Sumeet Vyas on directing the show Raat Jawaan Hai

It had been actorwriter Sumeet Vyasrsquo longtime dream to start directing The opportunity presented itself when he met writer Khyati Anand Puthran at their kidsrsquo playgroup Their collaboration Raat Jawaan Hai is a story about three best friends who are new to parenthood To Vyas the Barun Sobti Priya Bapat and Anjali Anandstarrer is about the smaller things in life In conversation with midday the firsttime director talks about the SonyLIV show his own experiences with parenthood the interesting casting and moreDirector Sumeet Vyas PicsInstagram AFPEdited excerpt from the interviewAfter writing and fronting road trip shows and dark shows what prompted you to direct something on parenthood and friendshipThe showrsquos writer is Khyati Anand Puthran It was a coincidence that our kids were friends and played together at a nearby park In March 2022 she told me she was writing a script about early parenthood and friendship She asked me whether Irsquod like to direct it I read the script and liked it She had written two episodes and we began working together from there Moreover we were both going through the phase so we could bring in our personal experiences As we developed the story the plot became more about friendship We realised that friendship is the first victim of parenthood as one is not able to give their friends the same time as they did beforeDo you feel it is tougher for women compared to menOf course If two partners are actively involved in parenting then it becomes difficult For example my wife Ekta Kaul has taken a break from work She is taking care of the child so how can I go off to party somewhere I finish my work and go home I have very little time to spend with Ved so Irsquod rather do that Male or female whichever parent decides to stay back and take care of the child it affects them the most Their social life is as good as nonexistentWhile making the show did anything surprise youThe one thing Irsquove understood about parenting is that it is very similar yet different Every personrsquos right and wrong is different So when they become parents their rules differ You cannot generalise parenting because wersquove all grown up in varied circumstances and economic backgroundsIn an episode Barun Sobtirsquos character says that dogs are better than children Did you get any flak for itAvinash Sobtirsquos character is around friends so he doesnrsquot have to filter what he says He has a child and now he wants to have a dog When Suman Bapat reprimands him asking whether itrsquos the same Radhika Anand says that the animal doesnrsquot have the responsibility to grow up take care of his elders From the time kids are born they are told they have to come first in class learn tennis become a scientist and what not laughsA lot of people now are opting to not have babies Your takeTo each his own I donrsquot think any aspect of life completes you I always wanted to have a child and I have friends who didnrsquot either option is fine No matter what decision you take the grass is always greener on the other side If your kid is crying in the night while your friends are chilling you may miss it On the other hand they may feel that you are lucky to get to play with a child In India we shouldnrsquot be worried about this We have an abundant population laughsWhat made you zero in on this castThe first actor we approached was Priya she is also Khyatirsquos friend When Khyati was writing the part she had Priya in mind When we approached her she was more than excited to be a part of it She is exceptional in the show Anjali was a complete surprise I had never seen her previous work Sony recommended that we meet her The ease with which she carries herself is quite something Barunrsquos casting was out of the blue We were struggling to find Avinash I saw Kohrra 2023 around that time called him and suggested the role He is a desi guy and loads of funDid you ever feel the urge to be on the other side of the cameraNot with this show From the onset I always wanted to direct it There is a certain pace that I wanted for it Like when we watched Malgudi Days even though the episodes were all 30minutelong I wanted to narrate a story with tasalli If someone cannot watch the show for 30 minutes also and he has to watch five reels then he may not watch it I didnrsquot want to compromise on the temperament If people can relate to the story they will watch itBeing a firsttime director did you feel you had to prove yourselfNo I thought I would But from the second or third day I found my groove We shot for close to 4045 days at a stretch I didnrsquot feel I had to prove a point to anyone I wanted to tell the story as honestly as I could The story demands a certain pace because it is about smaller things in life there is no melodrama to it One reference point I had is of a film that I had acted in many years ago English Vinglish 2012 There is innocence in this narrative which is why it connects with a larger audience