Director Abhijit Das after his success with Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain 3 is back with a new series Unlocked. Shot during lock down, the cast consists of both actors from India and abroad. The Kolkata Mail correspondent Priyanka Dutta caught up with the director in an exclusive chat about the new show and his future works. Excerpts..

When did you plan for the series Unlocked?
Abhijit Das- I had actually thought of a film made through video conferencing when I was in the US this January. I met talented actors with whom I wanted to collaborate from India. Once lock down happened, it gave me a backdrop and a valid reason to tell a story across borders in the lock down.

What was the biggest challenge of shooting the series Unlocked since we are all under lock down?
Abhijit Das- Actually, it wasn’t a challenge. It was an opportunity for us. All artists were sitting at home and eager to work. This gave us an opportunity to think out of the box. We took every challenge as a chance to break the norm of usual film making. The only challenge I faced was that when I was shooting with Indian actors, I was talking to them. When I was shooting with American actors, I was still awake. So practically I was working 24 hours a day.

How did you go about selecting the actors? Was it done before or during the lock down?
Abhijit Das- It was a phenomenal process. I had worked with only 2 actors in the first film of the series. Rest I haven’t even met. I have spoken to Taha Khan from Pakistan and Mirko Grillini from Australia over the phone. Evelyn Mary Seubert is a professor of film studies in Los Angeles and I had met her briefly in January. Rest of the casting is a collaborative process and I discovered my stories after I cast the actors.

How was the experience of shooting the series while remaining at home?
Abhijit Das- I travelled the world in these 2 months. I visited homes in 6 different countries, went into their bedrooms and befriended strangers. I also shot with family members of these amazing actors. Not for a moment did I feel locked down. It will be difficult to get used to the slow pace of life once everything opens up.

Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain 3 received much praise from the critics and the audiences alike. Since the first two seasons were well received, what was the biggest challenge while shooting the third season?
Abhijit Das- The biggest challenge was to meet the high expectations of the loyal audience and expectant producer. The actors were looking eagerly at Jaya Mishra, the writer and me for giving a whole new avatar this season. Every actor wants to reinvent themselves with a new character. The challenge was to create a new character from the same characters which people had fallen in love with over 40 episodes. We had to shock them with something completely different.

Will there be a fourth season of Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain?
Abhijit Das- Only Ekta knows. Chances are there will be. It’s difficult to kill a successful franchise. It’s Ekta’s baby. Wait and watch.

You have directed short films, documentaries, serials, web-series- which medium do you enjoy working the most?
Abhijit Das- I enjoy short films the most because they are the most challenging stories to tell. They usually don’t have big stars. I have to capture the interest till the end and make it memorable in 10 minutes or less. And the best part is that usually there are no budgets. So the challenges are more to create something when all you have is a story.

What is the biggest lock down lesson that you have learned?
Abhijit Das- Faith in myself, In people I love, In nature and In strangers. There’s goodness all around. Yes, there is evil. But goodness is far more. I have worked with at least 45 people during this lock down to tell 12 such stories for screen. Everyone came on board without a question. Not knowing what they were getting into. Actors like Surbhi Chandna and Shantanu Maheswari came on board to support Unlocked. I got the courage to launch my own channel Netanki. Faith can do wonders to the world.

Nepotism has become a topical issue yet again. What is your take on Nepotism?
Abhijit Das- Nepotism is a boon only in Bollywood. We get ready made stars. But like any boon, it comes with a curse-a curse for the rest of the aspirants. An industry can accommodate only so many people at the top. But like any business, the producers will try to reduce their risk. By taking star kids, the traction is more, thus needs less promotion effort. Indian films are more star-driven than story driven. But that’s been changing. It’s a large population. There’s space for everyone. Again, if you have faith, everything’s possible.

Tell us something about the web-show, the teaser of which was directed from home.
Abhijit Das- Kehne ko Humsafar Hain season 3 on ALT Balaji and Zee5 released during the lock down. We finished shooting just 4 days before lockdown was announced in March. We didn’t get an opportunity to shoot a teaser. So an idea was cracked to shoot all the actors from home. The actors jumped at the opportunity and again Jaya Mishra wrote a delightful script to ensure nobody left their homes, yet create the intrigue about the show. It was magical because nobody met each other yet we managed to put out something when nobody was shooting.

What is next in line for you apart from the web-show? Do we get to see you directing films?
Abhijit Das- I am currently working on another web show for ALT Balaji with Rithvik Dhanjani. I have already started shooting for an experimental feature film in Hindi and Tamil. I am also working on an interactive web show for my own channel.

Do you have any plans of making a Bengali film or web-series?
Abhijit Das- Actually I am working on both with Deepak Bajaj in Kolkata. We have been working on some interesting ideas for a couple of years now. But now we finally have some ideas for which the time and environment is perfect. So God willing, I will soon be back to where I started my career from.

We do hope that the director continues to gift us with such interesting content in the future too!!