TV and film actor, Mukul Dev is very happy with the experience of his Vikram Bhatt-produced web series, Maaya 3.
“Given the taboo nature of the topic (man falling in love with son’s girlfriend), I said yes because I knew Vikram would write it very well, keeping the moral values intact. Also, since Vikram’s daughter Krishna is directing, she would certainly bring the most important new-age sensibilities and aesthetics to the narrative.”
“I really enjoyed working with co-star Cheshta Bhagat. She is a very accomplished actor who gets the spontaneity just right. Many a times, her face did most of the talking, there was no need for dialogues.”
“Even Mohit Malhotra, who plays my son, was equally good. A story like this required great casting.”
Here, Mukul was impressed by the fact that there was no nudity and lovemaking scenes in the show. “Our theme itself was bold. As for the kissing part, how else do you show a love affair? Beyond that, we kept everything dignified.”
What would your take be on such relationships in real life? “With India being a very diverse thought processes country, it is always better to leave it to the concerned individuals. I don’t want any moral policing for the good or bad, any ways.”
Point out his lack of emotions in the climax scene, when his better half (Deepshika Nagpal) walks out on him after finding out his infidelity, he says, “I deliberately underplayed it, for he was guilty as charged. He had indeed fallen in love outside marriage. Also, the scene had Deepshika written all over it.”
Here, Mukul accepted that being a father in real life, he did feel the discomfort and unease when doing the scenes, especially when he was crossing over the line. “But funnily, it worked for the character, making him more human and relatable.”
Shifting gears to OTT, he says, “This medium is a blessing in disguise for everybody in the industry, giving you complete creative space to tell your story the way you want. I better understand this, also being a writer (film Omtera). Sadly, up until the late nineties, we did not even make films. Rather, we were just providing entertainment for sub-standard intellect. Now on the web, we can make content for thinking people who can logically distinguish between black and white.”
