‘Each new series is a new test,’ says director duo Raj and DK

Nonika Singh

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THIRTY-FOUR millions views of the trailer with fans already hailing upcoming Amazon Prime series Farzi as a masterpiece. Nothing succeeds like success…However, for Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, the celebrated director duo (famous as Raj and DK), who created a storm with mega successful web series The Family Man and ready to unveil new thriller series Farzi, “Each new series is a new test.”

There is no winning formula… were it so, we would be making the series formulaic way. Raj Nidimoru

Farzi is nothing like The Family Man, even the style of filmmaking, the way it has been shot, it has been a conscious effort, to make it different. Krishna DK

Besides, the idea is to be as different as possible as they echo in unison, “Whatever we did in The Family Man, we had no intentions of repeating anything. Farzi is a different world altogether. From the style of filmmaking to editing to characterisation nothing is similar.”

Of course, like The Family Man, the lead protagonist here is a middle class person. Why they choose to place their heroes amidst middle class background is explained simply yet logically with a hint of personal, “We are all middle class to start with. It’s a milieu we understand and relate to best. Besides, it’s a very interesting class of people who can be aspirational, greedy, good, bad and ugly.”

Though on the face of it, the plot of Farzi might hover around counterfeit currency, it’s as much about how farzi we as people can be. But is fake currency really a matter of concern especially after demonetisation? Interestingly, they had this ‘invalidating the currency’ as a plot point when they first conceived the idea of the series, much before demonetisation happened and had to think of a new peg once it became a reality. Sure they do acknowledge demonetisation in the series, only instead of dwelling upon this far reaching economic decision, DK reveals, “We move forward from there.”

However, if you think fake currency is not a burning issue, they feel otherwise. “The damage counterfeiting can cause is immense.” Rather, with Farzi they let us into the world of specialised, faceless crime and angst of our middle class hero raging against the system. And guess what! The quintessential middle class guy of cinema of 70s Amol Palekar has a special cameo in the film that marks the digital debut of two big stars, Shahid Kapoor and Vijay Sethupathi.

Star power? They don’t consciously go looking for stars… only cast the right people for the right role even as Raj agrees, “Stars do widen the reach.” Indeed, Shahid, who they were in discussions with for a sports film, did express his desire to work in the series. DK lauds Shahid, “It’s a mark of a star and an actor ready to challenge himself. Rather more than a star you have to be a solid, self-assured actor to be able to do justice to the character for a long period and present not one facet but live that character 360 degree.”

On them mastering the digital space, as they have emerged as undisputed kings of OTT entertainment, have they who have given us wonderful movies like Shor in the City, Cinema Bandi and blockbusters like Stree, found their true metier in the digital world? Says Raj, “With OTT we found the freedom to tell all kind of stories, didn’t have to worry about the commercial element.”

Now that they are teaming up with no less than Russo Brothers for Citadel India, we wonder if this is their moment as also what are the original writers doing with an adaptation. First things first, Citadel is not an adaptation as Raj explains, “Citadel India is a counterpart to the American series.” To use an analogy he further elucidates, “It’s like they are making Ironman and we are making Spiderman but both are part of the same universe, connected yet diverse.”

Coming to how big this moment is, DK agrees, “How lucky can we get?” Raj nods, “Indeed, working with Russo Brothers has been amazing, especially watching their writers at work.” As for working with each other and staying together in the world of arts where creative partnerships can often get stormy, Raj shares, “We know only one way to make films; with each other…we learnt and discovered all the hacks together.”

Indeed, watch the interview to know how in sync they are and know exactly when to speak and when to let the other talk. Undeniably, their work does the real talking…watch Farzi which streams on February 10 on Amazon Prime Video.

Of blurred lines

Today we are going ga ga over Telugu films like RRR finding pan-India acceptance. But for these two Telugu boys, engineers-turned-filmmakers, who grew up as much on Tamil and Telugu cinema as Shah Rukh Khan’s films, “lines were always blurred.” No wonder their series too bridge the North-South divide effortlessly. DK observes, “The language has become a little more irrelevant and the whole country is waking up to the reality that here is an Indian film.” Of course, when it comes to series the lines are further dissolved. It’s not just with Citadel India that they need to factor in international audiences. “With each series we are conscious that somewhere, someone around the world has access to our series and could be watching it.”

Write path

“Writing is the toughest job & that’s why we are not making many series. You can’t overstress the importance of writing, more so in series. If it’s not perfect, it will be like building a house on faulty foundation.”