Some might have dismissed the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Yudh as an ‘art show failing to generate TRPs’ but director Ribhu Dasgupta says he is catering to the taste of the ‘new audience’ who never related with the daily soaps. He chatted with Divya Kaushik
The Indian audience are so well fed with copied serials and repeats that they find it difficult to accept a fresh plot. Probably that is the reason why several ‘opinion makers’ dismissed Yudh as “slow-paced” and “art show that cannot be a TRP churning, money minting phenomenon.” But the makers are uninhibited by such reviews as they say that more than TRPs they are concerned about catering to the taste of wider demographics. Ribhu Dasgupta, the director of Yudh, says, “With a show like ours, we need to get back the audience who left watching television a decade ago. Anyone who watches everyday television serials from 7 to 10 pm will not term Yudh as ‘slow-paced’ as they are used to watching daily soaps that drag one sequence for months. So the audience who are saying this are actually our new audience. And that is the idea behind Yudh, not only to cater the existing TV audience but to get a new set of audience. There cannot be any deliberate move to ‘up the pace’ or ‘slow the pace’. The content decides the pace and drives the story forward.” Many viewers have also been speculating if Yudh is an adaptation of Western series Breaking Bad andBoss. The director asserts that the show is an original story and if someone believes it to be an adaptation of any Western series, then it is just a perception. He says, “Yudh is an Indian television series and it is very Indian in its ethos. The other day someone asked me, ‘Is Yudh inspired by all Amitabh Bachchan moviesIJ’ So every viewer has a different perception of the series after watching it. And I believe in what Jim Jarmusch once said, ‘Nothing is original.’”
The Amitabh-Bachchan starrer show is Ribhu’s first on television. He assisted Anurag Kashyap, one of the creative directors of Yudh, in Gulaal and it was Anurag’s decision to get him on board. The director has been working hard since then to make sure that the series proves to be a revolutionary one on the small screen in every sense. “We all have been working hard to make this series the best and bring the change that is very much required on Indian television. I think we need more finite fiction on Indian television and Yudh is a great start. When someone like Amitabh Bachchan is being an integral part of this movement that we have started with Yudh, it means we are heading towards change for good,” he says and adds that for him directing the show was no different than directing a film. “Whether it is a TV series or a film, the effort that goes into making it is the same. Storytelling is not bound by any format or medium. There might be certain challenges involved in the process of storytelling but they only add to the excitement and bring the best out of you. For me personally, Yudh has been an overwhelming experience.” The director says that he grew up watching brilliant content on TV and that influenced him a lot. “Those were the good old Doordarshan days,” he comments and adds, “I have always believed that TV as a medium is extremely powerful but challenging as compared to films. To keep the audience hooked to a TV show is very difficult. When we go to watch a film we seldom leave the theatre hall once inside, but when we are watching TV in our homes we have so many options to switch to. So to create content to keep the audience glued to their TV sets is a challenge, but it is thrilling.”
Ribhu comes from the family of filmmakers. His father and grandfather were filmmakers in Kolkata. His elder brother Birsa Dasgupta’s debut Bengali film 033 is considered one the films that brought a resurgence in Bengali cinema. It was through his brother that he met Anurag Kashyap. “I had come to Mumbai to pursue higher education in English literature but that never happened as I started working pretty early. My elder brother, Birsa, was working with Anurag on Black Friday when I had come to Mumbai. That was when I met Anurag. After assisting him in Gulaal, I completed writing the first draft of the script of my first film Michael, which was a character-driven psychological thriller. I took the script to Anurag for his opinion and he liked it so much that he said if I would not make the film, he will. I ultimately did make the film featuring Naseeruddin Shah, but it did not see the light of the day. So now I have known Anurag for many years now and he has played a very influential part in my life. He has actually brought out a filmmaker in me. And thanks to my family and my upbringing for whatever I know today of the craft of filmmaking,” informs the filmmaker. Directing veterans like Naseeruddin and Amitabh has been “an experience of the lifetime.” Says Ribhu, “Both are legends of our times, they are brilliant but different from each other. Both are thorough professionals. But Bachchan has the quality of being a superhuman and even that’s an understatement.”
After this attempt on Indian TV, Ribhu is open to do more work and keen to continue being a part of the small screen’s changing phase. “TV is finally moving to the stage where path-breaking concept is being given priority over other things. I only want to do good work and it can be in any medium,” he concludes.