Ram Madhvani: People are waking up to work emerging from India

A still from Aarya

Filmmaker Ram Madhvani follows the Emmy Awards every year, rooting for his favourite shows. Something tells us he will be cheering on much harder this year - his web debut Aarya is among the three nominations that India has picked up at the International Emmy Awards 2021. The Disney+ Hotstar drama, featuring Sushmita Sen in the titular role, has been nominated for the Best Drama Series.

The director says he was neck-deep in post-production work when the news came his way last Thursday. "I was editing the second season of Aarya. My editor and I had to finish that scheduled edit. So, we took a minute-long break to celebrate, and then got back to work. Everybody was in a state of disbelief. The Emmys are as important as the Oscars. The nomination itself is a huge honour; we haven't thought about winning," says Madhvani, who co-directed the series - an official adaptation of the Dutch crime series, Penoza - with Sandeep Modi.

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Ram Madhvani

The three nominations across diverse categories, coming a year after India bagged the Outstanding Drama Series award for Delhi Crime, bodes well for India. The filmmaker seconds it, saying, "It means that people are waking up to India and the work that is emerging from here."

Coming on the back of the praise and popularity of the opening season, the upcoming second edition will be a keenly watched affair. Now, with a nomination under its belt, the stakes have risen all the more. "It's good pressure. The [prospect of the] award doesn't create pressure; it's the [need to do good] work that creates the pressure. That pushes us to do better." He believes that the show's success should also be credited to the leading lady. "It's wrong of me to say I chose Sushmita; instead, she chose us. I am in service of the actor, and I am happy she said yes to Aarya. She is a star who changes the energy of the room when she enters it."

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