Ram Madhvani¡¯s Crime Drama ¡®Aarya¡¯ Is All About Family & Sushmita-Chandrachur Cut A Perfect One

While most of us were dealing with bouts of acne, resisting peer pressure to flaunt a lifestyle of opulence, seeking societal validation through the scores on our marksheets, and still figuring out what to do in our lives in our teenage years, 16-year-old Ram Madhvani was certain that he wanted to direct a feature film and venture into the world of cinema.

¡°In our boarding school, every Friday, we were shown a film on a projector. For two hours that we watched the movie, I would be lost in the cinematic world forgetting about my own self. I felt like I was a part of the feelings and emotions being portrayed on the screen,¡± he explains as he takes a trip down the memory lane and adds, ¡°I think the smell of burning projector film intoxicated me. That¡¯s when I knew what I wanted to do.¡±

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At the age of 24, he was offered partnership in a production house that made ad films. From winning Cannes Lion for Happydent White commercial to getting recognition for Airtel's Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai ad film, Madhvani continued to build his brand.

His journey in Bollywood began as an associate director on Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Mission Kashmir. He directed his first feature film Let's Talk in 2002. However, it was in the year 2016 when Ram Madhvani achieved both critical and commercial success with his second film Neerja, the Sonam Kapoor-starrer that won a National award under Best film category.

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And then, the journey for Aarya began!

For nine years, Madhvani, who is a big fan of The Godfather trilogy, persistently worked on Aarya, a crime web-show, which was originally supposed to be a movie. ¡°Just like how Godfather is about family, Aarya is also about a family. It¡¯s a crime thriller, but it digs deeper into emotions and dynamics of the family.¡±

Not only has he made a roaring comeback, he has brought along with him the two most-loved stars, Sushmita Sen and Chandrachur Singh, who fans have been eagerly waiting to see on the screen. How did he manage to curate this dream cast?

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¡°It is a crime show, but I wanted a person who looks like a family man and not a criminal. That¡¯s when Chandrachur Singh struck my mind. He was in Dehradun when I contacted him. He liked my work in Neerja, and he was all excited to be a part of this show.¡±

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On casting Sushmita Sen, he says,

¡°I had worked with Sushmita a long time ago, but we were not in touch. I thought she would fit best in the character. She is a fabulous mother herself, and Aarya is a great mother too. When she heard the story, she was quite enthusiastic. She immediately said, ¡®I want to do this¡¯. I believe the universe conspired. Suddenly, everything fell into place.¡±

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Just like the casting of the movie, the title of the show is also quite interesting. Aarya reminds most people of Arya Stark from Game of Thrones, the character which stood out for her resilience and is the epitome of the modern independent woman. Madhvani says that nine years ago when he decided the title, he hadn¡¯t read/heard about GoT.

¡°I still ask my wife, who is the co-producer, as to why we named the show Aarya. It¡¯s been such a long journey that we don¡¯t remember how the name struck our mind,¡± he laughs off.

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When told the essence of the two characters are almost very similar, he said, ¡°It¡¯s great if the two characters have similar personalities but nine years ago, I hadn¡¯t read Game of Thrones. There wasn¡¯t any conscious effort made to name this character as Aarya,¡± he says.

Not Game of Thrones, the only inspiration for Aarya was Dutch show Penoza!

¡°When I and my wife Amita watched Penoza, the lead character stayed with us for a long time. I wrote five-six scripts in between, but this was something I couldn't get over. It¡¯s like when you watch a Shakespeare play, you know that you want to adapt it. Most importantly, you know how to adapt it. Penoza is a crime-thriller but I wanted to show the family aspect of it. I wanted to give it an Indian touch and make it culturally relevant.¡±

But is Bollywood losing out on original content? Ram Madhvani has his own take on it.

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Is Bollywood undergoing a dearth of original content that it has to depend on adaptations, remakes and remixes? Songs like Masakali are facing backlash. Several classic movies like Andaz Apna Apna are getting a remake. Most movies are either inspired by real life incidents, people or international shows. Ram Madhvani says ¡°copying is an individual decision but I think it¡¯s absolutely okay to adapt and be inspired.¡±

Violence, nudity and cuss-words is the new normal when it comes to crime dramas. However, the usage needs to be justified, feels Ram Madhvani.

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From movies like Gangs of Wasseypur to shows like Mirzapur, Sacred Games and recently released Paatal Lok, most crime dramas are dark, violent and full of abuses. Even horror shows like Betaal have explicit dialogues, which could have completely been avoided. Is Aarya going to follow suit?

¡°On a personal level, I¡¯m not a fan of using cuss words. Even at this age, I myself get embarrassed by explicit language. As long as the character requires and justifies it, it is okay. In Aarya as well, some characters use cuss words but only when it¡¯s necessary and and you may even smile as you realise why it is necessary.¡±

Sikander Kher

Apart from movies, Ram Madhvani continues to make ad films. He says he is equally passionate about advertising. So much so, that he has launched his own production house called Ram Madhvani Films through which he continues to make ads and feature films.

Also starring Namit Das, Sikander Kher and Manish Chaudhary, Aarya will stream on Disney+ Hotstar on June 19.