Even after 20 years in the television industry, writer-director Sidharth Sengupta often feels like he doesn’t know enough about the craft. This feeling of humility, he says, pushes him to do better. The result? In 2021, he delivered a sleeper hit in Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein. Three years on, he has returned with the second season of the Tahir Raj Bhasin, Shweta Tripathi and Aanchal Singgh-led web series. In a chat with mid-day, Sengupta discusses why it took him three years to craft the next season, and how he maintains objectivity in his writing.
Edited excerpts from the interview.
Why did it take you three years to return with the second season of Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein?
The second season was a little more difficult to write. I wrote various versions, but was not happy. I was ashamed that it took so long. There was a lot of to and fro. I was not enjoying some of the versions, or some drafts were brilliant, but were high on budget or impractical. When I started writing this, I had to think, where am I ending this? So, by the end of collaborative effort and with a lot of feedback, we finally came to this version.
Sidharth Sengupta
How do you know a certain draft is the right balance of romance, intrigue and twists?
There is no certain way to know that. I remember sitting with Varun Badola [writer-actor] where we thought it was a great episode, but halfway through, we both got bored. So, you keep discovering as you write. The idea is that you shouldn’t get bored. I’m an impatient viewer and filmmaker; I get bored very soon. If you don’t catch my attention in the first 30 seconds, I’ll get bored. That is something I practice in my writing also.
For a person who gets bored so easily, how did you survive the pace of television for 20 years?
While I was working in television for 20 years, I had these stories in my mind and no outlet for them. TV is a writer’s medium. When I stepped out of the TV industry, I realised I did not know anything. This is after 20 years of winning a lot of awards. When I started writing, I realised it’s such a beautiful art that it keeps reminding you that you don’t know anything and keeps humbling you. That pushes me to explore a lot of things.
How do you ensure that you don’t fall in love with your work so much that you don’t see the flaws?
Firstly, I’m not in love with my work, actually I hate it sometimes. Then I have Umesh Padalkar and Saurabh Shukla, who keep reminding me that I have to be objective about the script. I push myself in writing, and then I run to them saying I screwed up somehow. They are both great writer-directors. I keep taking their help, we write together. They keep me in check ki main zyaada na phail jaau.
Did you feel the pressure of making the second season after the first edition’s success?
I kept the pressure away from my head. I didn’t even know that my show had become a hit. I just keep doing whatever I can. The good part is that everyone at Netflix has always been [supportive]. There were times when I wondered if it would work or not, but they were confident, so was my team. They all believed in me. I’m not a writer by profession; I started writing very late in my life. So, for me, it’s a hit and miss. That’s why it takes a little more time.
The second season seems gorier than the first, especially with the body hacking scenes.
The stakes have to go higher in the second season. A boy has committed a crime, so he has to face the consequences.
Do you practise self-censorship when making the project?
I do, but sometimes we need to go a little beyond. I had to put [the hacking] scene because you are seeing an ordinary man doing something so heinous. His ethos or ordinariness has to go out. Having said that, I’m not too fond of gore, unless it’s needed in the story. But there are no sex scenes, which has become a lot on OTT shows these days.
What made you cast Gurmeet Choudhary this season?
When I was looking for this character, he fit the bill. I wanted somebody who could pull off action as well as drama. [The team] had a discussion and was charged to have him on board. My cast is very passionate and I wanted somebody equally passionate. He shouldn’t be a dharti pe bhoj on the set [laughs].