Bandish Bandits is a refreshing break from what Anand Tiwari calls “bhed-chaal” or herd mentality. His 10-part series, after all, focuses on a subject that is truly indigenous yet often ignored in mainstream entertainment — the conflict and confluence of classical sangeet and modern music. As the show is nominated in the Best Series and Best Romance/Comedy categories of the upcoming mid-day and Radio City Hitlist OTT Awards, the creator-director is proud that it launched two new talents, Ritwik Bhowmik and Shreya Chaudhry.

“The credit goes to Amazon Prime Video officials, who never pressured us to cast known faces. We had a detailed audition process through which Ritwik and Shreya earned their parts. Today, they are two of the most sought-after actors,” says Tiwari.