In creator-director Homi Adajania's (Cocktail, 2012; Angrezi Medium, 2020) latest web-series Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo (on Disney+ Hotstar from May 5), the women are strong and smart enough to run a shifty business unbeknownst to their sons/ spouses. Dimple Kapadia is Savitri, the head of household running a successful business with the support of her two daughters-in-law Kajal and Bijli and her daughter Shanta. Angira Dhar, Isha Talwar and Radhika Madan, the actresses who play these three characters, and Adajania spoke about what one can expect from a show that is nothing like the traditional kitchen-politics soaps where we acquaint with a saas (mother-in-law) and bahu (daughter-in-law). Edited excerpts:
Homi, what made you want to explore a world of badass women and subvert the saas-bahu trope?
Homi Adajania: I don't think I grew up with any kind of gender bias. I was quite naively unaware of how society at large is like that. So, for me, it was never that I wanted to make a statement about strong, badass women. It was just very organic. In most of my stories, my women are extremely strong, because that's just how I look at life. So, I wanted to tell a story about a family that is running a slightly dodgy business, with the front of a legit business where even the men in the family don't know what is going on. That was the idea. It was never about making a statement. It was just playing with family politics, on steroids. Also, with my various travels all over, meeting real hard people, who are the salt of the earth kind, I wanted to marry that with an urbanscape. So, I set this in a lawless, fictitious place, where the characters are also extremely connected to urban society.
Also read: Review | Saas Bahu aur Flamingo has great ideas but poor creative instincts
So, would you say the title is more of a gimmick?
Adajania: I think that's the beauty of OTT. Now, you have so many choices. So, your content will find its audience. People who want to watch the old school, stereotypical saas-bahu kitchen politics aren't going to find that here. The idea was to sort of flip it with the title. That's about it. The idea is that the saas actually handpicks her bahus, not as wives for her sons, but to run her business.
Besides the women, the male characters have very specific roles to play in pushing the agenda along. Can you share a little about them?
Adajania: Kapil (played by Varun Mitra) has the best character graph. From where he starts to where he goes. Harish (Ashish Verma) is a complete substance abuser and he, also, sort of, goes through his graph of redemption. There’s Udit Arora’s character, the stepbrother, who is a sort of hitman in the family. I wouldn't say he's the muscle, because I think the girls are quite adequate. So, let’s say, he does all the dirty work.
Isha, Radhika and Angira, when you got this project, what got you hooked to the show and to your parts?
Isha Talwar: I wanted to do it because Homi was making it and I had wanted to work with him for a very long time. So I said, this is it.
Radhika Madan: I first heard about the project when I was doing Angrezi Medium with Homi. He just showed me one presentation. I just wanted to be a part of that world, especially at that point, when I was playing a 17-year-old who was meek, shy and innocent whereas Shanta sounded really badass and I wanted to be her.
Angira Dhar: I think the way Homi kind of put it right at the beginning was pretty high-octane. Why wouldn’t you want to be a part of something that is going to be passionately-made superior content, in which you have so much to do.
So, now that you've done the show, what was different about working with Adajania?
Talwar: He really collaborates with you. I didn't see any hierarchy on his set. There were some things I was uncomfortable with, be it my character's hair colour or some character trait. And I asked him if we could look into it or do a rehearsal, and he was open to all of that. That's the big plus here.
Madan: During the earlier film, I didn't know him at all. Now that I know him, he is so sensitive. He will feel whatever you are feeling and correct you if you're going wrong. Because he is connected to you, he can say this is a false note, correct this. So, you never feel alone in whatever scene you're doing, be it an emotional scene, an intense scene, anything. He is holding your hand, guiding you and getting the best out of you.
Dhar: Yeah, he’s extremely passionate about what he does. He guides you through. There was no random talk. Everything converged to the shoot or the scenes that we were doing because that was all around us. You kind of pick up nuances from that. Also, the kind of person I am, I pick up things — like I'm always watchful and listening. He was a great voice to have around, because that helps you create the character which he has lived, written and imagined. As an actor it was extremely helpful to be on a set which is so verbose about work.
Talwar: I remember the first day of shoot, I don't think I was listening to Kajal (Dhar), and we had our first scene together. Immediately he said, you're not listening to the other character. And I said, damn, I'm not listening to the other character. It’s the first day and you are so caught up, with so many ideas. I was living in some village and really trying to figure how we can do this, and then I realised I'm not listening. So that's also how we figured out our dynamics on screen. It was just one day at a time. I remember the first day was also with Radhika and, in my head, I was thinking this aunty (the character) is not doing anything, meaning she's not supposed to do anything but she was such a different character that I had to figure out what I'm doing with her and what my relationship is with her.
Madan: I was not giving any reaction to you. Right?
Talwar: yes, but that's how it's supposed to be, because that's the character. But for me to see that character and to really understand what I am supposed to do with these equations took me one or two days to cue in.
What was the thought process behind the casting?
Adajania: I think it was what I saw in them during the auditions. I feel when I've watched them, I know what I can pull out from that person. Then I just need to meet them once and I can understand how receptive they are, and how I am going to be able to communicate with them. I would never tell an actor how to act. That's not my job. I mean, I hire them because they've got the wares of the craft. I create the world for the actor to actually fly in. I'm with them. I give them a decent amount of freedom, and I gain a lot of trust from them. And these conversations are very important because it's sort of this subliminal kind of thing going on where I know they're picking up and assimilating what they need to, which they will use in their own way. I'm not going to tell them how to use it. I don't know if my way of directing is right or wrong but I do know how to exploit the talent or craft of an actor.
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