The multi-hyphenate Nikhil Advani talks about his new medical drama sequence ‘Mumbai Diaries 26/11’, and the a number of movies and sequence his manufacturing home is engaged on
Writer-director-producer Nikhil Advani wears a number of hats and makes it look straightforward. At his manufacturing home Emmay Entertainment, work is on in full swing on function movies and net sequence in several phases of growth. There is a technique to the insanity, Advani explains, as he takes day out to speak about Mumbai Diaries 26/11, a medical drama sequence that may premiere on Amazon Prime Video on September 9. Starring Konkona Sen Sharma, Mohit Raina, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Satyajeet Dubey, Natasha Bharadwaj, Mrunmayee Deshpande and Prakash Belawadi, the sequence is collectively directed by Nikhil Advani and Nikhil Gonsalves.
Excerpts from an interview with Nikhil Advani:
The trailer signifies a narrative unfolding in a hospital, in opposition to the backdrop of 26/11 assaults. What prompted you to jot down a medical drama?
Vijay Subramaniam and Aparna Purohit of Amazon Prime Video approached me to do a present in the identical grungy, gritty house as D-Day (2013 movie) and P.O.W – Bandi Yudd Ke (2016 sequence for Star Plus). I wasn’t eager on one other espionage story or pitting India in opposition to Pakistan. I wished to make a medical drama about medical doctors, nurses and ward workers in a Mumbai hospital. In a big, authorities hospital in Mumbai, they deal with about 300 admissions a day. It is like going to battle. What occurs after they undergo a unprecedented day like 26/11?
COVID-19 has made all of us extra conscious of the shortcomings within the healthcare system and the way a lot healthcare staff do to maintain our cities alive. This sequence was deliberate (and filmed) earlier than the pandemic.
Does Mumbai Diaries 26/11 change into the story of a metropolis in addition to the characters performed by Konkona Sen Sharma, Mohit Raina, Shreya Dhanwanthary and others?
I consider everybody has a narrative to inform about 26/11, no matter whether or not they watched the traumatic occasions on tv or had a good friend/acquaintance in one of many affected areas. The logline ‘people who are meant to heal us are quite broken themselves’ defines the sequence. The characters are coping with their very own demons. Early within the day, Mohit’s character has an argument along with his spouse, who’s an F&B supervisor at The Taj lodge. As the assaults occur, he’s unable to achieve her. Someone else is anxious about their dad and mom who’re caught on the lodge. We started by desirous to narrate private tales and it turned the story of the town.
Can you focus on the method of writing fictional tales impressed by actual life occasions? You have had fairly a number of — D-Day, Batla House, P.O.W and this sequence.
The benefit is that regardless of how unimaginable an occasion might sound, nobody can dispute that it occurred. On 27/11, the primary practice left from Churchgate station to Virar as typical, which implies the driving force someway managed to achieve his office. That is an emblem of Mumbai’s resilience. We additionally learnt that numerous Muslims got here ahead to donate blood quickly after the assaults, to point out their solidarity with India. We integrated all this into the story.
There can be super accountability of narrating these tales with out sensationalising them. When a ward boy or a nurse sees Mumbai Diaries 26/11, they must really feel happy with seeing their story on display screen. Nurses protected sufferers by hiding them underneath the beds and switching off lights. A girl who took six bullets managed to outlive…
Does the net house lend itself higher to relate such lengthy kind tales?
Absolutely. For Bollywood, the main focus is extra on screenplays. Writing for a sequence on a digital platform permits us to jot down episodic tales and longer character arcs. A function movie is sort of a dash; a sequence is like operating a marathon. Writing, directing or producing a sequence for a digital platform requires about two years of labor; you may’t come right here on a brief break between making two function movies.
You have been engaged on a number of tasks as author, producer and director. Tell us in regards to the workflow?
There is loads of work; generally individuals ask me if I’m schizophrenic and I reply within the affirmative. Jokes aside, we’re busy. Satyamev Jayate 2 (that includes John Abraham in a double position) is awaiting launch, Sardar ka Grandson premiered in May, we’re engaged on The Empire sequence for Hotstar, two new exhibits for Amazon Prime Video, Rocket Boys which is a narrative of Vikram Sarabhai and Homi Bhaba, the movie Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway is underway in Estonia with Rani Mukherji, and extra movies are within the pipeline.
This is feasible as a result of now we have a strong growth group. When we based Emmay Entertainment a decade in the past, we wished to work with good writers, pay them nicely and honour the written phrase. I used to be lucky to get alternatives from Sudhir Mishra, Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar; I wished to pay it again to youthful writers and administrators.
You labored on P.O.W a lot earlier than the digital explosion that occurred throughout the pandemic. What are your ideas on the OTT Vs. theatre debate?
There will probably be those that will watch motion pictures and sequence on digital platforms and others who will go to theatres to look at sure form of motion pictures. For occasion, say I put money into a very good bandwidth for my daughter’s on-line courses. Along with it I get entry to streaming platforms and I watch completely different sequence. If, nevertheless, I’m in a family with a number of others, I’d wish to exit and watch a movie or two with my spouse.
You started your profession with Kal Ho Naa Ho and Salaam-e-Ishq and later moved to gritty tales. Some filmmakers really feel the necessity to transfer away from romances and narrate different tales after some extent, whereas others proceed to inform romantic tales. Where do you stand?
I’m a giant fan of Mani Ratnam. Whatever be the style, there’s nice characterisation and drama in his movies. I beloved Roja, Thiruda Thiruda, Iruvar, Yuva and Kannathil Muthamittal, all of which have been completely different from one another.
At this stage of my life, I worth companionship greater than romance. When I’ve an fascinating story to relate in that house, I’ll undoubtedly do it.
