Exclusive - Mona Singh, Kunaal Roy Kapur on digital detox and family bonds in ‘Thode Door Thode Paas’, former says 'Sundays we keep our phones aside'

Mona Singh and Kunaal Roy Kapur in Thode Door Thode Paas

The present times are such in every household that notifications dictate attention and scrolling on your phones endlessly has become a part and parcel of our daily lives. We don't even realise that we are actually getting addicted to it and mindless scrolling has fast become a habit.

In this mobile and gadget addicted world, a new show titled Thode Door Thode Paas has released on Zee5, which is a gentle reminder of what we’ve lost in the chase for virtual validation that is real human connection.

Starring Pankaj Kapur, Mona Singh, and Kunaal Roy Kapur, the drama web series is a tender, humorous, and reflective take on how digital overload has broken families and relationships.

Moneycontrol sat down with the show's lead actors - Mona Singh and Kunaal Roy Kapur in an exclusive video chat and asked them the reason behind them choosing this show and its relevance in today's digitally addicted world.

During the conversation, seasoned actress Mona Singh said the show resonates deeply with her own belief in pausing life’s chaos and reconnecting with family. This is what she follows in her personal life as well and revealed how her own family practices a Sunday detox.

She said they keep their phones aside on Sundays and enjoy their time eating good food, enjoying karoke evenings and endless laughter recalling their childhood days.

Her co-star Kunaal Roy Kapur, who is known for his sharp comic timing and understated performances, agreed with Mona and said Thode Door Thode Paas is a mirror to our collective digital addiction.

As a father, he spoke about the emotional and psychological tug of war that comes with parenting in the social media era.

Both actors during the course of this exclusive conversation with Moneycontrol, spoke about what it means to be truly present, on-screen and off it — and what they learned from sharing space with the legendary Pankaj Kapur.

Exclusive excerpts from the interview:

Ques: What made you say yes to Thode Door Thode Paas?

Mona Singh: For the right reasons. We all are disconnected from each other. That is the problem. And they are aware, but doing nothing about it. We are living in this bubble, in this constant rush, this constant addiction with the head down community, everybody's busy on their phones. And I don't know what's happening, making connections outside, but not looking within and not looking around you. So, I felt it's very relevant and it resonated with me. I instantly just said yes after reading the script, because there's a need for these kinds of shows where the family can sit together, have a good time, and also reflect upon their lives. Just pause a little, understand where we're headed and what are we doing? Are we really establishing our connections with our family? Or we're just running around anywhere else in the world and getting involved there. So social media, phones, gadgets have taken over our lives. I was more than happy to read the script and to be a part of it. And of course, the cast, Pankaj sir and Kunaal, I'm a big fan of their work. So I was more than happy to say yes and be a part of this wonderful project."

What drew you to the story of Thode Door Thode Paas?

Kunaal Roy Kapur: I mean, it's completely timely and relevant. Everyone has got their heads down into their phones, into their gadgets and we need to just pause and look up at each other from time to time. I have kids and I feel that the internet and social media is such a large influence on their lives, who they are as people, what they laugh at. And that directly affects my relationship with them because there's this third party that is now influencing them so heavily. So, then I need to either be up to date with what's going on so that I can connect with them or we need to find some common ground. Because if we can't make each other laugh and if we don't have the same lessons points, then how are we going to connect as a family or as humans?"

Watch the exclusive interview:

How to find a common ground with kids?

Kunaal Roy Kapur: Even politically, if we think differently or what morality is, if it's completely different. I think that's what's happening to a lot of people around the world. They find it difficult to connect with their own grandparents because they're so ideologically different. So how do we reconnect? How do we find that common ground? So that's why when I read this, I was like, my God, this is happening to all humans across the world. It's not country specific. It's not generation specific."

Ques: You mentioned your family practices a Sunday detox. What’s that like?

Mona Singh: It is very important that on Sundays, our family, we keep the phone aside. It is family time, we spend the whole day together, we cook together, eat, listen to some nice music, sing along. That is our family time where nobody is investing time on the phone or on the screen. We are recalling old days, our childhood, we are eating, chilling together. And I think this kind of detox is very important to connect again. So hence the line of the show — it's important to disconnect, to connect actual connections.

Ques: You’ve compared phone addiction to sugar addiction. Can you elaborate?

Kunaal Roy Kapur: The guilt is very real. You know, all of us do it, it's guilty pleasure only, because you are staring at your screen and you do feel guilty because you know, what am I doing? Why am I addicted to this? But I equate it a lot with my addiction to sugar. I need sugar after every meal. Like after everything I need to have something sweet. But I need something sweet and it's an addiction. And I think that this is also a kind of addiction. This is very much an addiction that the whole world is facing."

"I think the whole world needs to be digital addicts anonymous kind of group, because we're all kind of in some way or the other addicted or misled or delusional about how we're spending our time. The guilt is there, but this show is the first step in acknowledging that it's a problem. It's the first step in saying, can we recognise this as a problem first, because I don't think many people even know that it's an issue. Now we have so many mental health issues, so much anxiety, not being able to get sleep — it's all related to what we're doing digitally. We all need to realise that one of the root causes is our digital presence and our digital addiction. So this is a show that's hopefully telling people that listen, it's a problem."

Also Read: 'After 3 Idiots, I was only offered sister roles, I said no to many: Mona Singh on how she avoided being typecast - Exclusive

You also share screen space with Pankaj Kapur. How was that experience?

Kunaal Roy Kapur:  "The thing is that Pankaj Sir generally has a serious face even when he's doing comedy, his face is still serious. Like it's all very straight, very deadpan, same was through Office Office where you just see a guy reacting to this chaos. The impression of Pankaj sir is intimidating, but he's genuinely a very sweet man and someone who's very passionate about his craft and the work. So all that preconceived feeling that you have of being intimidated melts away because you just see that he's an actor who's trying to solve problems on a set, trying to get a scene to work. The early impression that you have goes away very fast once you start working with him."

Thode Door Thode Paas is streaming on Zee5.