Over three seasons, director Ram Madhvani has powered Aarya’s — played by Sushmita Sen — arc from a happy-go-lucky wife and mother to a hardened, trigger-happy don. With the second part of Season 3 — titled Aarya: Antim Vaar — streaming on Disney+Hotstar from February 9, t2 chatted with Madhvani on Aarya and more.
As we get into the second part of Season 3, what, for you, has been the standout feedback for the first part of this season?
The audience wanted her (Aarya, played by Sushmita Sen) to be this (ruthless) person and now that she has become this person, they don’t want her to be this person! (Laughs)!
The feedback that we got after Season 2 mostly said that she should take control, she should be badass, she should have the power, she should go out there and kill all the people... and now that she’s decided to do all this, people are saying: ‘Oh bechari, she has become what she never wanted to be.’
This is great in a way because that means that I am pushing the character and I am pushing the audience into places that they wanted to go and yet didn’t want to go to. That has been a nice contradictory thing about this season, which also shows the huge evolution of the character. Sometimes you have characters who are stuck in one place season after season. Aarya has had a huge leap and her whole arc has been amazing.
But there is also a certain toxicity that has come with it, which shows up in the way she treats her children, and her friend (Maya Bishnoi, played by Maya Sarao). She doesn’t realise that because she feels she is just doing it to protect them. But there is a price that she is paying for that protection. The first half of Season 3 showed us how her children are already going against her. She did all of this for her children and now she will suffer. It is the price of sacrifice.
Why did you decide to release Season 3 in two parts when Aarya makes for binge-worthy material?
Other OTT platforms have also started doing that, so there seems to be some wisdom in that and the (viewership) numbers that they are seeing. Of course, some of the reactions did say that they were disappointed because they wanted to see all eight episodes together.
I find that reaction sweet and welcoming because it could also be the other way round, you know! They could have been saying: ‘Thank God! We didn’t want to see the other four (episodes).’ It is a big relief!
It is wonderful to have the reaction which says: ‘When are you releasing the next four?’ I love that interest and passion to see what is going to happen to Aarya. In a way, it is a good carrot to dangle.
Aarya the show and the character have grown and so has Sushmita as an actor. How would you say you have grown as a filmmaker with Aarya?
From a production house’s point of view, we (Ram Madhvani Films) have got ourselves a little on the map. We are a young production house — we have been around in advertising, but on the series and feature film front, we have only been around for three or four years. For us, it is a big deal to be even nominated for an International Emmy. We also have a National Award for Neerja, and we haven’t done badly at all. It is a big deal for us to see ourselves in the landscape of Indian cinema, even if it is a very small bit. We are also very grateful for Aarya because it is rare for any show to get three seasons.
Apart from that, the growth that I have had is that I want to make content that reaches out to everybody. I want our content to be of international standard and yet be Indian at its core. Aarya, as well as the other work we have done so far, has allowed us to be both.
Ram Madhvani
There is also a system that I follow which is called ‘System 360’, and that is the way I approach my shoot which has made my work stand out from that of others because it looks different. The acting is different and so are a lot of other things. The bad thing is that I am more tired than I used to be! (Laughs)
Aren’t we all?
Exactly! I think it is almost a badge now... like how exhausted you are and if you aren’t exhausted, then you haven’t made it, unfortunately!
Your 360-degree approach to filmmaking is very unique. Tell us about it and how much of it forms the core of Aarya?
It is part of the DNA of the way we make stuff. I don’t work any other way and whoever comes and signs up for it has to work in that way. Thank you for showing interest in this process because sometimes I feel it is a little too technical to speak about. It is my quest to try and seek some truth in what I do. It is also my quest for reality and so I don’t use lights, I don’t use any trolleys, cranes or steady cams. Everything is handheld, everything is done in such a way that you can capture the actor and the believability and reality of the actor.
Sushmita has lent so much of herself to Aarya over three seasons. How have you seen Aarya the character and the show lending itself to Sushmita?
I keep saying that both the universe and Miss Universe have blessed us!
(Laughs) One can see Aarya’s transition from an easygoing homemaker and mother to this tight-lipped don. In Season One, she was open and laughing. Now she has become very watchful. You don’t see her laugh at all in Season 3. That is the price that she has had to pay for what she had said she would never do. You feel sad because there has been a loss of innocence. She is paying a huge price to protect her children.
Aarya has always been at the forefront, but now the secondary characters — especially her children — have become very important in the scheme of things. How important was it for you to make every member of your ensemble shine?
One of my greatest fears — and that has been on every project — is that every actor I work with, I want to look them in the eye after the series or the film is over and not have them say that I did not do justice to them or their character. I know that so much of their life depends on that role and I feel that it is my responsibility to make sure that, at the end of the series or film, the audience says, ‘Hey, who was that actor who has played that character and look at how much he has grown as an actor.’
In Aarya, the faith that the actor puts in me — whether it is Sikandar Kher (who plays Daulat), Vishwajeet Pradhan (as Sampath), or anyone else — I just want to do right by them. That is because they have spent so many years on this project and this is what their livelihood and life is about. What is given to me is so much more than the character. I must be responsible to the actor. They have put their trust in me and I need to give it back to them but from a writer’s room perspective.
Aarya needs obstacles, conflict and takkar, and in this season, we have the Russians against her, Ila Arun’s character (Nalina Sa) as well as the latter’s son. So, in a way, it’s two mothers against each other.
In the writer’s room, we are constantly trying to figure out what is the obstacle, and how is she going to overcome it. You give a character conflict and a hurdle and an obstacle and then you know there is going to be drama.
What is the way forward for you and Aarya?
Let’s see how people react to this season and then I will tell you more. As far as Ram Madhvani Films is concerned, there is some exciting stuff coming up which I should be able to talk about soon.
