Zoya Akhtar on Made In Heaven: No one in the team has an ego

Web show Made In Heaven makers, Zoya Akhtar and Nitya Mehra, on the joys and difficulties of creative collaboration

Made In Heaven — created under the watchful gaze of five directors — has deftly shown the ugly truth behind the big, fat Indian wedding. The Sobhita Dhulipala-starrer has been widely appreciated for taking on social evils such as dowry and patriarchy. In a chat with mid-day, directors Zoya Akhtar and Nitya Mehra talk about the inception of the Amazon Prime series that is taking the Internet by storm.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

The show has an underlying theme of woman power since it has four women directors at the helm. Was it a planned move?
Mehra: Creating a series can be difficult when you are the sole writer. Reema [Kagti] and Zoya have been working together for years. After watching Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017), Zoya invited Alankrita [Shrivastava] to collaborate on the writing. Once the basic story was ready, they needed a showrunner. Plus, they needed multiple directors because Zoya and Reema were getting busy with their films at the time. That's when I came on board. Also, we didn't purposely seek out women; we just wanted people who fit the role. And it's not an all-girl gang — Prashant Nair has directed two episodes.

They say too many cooks spoil the broth. How did you come to an agreement over decisions?
Mehra: Difference of opinion is good because only the best things come out of it. But in the end, we all fall on the same side of the fence. We would read every episode on the director's table before going to shoot, which made things fluent.
Akhtar: We all come from different backgrounds and, mindsets, and it is interesting to have that confluence. No one in the team has an ego. We fall back on rationale, logic and what is cinematically more fun to do. Once you are on the same page, decisions become easier.

What was challenging about directing this series?
Akhtar: Every episode was like a film with props and costumes, and it was mounted on a grand scale. So, achieving that scale and shooting that many pages in a day was quite challenging. Plus, our editor Apurva Asrani fell sick and had to leave midway. That was a setback.

How many weddings did you explore to generate content for the show?
Akhtar: One too many. We lucked out as two of our friends got married in Delhi. The weddings had two events every day — it was manna from heaven (laughs). So, we spent three weeks there.
Mehra: That is why the show is set completely in Delhi.

Which wedding from the season did you all enjoy the most?
Akhtar: I am saving the wedding that would be closest to my heart, for season 2.

Also Read: Kalki Koechlin on Made In Heaven character: I have been through a divorce and also needed therapy

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