How Shibani created 'Dabba Cartel' without husband Farhan Akhtar knowing
What's the story
First-time producer of Netflix series Dabba Cartel, Shibani Akhtar, recently opened up about her experience of creating the show.
In an exclusive interview with Zoom, she revealed that the idea of a crime drama revolving around women drew her in.
The series stars Shabana Azmi, Jyotika, Shalini Pandey, Nimisha Sajayan, and Anjali Anand as characters involved in drug trafficking via a homemade tiffin service.
Inspiration
'I knew I wanted to make a story about women...'
Akhtar shared her inspiration for the show.
"I knew I wanted to make a story about women. I knew I wanted to make a story about women in crime. Because I felt like that was missing," she said.
She further explained how she wanted to show women came from diverse backgrounds outside that realm of crime and put them in such an environment.
"So, that journey, I felt, would be a bit more interesting."
Production process
Akhtar's journey to get 'Dabba Cartel' produced
Akhtar also spoke about the unusual way the Dabba Cartel was made. She disclosed that she had first created the show without her husband, filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, and his banner Excel Entertainment knowing about it.
"I had kind of created it without Farhan and Excel [Entertainment] knowing. But I did approach Excel, not Farhan."
To her surprise, they loved the idea and wanted to produce it.
Challenges and learning
'There are days where you're in tears crying...'
However, the production of Dabba Cartel wasn't a cakewalk. Most of their writers' room conversations happened amid the lockdown on Zoom.
Despite the challenges, Netflix picked up the show for its first collaboration with Excel Entertainment.
Speaking about her experience, Akhtar said, "There are days where you're in tears crying... And that's part of the journey of any kind of filmmaking or showmaking."