New medium, new opportunities

A still from Duranga 2

In Rohan Sippy's head, the ending of Duranga's first season is an interval point, and a gripping one at that. The Gulshan Devaiah and Drashti Dhami-led crime drama ended by revealing the true identity of Amit Sadh's character. When Sippy was approached to helm the second instalment, he knew it would be an exciting starting point. "The writing was so clever, with Amit Sadh waking up as the real Samit Patel at the end of the first season. I saw that as the right scene for an interval point of a film. So, there is a great promise of a second-half," he says.

The opportunity to reconnect with an old collaborator was another highlight for the director. "I worked with Gulshan in Dum Maaro Dum 12 years ago. More than their work, I am drawn to people's nature, and Gulshan is a lovely person. He has built an [admirable] repertoire."

In the past few years, Sippy seamlessly shifted to digital entertainment, helming The Office, Criminal Justice, and Aranyak. It has left the director, whose last film offering was Nautanki Saala (2013), with little time to focus on features. But he is not complaining. "I've got so many fun opportunities in OTT in the last two years that before I know, six months to a year go by in making a show. Every time, I think I will start developing a film after finishing the series in hand. But that doesn't happen," he smiles, adding that he is toying with a few movie ideas.

With theatres back to their old glory, larger-than-life spectacles have worked wonders at the box office, as have sequels - from Gadar 2: The Katha Continues to Fukrey 3. Would he like to make a sequel to any of his films? "Taxi No 9211 [2006] would be fun to reimagine. Its themes are good to revisit 15 years later. But I haven't thought of it actively."