Palki Malhotra, creator of the show Campus Beats, speaks about the boy love story angle between characters Neil and Moksh, this season 4.
Palki says, “Season 4’s boy love story continues with Neel’s journey who had come out as gay in the earlier seasons. In the process of bullying Malang, he had deeply fallen in love with him. It was a Love story between a Victim and a Bully. But that relationship ended without closure as Malang left due to his family pressure. In this season we see Neel come back to the Campus as a senior but he is calm and composed – opposite of what he used to be. This attracts the Junior team member – Moksh who is getting trained under him. Unaware of his past, Moksh starts to fall in love with Neel. Due to his job, Moksh has his own pressure to keep his true identity from everyone but his love for Neel can’t be hidden. What sets this love story apart is its gradual progression which begins with a simple liking, evolving into affection and eventually introducing complexities like a love triangle. A tale of two broken souls entwining with each other.”
Elaborating on the casting of the new character, Palki shares, “Casting for the character of Moksh was a challenge. Getting a completely fresh actor and a dancer in their 20s to pull off so much depth, was tough but we wanted to try our best to get someone from the LGBTQ+A community. After a challenging search, we found Manish Poonam who delivered an incredible performance. Sahaj Singh, portraying Neel also excelled in embodying the nuances of his character. Their chemistry and dedication brought the story to life beautifully, making this season’s love story both heartfelt and relatable.”
“What sets this story apart is its subtlety and with no expectation both Neel and Moksh approach their relationship with patience and understanding. The theme of this season is about two individuals with dark pasts, mending each other and building something meaningful together”, says Palki.
Sahaj Singh who plays the character of Neil shares his experience. “When I first signed the series, I was briefed about there being a boy love story angle. Honestly, being straight, I thought that it would be challenging, testing and interesting to explore myself as an actor via this character sketch. I hadn’t dwelled on how deep this would actually turn out for me. During the process of filming, as and when the scenes became intense, intricate, and emotional – that’s when I started realising how same sex love could feel. How could it be a battle of acceptance, a battle of expression, a battle of conveying and a battle of societal pressure”.
He elaborates, “After the release of Campus Beats, I was flabbergasted with the response. I had no idea that the character I was playing represented so many people in real life. I had messages like ‘’you are playing me in real life’’ , “you have given me strength to come out to my family”, “I was going to give up on life, but Neel makes me want to not – cause like he says: I’m perfect how I am. This is when I realised the power of what I’m playing. The power of what we are creating.The power of art. Making the community feel that they are heard, seen and represented. The amount of love, craze and fondness I have seen on social media for this boy love track is something I couldn’t have imagined when I signed this show. They rightly say some things can only be experienced”.
Sahaj concludes, “I am thankful to Palki maam, for penning this track so well. For touching emotional chords, matters of heart, and real-life dilemmas which the community has loved, appreciated and related to. I feel it’s a big victory for all of us that we were able to bring boy love to India in such an impactful manner. I am grateful to play a very small part in bringing light to the stories of so many people like Neel who deserve to be supported, loved and seen. Playing Neel has not just made me a better artist, but also a better human”.
Campus Beats Season 4 is currently streaming on Amazon MX player, and is topping the charts week after week on Ormax for its amazing youth connect.
