Pavail Gulati and Saiyami Kher. (Photos: Twitter)
After making romantic comedies, social dramas and sports biopics, director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (Bareilly Ki Barfi, 2017, Panga, 2020) is now helming a modern love story about the attraction of opposites. Pavail Gulati, who had a breakout role in Thappad (2020) and was recently seen in Goodbye (2022), and Saiyami Kher, who appeared in Choked (2020) and Breathe: Into The Shadows (2020), play opposite each other in the web-series Faadu. The Mumbai-set series (SonyLIV, releasing on December 9) rests in the underexplored space of romantic dramas.
'Faadu' will release on December 9.
Kher and Gulati spoke about their respective roles, the attraction between Manjari and Abhay and more:
How would you describe Faadu?
Saiyami Kher: For me it is a love story where opposites attract but you need immense effort in making a relationship work. Manjiri is completely in love with Abhay’s honesty because that’s her upbringing. She’s from small-town Konkan, really into poetry and finds poetry in everything, including Abhay’s life. He, on the other hand, has big dreams and will go to any lengths to achieve them, there lies the conflict. Abhay’s drive and ambition, and contemporary relationship problems which conflict with Manjiri’s old and contented soul make this a modern love story.
Pavail Gulati: Abhay has really big dreams, almost to the point of delusion. He doesn’t cry about the bad hands being dealt. He will still play to win. That is common between him and me. The rest we had to work on. I would call Ashwiny (Iyer Tiwari) at all times to find out what he eats at home, how he walks and how he talks. Faadu is a contemporary love story about two old souls. This is the kind of love where you see someone at their worst, and still find them intriguing. It’s about one seeing the glass as half empty and the other seeing it as hall full. She is content and he is never content.
A large part of the show is set in a slum. What was it like shooting those portions?
Kher: We shot in live locations and I felt that helped with the performance. A sanitised film set would not have had the aromas of the food, or the stench of the place, or the stickiness that comes from so many people crammed together. We were there for 40 days and became friends with the locals. We also shot in Konkan. It was so beautiful. My lineage is from there. The place makes you feel different, calmer.
Gulati: The live location really helped us, to be honest. It was almost like we were living there. The place accepted us and that made things easier.
What drew you to the part and the show?
Kher: Everything in life is so fast-paced now. You turn your head and 10 things have happened. We see that on screen too, where the narrative doesn’t let you breathe. In that sense, this show is such a clutter-breaker. After my audition, I was sent the screenplay which I read while I was travelling in Ladakh, and it felt like something I would like to watch. This show is very introspective and also a love story, which is very refreshing.
Gulati: The writing really attracted me. I couldn't put down the script, and you know how a web-series script is very big and hard to read in one go. This was the first time I read a script in one go. Secondly, Ashwiny ma’am as director. So, how could I say no to something so good? Everything was in place. I didn't consider that I'd be able to play the part, but Ashwiny ma’am had faith in me. She had seen Thappad and she thought I had boxed myself. But she didn't box me, and had the vision of casting me.
Pavail, do you think you've been able to break out from that box?
I'm very critical when it comes to my performances and the kind of work I do. So, I think I boxed myself in. But the other makers are actually a little more mature than me. Anurag Kashyap cast me as a cop with a mustache in Dobaaraa (2022). Vikas Bahl cast me in Goodbye as Amitabh Bachchan's son. Then Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari cast me as this boy from the slums. So, I think these people have the vision. And I'm absolutely satisfied with the parts that I'm getting and exploring, because I really believe the first two or three years of your career is the time when you can experiment more. After reaching a certain level, I think, experimentation reduces, because then you have to deliver what the audience wants from you. So, right now, I think I'm in a good space where I can experiment, have some fun and figure out my range as an actor. I think it’s important to also understand what you like and what you don't like, what works for you and what doesn't work for you. So, I'm just trying to do all the genres that I possibly can to understand what excites me the most and what is the thing missing from me, which I can work on.
Saiyami, what else are you working on?
I am grateful for this year, though I do hope the pool becomes much bigger. Besides Faadu in which I play the soft but strong and opinionated Manjiri, I also play a cricketer in R. Balki’s Ghoomer and a firefighter in Rahul Dholakia’s next. I am very excited to be doing such different roles.
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