‘Tanaav is based on Fauda but I think it’s a different show’: Sudhir Mishra

I guess it is all about cycles. There are times when new people have come into the business and people like us, who don’t do the usual stuff, get a chance. With OTT, one has also realized that films have a life. It’s not just about whether it will work today or tomorrow.

I don’t know if the audience is changing or maybe there is an audience that wants to venture into some non-formulaic storytelling and is finding what they want to see. People in India tend to decide what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes they decide that my films work, sometimes they decide they don’t (laughs). Having said that, whenever I have made films such as Chameli, Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi or Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahi, they have not done badly. They have made money. I don’t know what it is. Maybe because I am slightly political and rub people the wrong way. I am not an easy sort of guy (smiles).

How challenging is it when you have to adapt an international show to an Indian setting?

You can, if you are allowed to reimagine it. Everything is based on an idea. The idea can come from real life, from a novel or another show. It can come from newspaper reports. In the case of a show, it is more elaborate and some people have already worked on it, but you should be able to reimagine it.

In what ways have you reimagined 'Fauda' as 'Tanaav'?

Fauda is about two countries. Tanaav is about the same country. Fauda is about two religions; Tanaav is not. We have tried to make sure it is not. It is within the same country but the idea of India can differ. The same countrymen can have a difference of opinion and you also get to see the other side. So if you are allowed to reimagine it, then you can do it. You cannot mechanically adapt a show. Tanaav is based on Fauda, but I think it’s a different show.

'Fauda' was a critically acclaimed show but the audience was divided as it was about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Which side has 'Tanaav' taken?

In Fauda, you are either on the side of Israel or Palestine but Tanaav is about the same country. You are always on the side of India, but you also try to understand those who have another notion of India than us. When you try to understand them, you can have a dialogue. When you reject everything, there is no ability to hear or listen to others and then there are no solutions.

They are different actors, but Manav has been gutsy enough to take on this role. Doron and Kabir are kind of similar. Both are ageing and a little over the hill and trying to come back to a life they got addicted to. They realise they can’t live without the kind of excitement that world offers to them, and they are sort of obsessed by it. I think they are quite gutsy in that sense.

Given the post-Covid scenario and the way it has affected Bollywood, what sort of films are you making now?

I have made a short film with Taapsee Pannu. It is part of an anthology which has vague connections to Covid. Hansal Mehta has made a film with Pratik Gandhi, Anubhav Sinha has made his with Rajkummar Rao and Ketan Mehta is making the fourth one. I have shot and finished mine.

I have also finished a feature called Afwaah with Bhumi Pednekar and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. It will come out soon. Afwaah, as the title suggests, is about rumours and how they can be dangerous and sometimes have terrible consequences. I don’t know if it is dark but I hope it is provocative. It’s a thriller and a bit like Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahi. I am currently writing a satire.