'Dupahiya': How director ensured authentic portrayal of rural life
What's the story
Sonam Nair, the director of the recent Amazon Prime Video series Dupahiya, opened up about the show's positive reception.
The series, starring Gajraj Rao, Renuka Shahane, Sparsh Shrivastava, Bhuvan Arora, and Shivani Raghuvanshi, is set in a village and has been appreciated widely for its humor.
In a recent interview with Bollywood Hungama, Nair spoke about her journey from Gippi (2013) to Dupahiya, the creative process behind the show, and her future plans.
Script development
Nair's experience with dialect and village life for 'Dupahiya'
Nair credited the writers Avinash Dwivedi and Chirag Garg for the humor and originality of Dupahiya.
"The exact [Bihari] milieu wasn't familiar to me, but I have grown up in a very small town in Bengal called Rishra. We did grow up with quite a few Bihari neighbours around us, as Bengal is close to Bihar."
"But we hired a dialect coach who not only trained all the actors but trained me too."
Authenticity efforts
Nair's role in shaping the script
Nair further opened up about getting used to the world and language of the characters.
"That is all credit to the writers Avinash Dwivedi and Chirag Garg, and the guiding hands of [creators] Shubh and Salona."
"When the script came to me, it was 90 percent done. I just gave my small inputs as a director, just asked them to edit or shuffle around a few things."
"I was blown away by how fresh the script was."
Rural setting
She sat with the actors during coaching sessions
Nair further added, "All the actors did about two months of dialect coaching, and I sat for almost all those sessions with the actors."
"By the time we got to shoot, I knew the dialect."
"As far as village life goes, we really took notes in prep during our visits to the different villages in MP and UP, where we shot the series, pertaining to production design, costumes, props, etc."
Casting process
Her process for casting the actors
Nair said she was happy with Dupahiya's cast, crediting casting director Romil for having access to talented actors from the heartland.
She highlighted two important things in her casting process: "One was that whoever we cast must be as excited about this script and project as I am."
"And the second was that they have to be good human beings. Once these two things are sorted, I knew the audience would be happy because we were all happy making it."
Show comparisons
Nair's response to comparisons with 'Panchayat'
Finally, Nair spoke about the comparisons between Dupahiya and Panchayat, another hit Amazon Prime Video series.
"We are all very flattered by the comparison, as to be compared to one of the most successful and loved shows on OTT is a big compliment. We'll be more than happy to have the Panchayat fans come and watch our show."
"In the meantime, I'm developing a few ideas," she added.