Priyanka Tiwari
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This Friday, the Sonam Nair Directed Series “Dupahiya” Released on Amazon Prime. The reviews have been positive and the audience seems to really appreciate the characters. Sonam is not new to the industry having previously done Gippi, Masaba Masaba, and Kaafir, just to mention a few. This time she has come back on the OTT platform with her very simple, yet entertaining show Dupahiya with an impressive star cast Gajraj Rao, Renuka Shahane, Sparsh Srivastava, and many more. Sonam explained how she cast Sparsh Srivastava for the part of Bhugol, the younger brother of the bride who followes her to Mumbai after the wedding for he wishes to be a Bolywood star. Sonam said how she cast Sparsh and claimed that she hadn’t seen him act in any of the films he starred in, including the famous Laapataa Ladies. Sonam claimed that she provided Sparsh with CDs of the legendary actor Govinda’s older movies like Love 86 and Disco Dancer because they were the images she had of her version of Bhugol. According to her, he absolutely nailed it.
In regard to her films where women empowerment is the major theme, she tried to explain why she chose such strong female leads. However, for her neither posture nor action was the main issue of discussion in her programs or films. While speaking about the response for Dupahiya, she seemed mildly amused, which is not an easy thing to achieve considering the magnitude of applause she has been getting these days. “Everything that she has done is being heavily appreciated, and rightfully so, because she has been putting in so much effort into her role as Panch Pushpalata. To follow up with this Punjabi accent is not the easiest of tasks. I admire her for working hard towards this because she is married to well-known actor Ashutosh Rana.” As soon as it dropped at midnight, it started and till now, I’m still overwhelmed. I am constantly glued to my phone. Messages are pouring in on Twitter, Instagram, and even old neighbors from 30 years ago are sending me messages. Everything that I am doing nowadays is extremely overwhelming and at the same time incredibly nostalgic. From an emotional standpoint, I am very happy. The film's casting is also perfect; you cannot find even one person off-beat here.
Sparsh's performance in Laapataa Ladies is something I missed.
When I first met Sparsh, I didn’t have the chance to watch Laapataa Ladies. Along with tough after Dupahiya, I didn’t have any of his images in my head. I also hadn't watched Jamtaara, so I had no clue about Sparsh's role or work at all. I did know, however, that he was in those projects and had received a lot of accolades. Romil (casting director) brought him in for an audition and after the audition I said, “This boy is very talented, and I want to do a screen test with him.” I directed him in a scene with a bike and after it, I thought, “I don't need to meet anyone else. Sparsh is the one who can do this role.” The role is very difficult because he has to be in almost every scene of the show; at some points, he is with his father and at other points, he is with Amavas. He was exceptional, incredibly real. After that, I watched Laapataa Ladies and I told him, “You’re doing something completely different in this.” I thought you were shy, and I assumed that’s how you are in reality. The truth is, he is such a great actor.
Govinda’s films served as a guidance template for him.
When Sparsh was first starting off, I showed him some pre-illustrious Govinda films like Love 86 and Street Dancer. He had his own swag back in the day just as he began his career - it just wasn’t like Raja Babu. For a while, I sent him some of my recordings along with some interviews and he had to use his creative skills to figure out how to make them more personal. He got it. There was no need to micromanage. I tried to tell the story of the 80’s in the show, the entire series's vibe including the music. There is an element of the 80s that I infused into it and you can see it in the show.
The linchpin of comparison concerning Panchayat is awesome, still they are different.
Panchayat is a hit show and I see no reason why if people think our show is a spin-off, let them think so. It was not an issue to me because at the end of the day, our show is different in every way when it comes to the plot or the characters. The type of comedy and performances in our show are also eccentric and out-of-the-box. It’s telling the story of a village and as you may have seen in other shows of villages, people from the villages act in a particular way and our show captures that behavior. If somebody makes the statement that our show is similar, I bask in that delight.
If you enjoyed watching Panchayat, you might want to check this out, but also check out our show, and you can see the difference yourself.
Was confident that Dupahiya would work
“I consider this a stroke of luck, and the script screamed what it was, thanks to Avinash and Chirag – the writers of the show. Every person who heard the script found it flawless, with brilliant characters wonderfully structured to each possess plenty. This fascinates actors the most – the chance to portray the roles of different captivating people. Our casting director, Romil, has done an amazing job with casting for several films. A while ago, he did an incredible job in Laapataa Ladies, where he brought together amazing theatre actors, some local actors, and some from Bollywood. All of them made a fantastic blend. I think it was great for every one of us to try the chances with the fresh talent and the story had a ready-made scope and frame and so did I. We set out to cast people who we felt genuinely wanted to touch this project. Those who were fired up to do it, who had gone through the script and the rehearsals, who I later realized had such great desire to do it, and when I saw their hunger, I knew that it would be great fun working with them. And such fun is captured on the screen. Everyone was interested in taking part in this project. All the seasoned actors were in place, and we were confident that it would definitely work.”
Renuka Shahane had the toughest time mastering her dialect.
“She worked very hard on the dialect, and just like every other actor, I worked on the dialect as well. However, she was the first to start and continued with the training because she was feeling extra stress, her husband (Ashutosh Rana) is from the same region. She didn’t want to make mistakes, and she desperately wanted her husband and his relatives to be proud and say that she did a fantastic job. You know, that was an extra pressure on her. Even with all her experience and seniority, she worked on dialect classes every week, sometimes two or three times a week. By the end of it, she was so worried with the dialect that she had mastered it. And since people are used to hearing her speak in a certain way, it’s going to seem odd to them initially that she’s speaking in a different dialect. We just assumed people would forget about all this by the second episode, but she’s so well-known that it came as a shock to us. ”
How Casting Bhuvan Arora as Amavas Came to Be
While Farzi was being cast, Amazon mentioned that there was a great actor in their series, Bhuvan Arora, who I should meet. I initially went to meet Bhuvan, and we had a basic introductory interaction. After that, I started thinking about how I’d like to style him. I thought that if I could completely change his charming and sweet but typical appearance into one that is rugged and brooding, I would have a better chance of casting him as Amavas. I did the same, and Bhuvan was quite pleased with the results. He had also wanted to get casted as a romantic aashiq, so he was grateful for the chance. He did a phenomenal job as Amavas.
What's next for Sonam?
At this moment, I am working on different developments and scripts. At this stage, I don’t know how much work I’m going to get because it will depend on viewer feedback. Feedback is essential, and only at that point do I figure out my next steps. Prior to receiving feedback, everything sounds nice but isn't very inspirational as to how I will take action. If I successfully complete my show, then I set goals for myself. My next project is determined post viewing my feedback.
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