Girl meets boy. The two fall in love...rewind. Girl meets boy and they set animals free at a pet market. The unusual, the quirky, the socially awkward and the ones who don’t fit in were some of the characters that Megha Ramaswamy found missing in the Indian film landscape. With What Are The Odds?, the director tried to plug in the gap and the audience responded wholeheartedly. Within a week of its debut on Netflix, it climbed to number 5 and then number 2 while spawning fan clubs across the country. In conversation with the director, who earlier made documentaries like Newborns, Bunny and The Last Music Shop, it is evident that she takes up projects that she completely identifies with. While discussing the film with Saimi Sattar, she pauses frequently, searching for the right word and wants to understand a nuance better before answering a question. Excerpts:

The film is trending on Netflix. Did you believe something like this was possible?

Not at all. The response has been amazing and the film has it’s own fan clubs and all that now. (Laughs, which even over the phone line sounds overwhelmed). But I don’t belong to this world, so it is very new and exciting for me.

Were you planning an OTT release or a theatrical one and shifted because of the pandemic?

I am the writer and director and the producer had not masked the fact from me that it would not be the most comfortable theatrical release. I was told that I would have to make peace with big theatre release in Taipei, China, Taiwan, Los Angles film festivals. It was important to get a worldwide release and Netflix has an outreach of 180-190 countries.

OTTs have given a platform for different kinds of stories being told...

Of course, a culture of serious audience has come about because of these platforms. For example, a series like Wire or Mad Men happened because these platforms were available. It really nurtures your tastes as an audience. It makes them creative (pauses) and opinionated. The reaction is immediate, personal and relies on word of mouth. It isn’t a rehearsed audience which says “see this” or “do that”. It is very passionate and creates its own bright guys. That’s the relevance of OTT, as of now. Earlier, we had to rely on the review of a critic and wonder if “we should we buy a ticket?” But now it is as simple as turning on the TV.

Are we making an impact globally through films as we see younger directors doing the rounds of international festivals now?

Of course, there are younger directors like Rima Das. There is this burst of creativity. We aren’t making films just with a Third World narrative based in villages to get to the festivals. There is Rhythm Jahnve, Kabir Mehta and Kabir Singh Choudhury who are just killing it with their originality. They are ground breakers. I love their edgy content. It is no longer that only Satyajit Ray can go to Venice.

Moreover, while earlier we heavily relied on bigger festivals but now smaller ones are also picking up in terms of audience. Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is such great festival where the programmers are championing South Asian and Indian cinema.

So what you are saying is that we’ve broken stereotypes...

There are no stereotypes that are working. It is a rude term. We do not have the smugness or the right to call anything stereotype. All types of writing is based on people’s experiences and as a culture we should be respectful towards that. It might be a stereotype for us but may be not for them. We need to be harsh on these terms in this changing world. This is a 90s terms but it doesn’t matter any more.

Most coming of age films about adolescents talk about falling in love but this film is different. 

The protagonist has this great sense of discomfort and, at the same time, compensating confidence. And it is possible to be both at the same time. That is the true innocence of childhood. When you are 14 -15, you are hormonally and mentally scattered. We tried to say through the character of Vivek (played by Yashasvini, last seen in Delhi Crime) that young women can be this too. They don’t have to walk in a certain way or wear spectacles. Anti-social people can wear a yellow coat and strut about like she does as she wants to be noticed. The kids watching this film are relating to this. This narrative is allowing the character to have a gamut of emotions. 

Did the idea of the film come from your own growing up years?

It did. I felt very alienated as a kid. I didn’t know how to behave in a certain way. I am a single child and I am socially awkward. I try to overcompensate by saying something... (gives a nervous laugh) absolutely stupid. This made me a bit extra. I always wondered why there were no films about children like us. In films, 14-15-year-olds were falling in love and having romances. Romance kuch nahi hota when you are 14-15. It was like a series of embarrassing incidents one after the other where I was falling in one gutter hole after another. I felt that this teenage angst, rebellion stupidity and inventiveness had to be honoured. The beauty of the character is that she can be clumsy, feisty, vulnerable, a great companion, sensible and volatile — at the same time. All that makes her what she is. It is not a typical girl meets boy story... I didn’t want to make that film. This starts off as a regular girl meets boy story and all that trope and we built on it. We’ve embraced the absurd and that’s the beauty of it all. People finally understand that it is okay to be absurd. There is so much space for imagination and the world needs it to keep sane, little hopeful and happy.

The film employs magic realism. How does that help the storytelling?

It is not just this film. I’ve done it in other films too. Just that this one has been seen by a wider audience. I’ve made hybrid documentaries that still follow the rules of magic realism. On a bigger scale, I will always be doing this. There was everything — films about ghouls, crime — but not about young women. They are undermined and treated disrespectfully. It is almost like let’s give them something dumb and populist. With What Are The Odds, we’ve proved them wrong.

How did you select the cast?

Very organically. I follow a lot of independent musicians. I saw Yashasvini playing a guitar, ukelele it is called, at some point. She was singing and the rest of the crew too agreed that we had our lead. She had done a side role. What is the technical term for it? I don’t know the word. Supporting role, it is called. I don’t know since I don’t come from this world. I feel girls like  Yashaasvini should be leading films because the youth needs relatable women. They don’t need only girls who look as if they’ve just stepped out of the salon. She is relatable, clumsy, angry, wears her heart and brain on her sleeve. She is also vivacious and just fits the role. 

Karanvir  brings the calm to the storm till the time he also becomes like her in the film.  He does a very non head boy thing even though he comes across as an uptight guy. But the duo get each other. It is their little rebellion. It is strangely predictive of the times too. (Chuckles) They are freeing animals in the pet market. And if you remember, the virus began with a wet market.

Did children being stuck at home during the lockdown power its success?

That’s a very ruthlessly exploitative thing to say about a ruthless time in the world and I would rather keep away from the question because I don’t want people to think that it is working for us. What about those kids who do not have a TV and can’t watch the film? If I am talking about children being happy about the break, then I am talking about a particular kind of children. But what about kids being beaten up at home?

How did Abhay Deol come on board?

We were introduced by a friend as he was looking to produce something. And we had this character, Val. The more we interacted with him, the more we thought he should be our Val. When he agreed to produce it, we asked if he would also act in the film.  He said, “That’s not necessary. Cast who you want.” And we chimed, “We want to cast you.” It is so gracious of him as he is there for 15 minutes. The ensemble cast also had geniuses like Sulbha Arya, a legend, who gave us so much love, understanding and blessings. 

Your banner is called Missfit films...

It is M-I-S-S-F-I-T. Miss fit. It is to honour young women who feel misplaced and we would like to hold space for them as they navigate though films. And we love to deal with narratives around younger people in particular.  We hear all of them. Straight, queer, gay — everyone.

OTT changed the way films are being viewed...

It has domesticated entertainment. It no longer entails a trip to multiplex. There are theatrical films and OTT films and there is room for both. A cinema watching culture needs to thrive with both. Roma was released directly on Netflix by one of the greatest directors in the world. Some of the best directors are doing shows for OTT. It is not the smaller platform any more. 

What were your learning experiences from your past films, Newborns, Bunny and The Last Music Store?

I was living in a very small world where I was very content but the gates have opened to write and direct series with the success of What Are The Odds?  It gives me the privilege of affording enough support to other people in this system. So, now I can run my company and hire young writers. Being independent means doing everything yourself.

The absence of censorship on OTT has been criticised due to explicit content. Do you agree? 

There shouldn’t be censorship. All kinds of content make a culture. For example, films by Carlos Reygadas have a lot of nudity but what would arthouse cinema be without his contribution? Censoring anything shows that there is something which is not right in country.

What is Cause Effect?

It is a little outfit under Missfit. We try and do pro bono, campaign driven work with NGOs and raise funds. It is a community driven initiative where we ask people for money. I’ve done a campaign with Dr Kailash Satyarthi for it too. 

Future plans?

Up next is Reshma Aur Shera, few series and a book adaptation. I am working with Jeetu Mohandas about which I am very excited.