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Shweta T Nanda
Shweta T Nanda

WEB SERIES

There is need to create sensible content: Nupur Asthana

romil-jugal

Recently, Bollywood director Nupur Asthana, who is known for making quirky films like Yash Raj Films's Bewakoofiyan and Mujhse Fraandship Karoge, chanced upon a great film script—the love story of a homosexual couple. But soon the realisation set in that the project would not see the light of the day as the censor board will not pass it. The next option was to do a television series but it, too, got ruled out keeping in mind the bold subject of the show. But as they say, when God closes a door, he opens a window. And in Asthana's case, it turned out to be the window of the world of web.

She created a 10-episode web-series and ventured into the virtual world with it. And the step was “liberating”, she says. “I'm thrilled that there is yet another platform that is so accessible to the always-live audience, and digital really is the present and the future,” Asthana told THE WEEK.

nupur-asthana2 Nupur Asthana

“It is a golden time for filmmakers of my generation, as now we have one more medium to tell stories—the internet. And it has immense reach and offers you complete freedom to narrate the story the way you want.” Thanks to the technology boom—sophisticated but easy-to-use cameras and editing equipment—it is also quiet easy to make films these days, she adds.

The director's web series titled Romil and Jugal is an interpretation of Romeo and Juliet and narrates the story of the love story of two boys Romil and Jugal. It also touches upon dilemmas faced by them when it comes to accepting their sexuality, their angst, family response and other issues.

But it is not a gloomy and grim story, says Asthana. “It is a happy film on an extremely relevant subject. We all have friends or family members who are gay and when you see this film you will understand them better. Also, you will know how to deal with it when you come across the homosexual person.”

Needless to say, the project required loads of research and here, Asthana's close friends proved a great help. “As I am a straight person, I needed to do a lot of research to do justice to the project. So, I read up articles, watched documentaries and talked extensively to friends to understand their point of view.” After all the research, Asthana says she realised that emotions are gender and sexuality neutral and that is why this film will strike a chord with viewers of all kinds.

Not just films, Asthana has carved her niche in television as well with some super successful series like Hip Hip Hurray, Mahi way, Kyun Hota Hai Pyaar, Time Bomb, among others. But she is not very happy with lack of rationalism in the TV space. “Look at how TV channels operate. Everything is TRP-driven, which means that I cannot narrate the story the way I want. Finite shows are a rarity. There are last-minute changes, writers are called in the middle of the night to rewrite scenes as per the TRP tilt and there is no content bank. It is frustrating.

“There is need to look inward and rethink about the kind of content we are creating. After all, as influencers, we have some responsibility,” says Asthana, who has a YRF film in the pipeline.

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Topics : #entertainment

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