It’s a mix of anticipation and excitement for Pakistani director Danial K Afzal, as his ambitious web series, Fatima Jinnah: Volume One readies for release. The director has envisioned the biopic on the late Fatima Jinnah in three volumes. In its maiden season, Sundas Farhan steps into the titular role as the series explores Fatima’s early years in Bombay and delves into her dynamic with statesman-brother Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Afzal admits that filming the first season was a challenge because he had to recreate Bombay of the pre-Partition era, a city he has never visited. Aiding him in the endeavour was south Mumbai-raised entrepreneur Neha Kumthekar, whom he knows since their college days in the US. “Neha helped me turn Islamabad into Bombay. Fatima Jinnah was a classic Bombay girl. She went to a convent school in south Bombay, and a boarding school in Khandala. Neha helped me recreate various locations—from the Jinnahs’ home in Malabar Hill, to [the city’s landscape]. For instance, we had installed a fireplace in the house. Neha got it removed, noting that Bombay homes have no fireplaces,” he recounts.