Naveen Kasturia on 'Pitchers 2': Glad this season didn’t have gags

Naveen Kasturia who came into the spotlight seven years ago with Pitchers has grown both in talent and experience The past year was significant for the actor as he featured in Breathe Into the Shadows season 2 and the muchawaited Pitchers 2 In a candid chat with midday he talks about sevenyear wait for the second instalment and the audiencersquos reactionEdited excerpts from the interviewWas the sevenyear wait for the next season of Pitchers worth itI donrsquot know how to answer that I am happy that it finally happened and that they didnrsquot try to copy what they did in season one This time the team crew and cast were all different as was the approachA still from the seriesWas the reaction to season 2 similar to how the first instalment was receivedWhen Pitchers first came in 2015 it started my career When Aspirants came on YouTube in 2021 the pulse lasted quite long Neither was promoted When Pitchers 2 started there was a buzz among the audience I have been getting messages from the day it went on air on ZEE5 but it is difficult for me to gauge the showrsquos success The reviews have ranged from average to very good Some people found it better than the first season but some have not liked it as much People whom I admire have said good things about it My peers praised my acting and said the season was mature I am glad that this season didnrsquot have gags I like real drama more than jokes or gags But how do you judge success on OTT Personally I have liked it more than the first seasonThrough both editions there is no description of what they are selling So what exactly is the productI am not sure of the product laughs I feel that is the reason the writing took time When we were discussing this idea five years ago the storyline was to revolve around education which later became obsolete Back then the team was different with Biswapati Sarkar writing the storyline The new team has taken a different approach At one point one team was writing with a product in mind while another team was writing a drama without it Ultimately the second approach caught their attentionAlso ReadPitchers 2 Sumeet Vyas Amol Parashar amp others At Red Carpet ScreeningWhy have there been so many changes in the teamThis is not a question for me When I learnt that Jitu Jitendra Kumar was not part of this season I was shocked like everyone one else I couldnrsquot imagine Pitchers without him The old team was not there mdash from the director to writer to crew The assistant directors of Pitchers 1 have all become directors mdash Raghav Subbu directed Kota Factory and Prem Mistry who served as an art director is now a directorWere you ever morally in conflict with the characterIn the first season my character was simple His ethical core was correct But this time around I didnrsquot understand what he was doing He doesnrsquot have anything with him but agrees to commit R50 crore Personally I would never do that We didnrsquot have rehearsals or extensive readings to understand these emotions In fact I came to know what my character was doing at the end of the fifth episode only on the set But I believe it is the directorrsquos medium The makers have done their researchIs another season in the worksThey have left so many cliffhangers that it should have a third season But finally that is a call the makers will take