Ashvini Yardi on Masaba Masaba: Everyone told me the show is a mistake

It was a big relief for Ashvini Yardi - showrunner and producer of Masaba Masaba - when the trailer of her latest outing on Netflix dropped online. She had a hard time making people understand the concept of the show. In a chat with mid-day, she says, "People think it is a mockumentary, but it is a scripted show with a blend of fact and fiction. It was a unique format that I envisioned while working on it. Usually, there are too many no-go zones while making a biopic; the family often doesn't let you showcase things you want to and whitewashing becomes a norm. This format allows you to explore the grey areas."

Yardi was always clear on roping in a female director and it took her six months to zero in on Sonam Nair, who also contributed on the show as a writer. "Masaba and Neenaji are fierce, no-nonsense women and I was sure most men won't be comfortable with that vibe or [be able to] depict it correctly." She says Nair, who has previously helmed Gippi (2016) and Kaafir (2019), had the right quirk for it.

"Masaba is a designer, I was worried about her acting skills," confesses the showrunner and hoped that she had Neenaji's genes. "Masaba was confident she could pull it off and she has surpassed our expectations." But there were other things that plagued Yardi's mind. "Everyone told me the show is a mistake [owing to its atypical format and lead]. My main focus was to prove people wrong. Masaba is an unusual personality with unconventional looks. An Indian-Caribbean lead in a mainstream show will set a new benchmark. It will shatter the set ideas of leading ladies and casting," explains Yardi, adding that despite being a feminist show delivered by women, she wanted it to appeal to both men and women.

The series features a slew of cameos where actors play exaggerated versions of themselves. While Kiara Advani and Farah Khan make an appearance in the trailer, Yardi says she is saving most for the series itself.

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