Exclusive! The Couple director Nupur Asthana says Shreya Dhanwanthary and Priyanshu Painyuli were cast over a zoom meeting

The pandemic has been a testing time for all of us including the couples. Many of them were struggling to stay with each other 24/7 under the same roof and to face the challenges of job losses due to mass lay-offs. The job loss, especially when faced by one partner, has had adverse effects on relationships and the film The Couple delves into that. A part of the recently released anthology Unpaused: Naya Safar, the Couple is directed by Nupur Asthana and stars Shreya Dhanwanthary and Priyanshu Painyuli.

In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, actors Shreya and Priyanshu and filmmaker Nupur talk about their latest flick, The Couple, their personal experiences with people who lost their jobs during the pandemic and more. Excerpts:

Nupur Asthana, could you tell us how did the entire collaboration happen?

Nupur: I had done Four More Shots Please for Amazon in the past. They reached out and I wrote the story and it is something that affected me. I had seen Family Man and remembered how the character Zoya (played by Shreya Dhanwanthary) did not have too many lines but made an arresting presence. I wanted to cast her. I had seen the first 30 minutes of Bhavesh Joshi and wanted Priyanshu on board. We met on Zoom and cast them over Zoom meeting. We were not sure of the chemistry but Shreya used to say that they can also have chemistry with a tree. But of course, they are better than a tree for each other. That's how quick and simple it was.

The film tells the story of a couple who deal with job loss during the pandemic. Was there any particular real-life incident that inspired you to tell a story about it?

Nupur: The first season had already talked about the actual pandemic, living through it, getting the tests and wearing masks. In 2021, our lives have moved on a bit. A lot of sectors were laid off and many lost their jobs and livelihoods. It was shocking for me to read that more women than men had lost their jobs. There were some crazy statistics about that and it enraged me. I kind of used that as a starting point. And it found its way into the story of the couple that's locked down and working from home. How they deal with one of them being laid-off, not due to her fault but the pandemic which has affected many companies, forcing them to downsize. Life is brutal. The story is about that and how does the person you live with, reacts to it.

Could you tell us about your characters? Do you know people in your personal life who also lost jobs due to the pandemic, which helped you relate to your characters and story even better?

Shreya: I play the role of the partner who loses her job for no fault of her own. The job plays such an important part in her life and she feels it defines her. So, she starts questioning herself a lot - about her worth, when she loses the job. The story is about how this incident affects the couple and how they deal with it moving forward. Are they able to support each other and transition through the turbulent period that they have just seen for the first time? So it is a very interesting take on how this couple deals with the situation.

Nupur: I do know a couple of people who have lost their jobs, one in the corporate sector and the other in media. When you know people who have gone through this and you are reading about this every day, it stays in your head. I had to write something related to the pandemic and this story came out. I feel strongly about it and that is why I wrote it.

Priyanshu: During the lockdown, we were going through a lot of emotional, mental and physical turmoils. We were staying home dealing with everything, working and spending time watching OTT. Many lost their jobs. Even I know people who were laid off, both men and women. The Couple is about how the other person also deals with it. I play the character who is trying to do his work, stuck with his own presentation and yet, trying to support his partner who has lost her job, assuring her that everything is fine. He does many silly things as well. All that is there in the film. It is very nicely scripted and designed.

Nupur: I think in every couple, there are so many layers. You may have a lot of love and trust and what can shake that trust and love? What does it take and how do you ride that storm out. Of course, a lot of anxiety and insecurities come up on the surface. Do you work through them together, separately, or clash with each other? You are also living day to day 24/7 with the person. As a couple, you try to find a balance in life despite all odds. It is really about figuring it out all in the film.

Priyanshu: I think a lot of people will relate to this film. Everyone will connect to this guy and girl especially considering what we were all going through during the pandemic.

Nupur: I am also okay in a sense if people do not connect with it. But also, it is nice to delve into the world of this couple, even if you have nothing to do with them.

As you mentioned earlier, there are a lot of layers to the story. Many couples, in real life, we're also struggling to spend time with each other 24/7 under the same roof. So, was it challenging to also talk about so many nuances in a short format?

Nupur: Yes, it was. I have never made a short film before. So, for me, it was definitely challenging but in an exciting way. I had tackled other mediums. So it was interesting to see how much I could pack in 25 minutes, yet let there be times for the characters and their relationship to breathe. It was nice and fun.

Nupur, earlier you had said in 2017 that TV and OTT would co-exist. Now, with OTT booming especially because of the pandemic, do you still hold that all mediums will co-exist or would OTT replace TV?

Nupur: I think I stand by that statement. It hasn't changed. Now if you want to watch a movie or a show at any time of the day or night, you have OTT for that. You have that individual space. If you want to watch a TV match with your family, you have the TV too. And, you go to a theatre for a collective experience. I think all three mediums are fantastic and they have different emotional values when you are watching. Because of the pandemic, we cannot go to theatres now. But this will pass, everything will boom. When TV came, everybody said radio chala jayega. But it is still there, flourishing.

Shreya: We have podcasts, clubhouses. The clubhouse has come and gone.

Priyanshu: There are now different kinds of clubhouses that have come.

What do you all have to say about OTT censorship?

Nupur: We are creative people. We do not believe in curbing freedom of expression. I think the OTT platforms write the parental advisory - 13+, 15+, 18+ etc, and parents can use the parental lock on the systems. My niece has turned 14 and she doesn't watch anything that is not age-appropriate. What are parents for? They should be able to check what their children should watch and should not watch. Why should an adult be deprived of something just because there is a child in the house?

Shreya: I completely agree with Nupur. I am all up for certification. Let the board give certification and leave it to parents after that.

Priyanshu: I agree with them. In fact, it has become easier with platforms. You can do child lock and have separate profiles for children. My niece also does that. It is easier now. On the phone too, you can do child lock. I have said this earlier. There are some contents online that some of us are making when we do not have a good script. We fall back on nudity and all those things because we don't trust the script. This might become controversial but if we do not have good scripts, hum 'gandi baat' karne lagte hai.