Hand-picked to helm the Indian version of global series Citadel, directors Raj-DK explain how they are crafting a desi narrative within the framework given by Russo Brothers
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; February 3, 2020)

Their unbridled enthusiasm was evident as Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, flaunting the Avengers Infinity gauntlet, announced arguably their biggest project — the director duo had been chosen to develop the Indian version of Citadel, produced by Joe and Anthony Russo of Avengers fame. Two weeks after the announcement, we catch up with them in their new office where, they are proud to note, a new project is developing in every room. "Since we are consuming content from across the world with subtitles, there's intrigue about [Indian] stories too," shares Raj.

It was assumed that Raj-DK, as they are better known, bagged the Amazon Prime series because of their much-loved offering, The Family Man. However, DK clarifies that they were in talks much earlier. "The Family Man was on the edit table then. We have been dying to talk about this for six months."

The mothership US series, which will feature Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden, will have versions in Italy, Mexico and India. Stating that the suits at Amazon Prime approached them for the Indian version last year, Raj reveals, "The idea was crackling; there was no chance we would have said no to this. DK, our lead writer Sita Menon and I brainstormed quickly before heading to Los Angeles [to kickstart the writing process]. In India, there's a lack of experience in series writing. We learnt a lot from their writers' room and the pilot readings."

The global event series will feature interlinked stories. "This is the first time that we are exploring someone else's seed of thought. We have 90 per cent creative freedom on how we want to build the series. The world is theirs and the story is ours. There will be intersections as we progress," explains Raj, before DK elaborates, "Each instalment will have its own personality and will be culturally authentic."

Ask them where they stand on casting, and DK says, "Once the final script is locked by the month-end, we will hunt for talent. Priyanka is [only] working in the US version. We will have a pan-India cast."

After their horror-comedy, Dinesh Vijan and Amar Kaushik adapt Marathi film on surrogacy
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 15, 2018)

Even as their horror-comedy continues to make merry at the box-office, Mirror has learnt that Stree director Amar Kaushik, and the film’s producer, Dinesh Vijan, have started work on their next collaboration.

The film is the official Hindi adaptation of Samruoddhi Porey’s 2011 Marathi film, Mala Aai Vhhaychay! (I Want To Be A Mother!) which deals with the contentious issue of surrogacy against the backdrop of the colourful world of a Lavni dancer in the interiors of Maharashtra.

Confirming the news, Amar told Mirror that he had been searching for a story with a strong emotional connect, in a genre different from Stree, and when Dinesh narrated this one, he knew instantly that he wanted to direct it. “I’ve always been attracted to ma-bachchon ki kahaniyan (mother-children stories),” says the young director who has become the toast of B-town with his sleeper hit, pointing out that his earlier directorial, an award-winning short titled Aaba, had revolved around a dying grandfather and his granddaughter in a remote village in Arunachal Pradesh. “What makes this one even more interesting is that it is rooted in a true story, one of the many cases that came to Samruddhi Porey (the Marathi film’s writer-director-producer) who is a practising lawyer with the Bombay High Court,” he avers.

Mala Aai Vhhaychay! which bagged the National Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi in 2011, revolved around a Lavni dancer, Yashoda, who agrees to lend her womb to a foreigner, Mary, for money. But halfway through the pregnancy, the women learn that due to certain complications the child could be born deformed. Mary leaves Yashoda with a baby on her hands, only to return a few years later to confront the truth. It offered a legal and emotional perspective on the thorny question of who should get the child: the surrogate who raised him or the mother whose blood runs through him?

“Once when I was on a flight, I saw Garth Davis’s Oscar-nominated biographical drama Lion, again based on a true story, and wished I could make a film as emotionally stirring and engaging. Then, I saw this Marathi film which had been selected by President Pratibha Patil to be screened for former American President Barack Obama during his visit to India and immediately acquired its Hindi remake rights (It was remade in Telugu in 2013 as Welcome Obama),” informs Dinesh.

He informs that it deals with an unexplored aspect of surrogacy, that of a poor Indian village woman being used as a surrogate by foreigners. “My writer, Sita Menon, has been adapting the story since the past one year to cater to a wider audience while taking into account new surrogacy laws. Amar is the right guy to direct it. Going by the way he married horror and humour in Stree, I know he will make you smile and tear up with this one,” Dinesh points out. And is the sequel of Stree on course? “Yes, Amar will direct Stree 2 once he’s done with this one,” he concludes.