Showing posts with label Wakaalat From Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wakaalat From Home. Show all posts
Some projects you do for love and some for money-Sumeet Vyas
8:23 AM
Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; January 21, 2021)
With two web series last year — Wakaalat From Home (WFH) and Dark 7 White (D7W) — actor Sumeet Vyas says 2020 was kinder to him than it was to most people. “I feel grateful that I was able to work in a year that was difficult for many. We shot WFH at home, while D7W was shot after lockdown was eased. The latter allowed me to play a dark role, unlike what I had played before. It was humbling to be considered for a role like this, as actors don’t often get to break the mould,” he shares.
However, he reveals he wants to slow down a bit now. “Actors are freelancers, and there’s always a fear that if we reject projects, others may not be offered to us. So, you end up taking work without strategising… But this year, I want to do roles that appeal to me and not just for bread and butter. Hopefully, the appealing work will pay as well (laughs). Most often roles that you love don’t pay and work that you don’t think about much pays your bills. Some projects you do for love and some for money. Also, it is not that you pick bad projects. But after shooting for a bit, most actors get an inkling that it isn’t turning out the way they thought it would and vice versa,” he explains.
While the entertainment space continues to bear the brunt of Coronavirus, Vyas strives to focus on the positive side — the boom in OTT projects. “OTT has given audiences some very good stories. It doesn’t matter how popular your project is or how well it is promoted, if it’s a genuinely different story, it will get the attention… Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, which was a well-made show, got all the attention last year,” he says.
Today, web shows are on everyone’s list. OTT changed the game for me-Sumeet Vyas
12:20 PM
Grateful for the love for web shows, Sumeet Vyas feels there’s a hierarchy regarding actors online
Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; October 10, 2020)
Sumeet Vyas utilised his time in the lockdown and he shot for a web series, Wakaalat From Home, “instead of just watching TV and sleeping”. He is glad to be creative and work and thankful that he finished shooting for the show in May before his baby was born. “It was a novel experience and quite technical to shoot from home,” he says.
With hit shows like Permanent Roommates and Tripling, the actor says the rise of OTT enabled not just him but a number of makers and technicians, too. He explains, “With limitations in films and TV content, people couldn’t express their creativity like they can on OTT. Now, they can make the shows they want to and that’s why there is a huge rise in consumption, including edgier and dramatic shows. I feel a new wave of lighter and comic shows will be next.”
While on OTT he found love and acceptance, Vyas also admits that there is a hierarchy regarding actors. “Film actors are at the top, OTT actors in between and then there are TV actors. It shouldn’t matter as we are all actors. But that is changing, too. Today, web shows are on everyone’s list. OTT changed the game for me,” says Vyas.
Talking about his career graph, he adds, “After the comedy shows, I got similar roles, so I consciously opted for drama shows like The Verdict - State vs Nanavati, It’s Not That Simple. Playing grey roles let me break my comic image. Had I been a TV or film actor essentially, it might have not been so easy. Makers wouldn’t have the confidence to change the image of an actor.”
For Wakaalat From Home, we would continuously chat on the phone, toss ideas-Rohan Sippy
8:19 AM
Using the lockdown period as an opportunity to create relevant content, Rohan Sippy on creating his divorce-based show, Wakaalat From Home
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; September 10, 2020)
Rohan Sippy's latest web series, Wakaalat From Home was conceptualised by his team and him, during the Coronavirus lockdown. "We would continuously chat on the phone, toss ideas, jot them down, and hope something would come out of it," says the producer-director, adding that this offering was the brainchild of comedian Anuvab Pal."He arrived at a story of a couple going through a divorce, over Zoom calls. There have been reports of a spike in the number of divorce cases during the quarantine. So, it stemmed from the situation people are actually in," says Sippy, adding that the title was derived from the phase that's currently enjoying its moment in the sun — Work from home.
The Amazon Prime series, which drops today, features the Permanent Roommates duo Sumeet Vyas and Nidhi Singh, along with Kubbra Sait, Gopal Datt, and Akarsh Khurana.
Heading to the virtual medium to direct the series, Sippy says a fair amount of unlearning went into understanding the task at hand. "One is used to being on set with a unit, camera and the hustle and bustle of the crew. Here, I was alone, staring at the laptop."
Initially, the Nautanki Saala (2013) and Dum Maro Dum (2011) director was uncertain about successfully pulling it off. "Usually, we are used to having meetings at every stage. Here, the casting, script-reading session, rehearsals, and costume-approvals were done over calls. So, it was a new experience. An actor had to be a cameraman and make-up artistes as well. We also had to ascertain when the Internet connectivity was appropriate for everyone."
As though the task of filming the project virtually wasn't challenging enough, Sippy had to ensure that the pace of the comedy was retained so that viewers' attention could be retained.
Sippy, had previously directed the web show, The Office (2019).
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