The Waking of a Nation: Director Ram Madhvani reveals his longest shot for series is '90 minutes' - 'I needed actors who knew...'

Ram Madhvani, known for his projects like Aarya and Neerja, is coming up with a web show, The Waking of a Nation, which is set against the backdrop of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The filmmaker's series boasts an ensemble star cast, which includes Taaruk Raina, Nikita Dutta, and Sahil Mehta. Ahead of the show's release, the director shared some interesting insights about his innovative filming technique for The Waking of a Nation.

Ram Madhvani on The Waking of a Nation

In an official statement, Ram Madhvani shed light on his distinctive approach in filming as well as casting for the SonyLIV series. The filmmaker, who is often called 'actor's director', revealed he is always in 'service' of his actors. Talking about The Waking of a Nation star cast, the director felt the actors had 'freshness, innocence and hunger', which suited the script.

Also read: The Waking of a Nation: Taaruk Raina headlines Ram Madhvani's riveting courtroom drama set in the British Raj era

"To add to that, the way I shoot is quite different than what most actors are used to. I shoot in what we call 360 style, where I take extremely long shots, almost documentary-style, to get to the truth of the moment. In fact, for The Waking of a Nation, the longest shot I have taken is 90 minutes! So firstly, these actors needed to have excellent memory because they needed to remember the lines," shared Ram.

The filmmaker admitted that he needed actors who were 'good' but also knew how to not 'act'. He also wanted the actors who could submit to his '360 degree system'. Having said that, Ram was happy because the young star cast brought 'emotion and soul' to his web show.

More about The Waking of a Nation

Created and directed by Ram Madhvani, The Waking of a Nation stars Taaruk Raina as lawyer Kantilal Sahni. On the other hand, Sahil Mehta will be seen as Ali Allahbaksh, Bhawsheel Singh as Hari Singh Aulakh, and Nikita Dutta as Poonam (Hari's wife). The web show is scheduled for OTT premiere on SonyLIV and OTTplay Premium on March 7.

Stay tuned to this space for more updates!

Also read: Aarya creator Ram Madhvani to helm series,The Waking of a Nation, based on Jallianwala Bagh massacre