Upcoming digital director Madhur Agarwal, who was first noticed when he directed the ABP series, Selfie, anchored by Karan Singh Grover, is quite happy with the positive response his recently released web series, What’s Your Status is getting. “We have over 2 million hits for most episodes.”
“It is based on your feelings towards love in three phases i.e. single, committed and finally marriage. I have directed the last one. My story stars Abhay Mahajan and Megha Burman, along with Sheeba Chaddha and Shishir Sharma. The latter two need no introduction, being talented and prolific TV and theatre artists. Also, the husband-wife chemistry between Abhay and Megha brought our story alive,” he says.
What is your personal take on love, post marriage? “Ideally, you marry the person you love. But sadly, many times you fall out of love after a few years of matrimony, having realized that the other person is not the one you were looking for. It is a very personal take, involving compatibility and the willingness to iron out differences, which happens in the best of marriages.”
“Today, adjustment levels and mutual understanding between couples have come down several notches. Minor fights get blown out of proportion due to ego hassles, often leading to the complete breakdown of entire families (involving kids). My segment in What’s Your Status is a heart-warming story of a married couple that is madly in love with each other. They care for each other, but they also fight, bicker, throw sarcasms at each other about their respective castes (the husband is a Puneite Maharashtrian, while the wife is a typical bong). Yet, at the end of the day, they kiss and make up, allowing their love to conquer any ego clashes they have.”
So, what’s next on the anvil? “I have just completed a thirty-minute standalone film, starring Tanuj Virwani and Aahana Kumra, titled, ‘The Honeymooner’, produced and directed by me. The good news is that ‘The Honeymooner’ is set to become a part of an anthology of shorts, with Fazila Allana and Kamna Menezes of Sol Productions coming on board as producers. The anthology will be an ongoing multi-season series, comprising diverse stories, actors and genres. It will be a unique offering, bound to excite viewers.”
Madhur, who has helmed several executive and creative responsibilities on TV over the past thirteen years, says, “Making a digital show is akin to breathing fresh air, being unbound by the traditional format limitations of body language and dialogues. This was one reason why I stayed away from small-screen direction, not wanting to get accustomed to working under restrictions. TV, as a medium, is not conducive to creative thinking, for, the moment you think out of the box, viewers switch channels.”
“Another positive of the web medium is that, unlike films and theatre, you can tell a story either in a longish format of, say, 13 episodes, or wrap it up in just 5. Budgets are also good.”
“But yes, the challenge is to tell a good story. For that you require a good team – writers, DOP, and of course actors, to translate your vision on screen.”
In closing, Madhur is hopeful that the web platform will give him wings to eventually realize his dream of making commercial films.
We wish you all the best, Madhur!