing it. Aside of cricket, we would often discuss different writing styles and other preoccupations in the world. It was like having an intellectual soulmate.
Ranjit had an acerbic tongue; his humour was always tongue-in-cheek. But despite all of that, he was remarkably tender and gentle and created that feeling with everyone around. He could appear as this constantly complaining grouch. But that was a veneer. We always had a mothering attitude towards him. He brought out in everyone that illicit warmth towards him. To each person he knew, he was always “my Ranjit”.
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