Digital platforms are liberating

Why did you choose a digital release over a theatrical one for 'Mirzapur'?

I do not think we could have had a theatrical release, given the kind of content we are exploring. It is a story that organically spans across 400 minutes. It is not a story with one or two people. There are so many characters and all of them need their moments. It is about eight people.

The story we wanted to tell needed a very large canvas and we needed more time than that of a feature film. It is three times the length of a feature. Moreover, the kind of visuals that we have and the way in which we have depicted violence will be a very unique experience.

In a film, you are very restricted, in terms of what you can show. That is the big USP of this show. Here, the characters speak in a more natural way. These are some of the reasons we went in for a web series rather than a film.

As a content creator, do you think the digital space gives you more freedom?

Yes, that goes without saying. I think there are so many more fresh new stories and original ideas that need a longer run time than a film can offer. Digital platforms are more liberating, in that sense. Films have to follow a certain formula and they are restricted in terms of time. There is the censorship angle to films too. Digital helps us create more real characters, where we are not doing anything to sensationalise. It gives writers a lot more freedom. There is less box-office pressure as well.

'Mirzapur' is in complete contrast to your last project, which was Inside Edge. It is more rustic. How did you come up with the idea?

I already knew that we wanted to do something that was very different from Inside Edge. 'Mirzapur' is of a completely different genre. The action is set in the hinterland, which has a very Western feel. We wanted to work along these lines. We had a story. Puneet (Krishna) and I wanted to bring that to the fore. We were waiting for the right chance. We felt that doing a film would have compromised the storytelling.

Coming to the casting, the web series features actors in never-seen-before avatars. Comment.

We really wanted to cast against type, but the main thing was going with good actors. Good actors can change and become the characters you want them to be. That was what we were looking for. Divyendu (Sharma) is famous for his comedy and comic timing.

But when we did our workshops with him, we knew he would make an excellent dark character. As for Vikrant (Massey) and Ali (Fazal), we saw huge potential in them to play something very different from what they have played before. I wouldn't call it a gamble but we were getting into a space we had not explored before. I was very confident that they would pull off stuff they had not

done before.

You have co-written the script with two other writers. Does it get difficult when you are not on the same page?

Well, we wrote the script with five people to begin with (Laughs). So there was a very good sense of how a writers' room works. We tried to follow the international model, where one person takes the final call on the script. Everyone was very motivated to send in their best ideas. This is a culture that we have to inculcate and work on.

Everyone in the writers' room comes up with their best ideas and then we see what can work. We also critique each other's work. That is a good, healthy space. This is something the West has cracked and we are also trying to get there in terms of quality. Overall quality improves a lot if you have multiple writers.

What is next in the pipeline?

I have finished writing a book called 'Kashmirnama'. It is a political thriller and was published very recently. I am working towards making this into a show. It is currently being developed.