Director Vinay Waikul, who is basking in the glory of The Broken News 2, says the series proved to be prophetic about recent Maharashtra politics and electoral bond issue

Nonika Singh

His name may not ring an instant bell. But director Vinay Waikul’s recent series The Broken News Season 2 has been creating a buzz and falls in that rare category where second innings is being hailed even better than the first one. The Zee5 series’ realistic and sharp depiction of newsrooms has been winning critics and audiences alike. Waikul reveals, “We did research rather extensively, met a whole lot of ground reporters, editors, producers of television news programmes et al.”

Thrilling ride

Since Vinay Waikul has also directed Aranyak, a thriller set in a sleepy town in Himachal Pradesh, we wonder why thrillers are invariably the go-to genre for web series. He observes, “On OTT, the control of watching is in viewers’ hands. For greater engagement of the audience, hook is stronger in thrillers.”

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Above all, they resisted the temptation of caricaturising any character. Waikul observes, “Obviously there were inspirations from real life journalists, but not one in particular. The intention was not to make fun of anyone person.”

An adaptation of BBC show Press, the series rings true to Indian ethos. Since Press had only one season, they had even greater freedom second time over. Though the series is quite balanced, were they sticking their neck out while talking of ticklish issues like electoral bonds? He says, “Well, we shot the series much before electoral bonds became a hot topic.” Prophetic? He nods, “That is what we keep telling our writer Sambit Mishra. Even if you watch the first season, what happened in the series got played out in Maharashtra politics later.”

Waikul is not exactly a fan of the franchise model, especially when second seasons are made out of compulsion. The Broken News, however, is likely to roll over for yet another outing as, “It’s a very fascinating world and closest to my heart.”

Repetition, however, is almost an anathema for him. And if variety is the spice of his filmography, in his long career as assistant director, he has never worked with the same director twice. He explains, “For once you work with a director you understand him. The novelty and excitement… you figure it out.”

Can he decode Raj Kumar Hirani, whom he assisted in 3 Idiots for us? “Path-breaking, honest, hardworking whom success has not corrupted,” is how he glowingly describes Hirani. But, his ideals are Mr Perfectionist Aamir Khan and veteran cinematographer Vinod Pradhan.

With Raveena Tandon (Aranyak) and Sonali Bendre (The Broken News) making their digital debuts with Waikul, we try to figure out his fascination for the actresses of the 90s. He reasons, “They are great actresses who belong to the kind of schooling where discipline is the key. Despite being senior and experienced, they have no hang-ups or starry tantrums.” As for having Jaideep Ahlawat on board, he quips, “ What more can one ask for. He is such a fabulous actor, so instinctive, he takes the material miles ahead and adds more layers.”

All praise for his cast, he admires his wife, writer Mrunmayee Lagoo equally. Only, he does not believe in the axiom, “A couple who works together stays together.” They do share thoughts, give feedbacks and he rates her Scoop as her best. She ranks his The Test Case about a female combat officer, which he codirected with Nagesh Kukunoor, highly.

Since late actress Reema Lagoo was his mother-in-law and now wife is a noted writer, does he feel like an insider or outsider in the film industry? He says, “An outsider for I didn’t know anyone back then. I don’t endorse the insider-outsider binary. All people in this industry care about is how serious, honest and committed you are. Only talent matters.”

With big players joining the OTT space, does he think it is still a level playing field? He observes, “Big ones are doing series as stop gap. So, I am not unduly worried.”

Indeed, riding on waves of applause, he has little reason to fret or fume. Or, to find out how success is measured on OTT! “My job is to make honest and entertaining content. If I focus on other things like numbers and views, I will be compromising on what falls under my purview.” And he has no intention of deviating from his core expertise, envisioning anew and reimagining the world around us!