Actor Maanvi Gagroo has seen it all. She began her career with TV shows on Disney and went on to become one of the leading web stars, thanks to The Viral Fever’s TVF Tripling, TVF Pitchers and other shows. The actor, one of the four leading ladies in the Amazon Prime Video Original, Four More Shots Please! (releasing on April 17) talks to THE WEEK about the show, the evolution of the web space, finding characters that are meaningful, and more.
Q. Siddhi, your character in Four More Shots Please!, is the only character to have come of age in the truest sense. She grows a little with every episode. How has your journey been with the character?
In season one, as you say, what was interesting for me is that she comes into her own. She realises that she needs to break out of certain things. That realisation was very important for me. A lot of us, when we are at home and with our family, are very comfortable and get used to a lifestyle. We have a plan laid out for us —school, college, higher studies, a few years of work, and then marriage. That is something we are taught. Siddhi challenges that in a certain way. She has also been brought up like that and conditioned to be that way by her mother (Simone Singh) especially. If season one was about her realisation, in season two, she really comes in to her own. We start with her exploration of herself. She is lost. She doesn’t know what she wants to do in life, but at some point she finds it and begins to give herself to that (stand-up acts).
Q. You, along with a few other female actors like Nidhi Singh and Nidhi Bisht, were the first few to have made it really big in the digital space when India opened up to the idea of web shows. Many streaming platforms have come up now, and you have been part of many of these. What is your personal experience with the web space that has undergone much evolution?
Initially, when content on the Internet began and started gaining momentum, it was coming from a place of (individual tastes). People wanted to make content that they could watch, that they themselves could relate to. It was far more organic. Now, what is happening with so many OTT platforms is that everybody is coming up with something. There is a web series being launched every day. But now what is also happening is that a lot of people are doing it because they think it is a cash cow. They feel that everyone should get on to this bandwagon, that we should also do this, thinking, 'aaj kal internet chal raha, so let us make something'. But a lot of it is not organic. People feel that just because it is digital, you can use cuss words. I was approached for a show and I said 'no' to it. The person who had offered it to me said, 'But ma’am, isme bahot galliyaan hain'. How can that be a selling point? It really concerns me.
The other thing that I am worried about is the kind of trajectory satellite television went through. Initially, when channels were launched, there was such great content. Gradually, there were too many channels, but only a few remained. But the content went down. It became more massy and people tried to please the masses. I just hope that doesn’t happen with the web space. However, I feel it won’t because web is such a democratic medium. Also, we have platforms like YouTube and TikTok where if you think you have something to say, you can easily find your audience. I hope because of that web won’t take that path, but it’s still my worry.
Q. But considering there’s so much happening already even on the web space, has it been difficult for you to find characters that actually mean something to you?
Yes and no. Yes, because there is a lot of things that are being made and people come to me with certain things that I feel ki kyun bana rahe ho. It doesn’t merit being made. But I also feel that a lot of strong characters come to me. A lot of times the arc of a female character is in showing her strength. But strength is not always when a girl leaves her husband, or walks out of her marriage or her home. Of course, that is strength. But even a woman living a normal life – struggling with day-to-day activities, running her house, having an important job and managing it all – that, for me is the real strength of a person. I enjoy playing those characters and I wish there was more.
Q. You had two film releases too in the last few months – Ujda Chaman and Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhaan. The film audience started noticing you too. Has there been any change after the release of these films?
(Laughs) When Ujda Chaman came out, people didn’t know who I was. I remember the makers of Ujda Chaman were planning the marketing strategies, a lot of them. I told them that my audience in on digital platform and asked them to take the marketing to digital. It worked. After both Ujda and Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhaan, I got a lot of good feedback. I feel a lot of times, people see you and they have a notion about you. That certain notion about me broke after I did the films. I am saying this based on what people have come and told me. Someone said that they knew me, but hadn’t seen my work. There are people who have gone back and seen my previous work as well. I am only happy.
Q. But there is a certain image that one is associated to because of working on only a certain platform. Has it ever become a deterrent because you have mostly worked on web, or has it helped in getting more work?
It has always helped. There are people who don’t know me and are given my reference. They go and see my social media accounts, see my number and think that they can take the conversation forward, or I can do certain things. I have a few films for streaming platforms, which I can’t talk about right now, that I have got like that. The people who know me because of my previous work call me because they are confident that I would be able to do a certain character. It has only helped so far.
Q. Since you talk about social media and how numbers are taken into account, does it ever become tough to maintain a social media image, like what to post and what not to?
Not really. For me, being active on social media is something that comes very naturally. I know a lot of people struggle with that, a lot of actors especially. Their managers keep telling them to post something every day, or to be active and keep interacting. Fortunately, I already do that a lot. No one needs to tell me. In fact, there are times when I have to pull myself away from my phone because I am constantly online. I enjoy it. But then recently when the news around coronavirus started gaining momentum in India, I was really affected by the negative news. I felt that if I keep watching and surfing, I would lose my sanity. I had to switch off. One has to strike that balance I guess.
Q. What has the lockdown changed in your schedule?
Initially, when the lockdown happened, I was kind of relieved that I have a lot of time. I can read my scripts, books and watch shows that were pending for a long time. But two-three days into it I realised that I have to finish all the household chores too. Now, I am doing only that pretty much the whole day.
Q. What do you think would be the impact of lockdown on the entertainment industry in the long run?
I think in the hierarchy of things, people like me or above me, would manage. What I am worried about are the people like the spot boys, the masterjis on sets, people who don’t have a stable income. We are all freelancers, we all work on a project basis. But those are people whose savings will take a dip. Otherwise, I don’t understand the economics of it. But I think once we are out of this, people are going to make a comeback with vengeance. Everyone is going to try and make-up for the lost time. By then, everyone would also be sick of staying at home, so everyone is going to run to work too (laughs). The volume and pace of work is going to increase once everything stabilises and comes to normal.
