Writer-lyricist Amitabh S Verma’s latest directorial venture, Teen Do Paanch, deals with adoption. The web series features Shreyas Talpade and Bidita Bag as a childless couple from Noida, that wants to adopt one girl, but end up adopting three. “The film is a slice-of-life drama. It has been adapted from a story, Palna, written by my wife Shruti Anindita,” informs Verma. “We have tried to make the series as real as possible. I am sure many people will relate to it,” adds the lyricist, who earlier helmed short films, Hotel Park Street and Bhor.

A few months into the lockdown last year, the idea for a dedicated platform for showcasing theatre started taking shape in actor Shreyas Talpade’s mind. Conversations with theatre friends brought attention to the urgent need of helping the community through an initiative that would be concrete and long-lasting. At the same time, he felt the form’s image itself needed a transformation. “Theatre has been unnecessarily intellectualised,” says Talpade. “Theatre is, in fact, everything. Today, I feel web [shows] on OTTs are a great mix of theatre and film because we have the freedom to experiment and people are accepting these experiments,” observes the actor, who felt that theatre needed to reach every household, so that more people could be exposed to its magic.