The scorecard looks good

Sheetal

Aspirants is the new viral fever! And while the creators of the show are known for dishing out relatable content for the young population, Aspirants has raised the bar even higher. The show focuses on IAS aspirants, one of the toughest exams in India.

Its director Apoorv Singh Karki’s own experience of attempting this UPSC exam that led him to pack his bags and once again turn to the lanes of Rajendra Nagar in Delhi, only this time to shoot with actors and come up with the timeless story of IAS aspirants’ struggles and friendships.

As actors, Naveen Kasturia, Abhilash Thapliyal, Sunny Hinduja, Shivankit Singh Parihar and Namita Dubey reprise their roles for the second season, we talk to them to know their interpretation of the concept.

First things first. There was an excitement about the second season. Abhilash, in his earlier interview with Tribune Lifestyle, had said that a series should not be stretched unnecessarily. But now that Season 2 is out, he explains, “Nobody could have guessed it. The first season was complete in itself. And for any story for that matter which is a huge hit like this series, to recreate it would always be a huge challenge. The world was already created by our respective characters in Season 1 and to be able to add new characters and chapter was a huge task for the writers and director. But the TVF team has always kept the writers and directors first. And if it wouldn’t have convinced the makers on paper, Season 2 wouldn’t have happened.”

While the first part was available on YouTube on TVF’s page and TVF Play for free, the series is now acquired by OTT giant Prime Video. Sharing his views on this big takeover, Sunny Hinduja shares, “Prime show hai to Prime pe ana chahiye na! But jokes apart, the idea is always to tell a story and actors play no part in deciding which medium to tell it on. So, but at the same time, when a big streaming company acquires any content, it definitely adds to the credibility of the same. It’s just sone pe suhaga for us.”

Ask the cast to clear whether the audience needs to catch up on the spin-offs, Sandeep Bhaiya and SK Sir Ki Class, before binge-watching the second season, and pat comes the reply from Abhilash, “Arre aise kaise, vo bhi dekho. We would only hope that people watch the spin-offs as well.”

While two of the four characters from Aspirants have their spin-offs, we wonder if the rest feels left out. To which Sunny says jokingly, “Oh, I think Naveen’s character DM Abhilash has got Aspirants and we are playing small roles in his spin-off.”

Sharing their thoughts on the director, Appurv Singh Karki, Abhilash comments, “Paagal aadmi hai. All these characters which became audience’s favourite were primarily created by this guy.”

“I think Appu’s own experience of an IAS aspirant help bringing out his vision on celluloid so beautifully,” adds Sunny Hinduja.

Season 2 is all about these aspirants becoming the part of the system as an officer and how they make the system which is not always ideal and perfect. But at the same time it keeps testing the Rajendra Nagar friendships in the real world.

Actress Namita who reprises higher role as Dhairya, shares, “I like the chemistry between Dhairya and Guri (Shivankit), which was not explored in the first part. People would understand how they make a great couple. So, the show is not just about romance with the system but also about interpersonal dynamics. ”

Meanwhile, Abhilash, portraying SK, is happy about his 3kg prosthetic belly in Season 2. “We had a good budget this time and it looks real whereas in the previous season, I felt my belly appeared fake in some scenes. I had to stuff some cloth to make it look real in Season 1,” he says.