Director Mahi V Raghav who is currently enjoying the success of Save The Tigers and Shaitan, speaks to The Pioneer about working on the crime genre with Shaitan, some unforgettable moments from the sets, and more.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
Director Mahi V Raghav is currently teasing between rambling reviews of his recent projects; Save The Tiger and Shaitan, selling some solid scripts with multiple original screenplays.
In an exclusive Tollywood interview, we interact with the renowned director to know absolutely on the lines of hype created by the Telugu web series and his crossover as an experienced-cum-popular filmmaker, we dive deep into the run-on.
“I wanted to probe into something new. None of my films/series were ever associated with violence or crime. I deliberately made Shaitan, a genre that has brutality on a giant streaming platform. As a screenwriter, I took more pleasure in writing for an OTT platform. Really gave me the space to communicate my ideas without any censorship. I was watching an international show, it made me register that most of the perpetrators are themselves a victim in their childhood. It triggered me a lot! So I tried graphical violence but with a freshness in it. You could say, I was carrying out a trial on myself too whether I fit into a villainous world of writing or not.”
He was alienated from the world of wrongdoers until now, and as a result, his spirit of inquiry aroused and he made this controversial web series. Neither was he willing to compromise because as a director he had to live with it for almost two years in the making. He wanted to see his acceptance of violence on screens and not just mere entertainment! He continued, “I didn’t want to make a gloomy, dark web show. Slums are very colourful, they are not ill-lit. It’s a misconception! Although I was capturing some brute force but at the same time tried to retain vibrant colours. So, we chose a very small town with the help of production designers.”
In terms of intensity, he didn’t overstuff at all, and here’s how, “So many complaints were pouring in on the pretext of roughness, language, and sexual ferocity. Critics wanted me to tone these down! My answer is: it’s one’s own choice of script and I wanted to make this world. For this, originality mattered to me a lot, and no settlements there. For us screenwriters there is no right or wrong — there is only a counterfeit world waiting for us in our minds. The actresses were briefed about the sexual scenes in the auditions, they were well aware of it. We in fact, took precautions for them! Most of them were ladies around when shooting such scenes, there was a communicator, and as a director, I gave them the right to speak in the final cut! They were allowed to be there in the editing room, this was my way of assuring my lead actresses. I have never done this for any other leads, be it a Taapsee Pannu or Anupriya Goenka.”
Any unforgettable moment from the sets because such a series has never been made from the Telugu space! He answers, “I clearly know the demarcations between reel and real. As much as I would like to immerse myself in that world, I am still very practical. I never knew would love choreographing violence so much for the screens! I believe, even fierceness has some cleanness in it. I am open to exploring vexation immediately, will think about pure savagery though. I don’t want to go back to gangster crime anytime soon!”
In spite of the trigger warnings, fingers were raised at him, and in his defence, the filmmaker comes out and says, “By far, we are the most hypocritical society. What I aspire to has no connection with critics! Audiences knew it was going to be gruesome — they deliberately watch it and then impose their morality on directors. Please, respect my aspirations too! Don’t enforce your offensive nature on the crew in their comments box. Not every web series can be purely based on entertainment, why is OTT uncensored then? The irony is, Shaitan opened with the maximum views. So if all of us are good, who watched the web show and brought millions of views? (He laughed out loud).”
The violence factor is way too intense in Shaitan but were the stakes higher? “Evolve, adapt, and change. You can’t censor anymore. We are brought up watching all kinds of cinema! I made this my livelihood, that’s how I am different. And now, theatrical rights are diminishing. But none of the producers should be complaining about it because we have OTT which is taking a big chunk of cinema these days. Producers are spinning gold from web shows! And, survival is better here. Viewers have matured now, they determine well. Nobody was interested in watching RRR on OTT, for example! For us directors, it’s one of the biggest opportunities that has come our way — that’s creatively and commercially. Still, I am puzzled to see why are we unable to showcase our folklore globally in comparison to Korean drama. It’s time for us to go beyond borders, finally.”
