Sudhir Mishra goes digital, extends learning curve!

‘Chameli’, ‘Hazaroon Khwaishein Aisi’ and ‘Dharavi’ maker Sudhir Mishra is making his directorial debut with his digital series ‘Hostages’. The Lucknowite is excited about exploring the new medium. 

“Mazedaar hai bahut aur kaafi azadi hai ismein (It’s very exciting and has lot of freedom). Aaj zamana kamaal ka isliye hai ki (today it’s a great time to work) if you want to make a two hour film you can do that, if you have an idea that could be said in 10 minutes then make a short film and if you have a story that can go in series or seasons then make it for OTT,” he said.

He is doing it all. “I made this for Hotstar. I am making a film ‘Serious Men’ with Nawazuddin Siddiqui based on Manu Joseph’s book for Netfilx, and I am writing another series for OTT,” said the director who has made short films too.

Working for the digital space, he said, “The new medium is very exciting which we are also learning. Many rules are similar to those which we are habitual to (in films) and there are many which are very different. For a director, you have lot of freedom and creative liberty much more than in films. There are plenty of options but the drawback is that you need to keep the audiences hooked till the end. For that you need to know the rules of the game,” he said.

Adding to the thought, he said, “It’s a long form so you can elaborate the story, side plots can be developed. You can work with the kind of actors who are very good in the craft. I have a natural instinct which reflects in my films that I concentrate a lot on side characters. I like to develop them and tell their stories along with the main plot which is very similar in this medium (OTT). But, then one has to learn a lot as it’s a long medium – stretching in 10 episodes or even seasons.

“What I have understood is that the trick is simple. There is a saying that ‘some stories have legs’, so stories that have the capacity of going into multiple episodes and seasons should be told that way. Stories are the key.”

There is lot of debate on the censorship on OTT, to which he said, “Censorship is internal. Any responsible maker will not indulge in sensationalism. Now, ‘the genie is out of the bottle’ so it’s the responsibility of both makers and audiences. With smart phones and data in every hand, censorship is becoming impossible as everything is now available – officially or unofficially.”

The series — starring Tisca Chopra, Pravin Dabas and Ronit Roy — is based on an Israeli series and has been adapted and written by his team Mayukh Ghosh, Nisarg Mehta and Shiva Shankar Bajpai.

“The story is about two persons who are correct in their own right and are standing opposite each other. The woman’s character (played by Tisca is so strong that I have not dealt with one so far. Ronit’s character is very exciting, so is that of Praveen,” he said.

Talking about the choice of actors, he said, “They were natural choices and all fell in place. Ronit is biggest star on TV. Tisca is a great actor, so is Parvin and Dalip Tahil. Like my films, we have new actors who should be watched out for Anangha Biswas (Mirzapur-fame), Sharad Joshi, Aushim Gulati, Malhar Rathod, Anuranjan and Surya Sharma.”

Mishra has earlier mentored a script ‘Government’ for OTT which was been made with Irfaan but then due to Irrfan’s treatment it could not be made. Now, it is being made with Manav Kaul. His film ‘Serious Men’ will go on the floors later this year, added the director.