Dekhki director Ashish R Shukla says that while making its second season his priority was to connect the dots with the debut season of the SonyLIV show. Undakhi, which premiered its second installment last week, got mixed reviews Many pointed to the show’s new plot, character graphs and loose ends.
Undekhi had a quiet release in the middle of the lockdown in 2020. The director agrees that it shines because of good writing and positive vibes, regardless of any hype or popular faces. However, he added that the producers took a “leap of faith” in terms of writing in the second season.
in chat with indianexpress.comAshish R Shukla deconstructs watch second seasonAnd discusses things that are being called out by fans and critics.
Here are excerpts from the conversation:
Undekhi promises to come back with a vengeance. Are you happy with the mixed response?
Feedback is good. We just took a few leaps of faith. Some people are liking it, some are not happy with some characters getting killed. That’s because they’ve been invested in the story. Either I get very good DMs on my Instagram, or very bad ones. People are fascinated by bad people. Like the characters in Money Heist. They are more possessive about Rinku or Papaji than those who fight the good fight. Now that Rinku is married, people are also fighting to save their sister-in-law Muskaan (laughs).
Surya Sharma and Shivangi Singh play Rinku and Muskaan in Undekhi, respectively.
Undakhi emerged as a sleeper hit without any major actors, was the pressure on the team to deliver again this time?
My priority was to be able to connect the dots… whatever I left unfinished in the first season. So every character shows some kind of change. We started right after the lockdown and hence faced date issues with the cast. Compared to the first season, these actors had grown up and became known with more commitments. Whatever the shortcomings of writing or producing, it was also because we did not get time for workshops.
So, you agree that there were problems with the writing part?
We knew we had to deliver on the promise of season one, which was all about the set-up. Season two was about revenge. Season one was a story around a wedding in 5 days, in which things happen to Rishi and others. We cannot extend it for another season. We cannot make DSP Ghosh sit in Manali forever.
Director Ashish R Shukla with the team of Undekhi. (Photo: PR Handout)
But I think the beginning of another parallel plot around the drugs cartel run by Atwal sidestepped the main story of Koel’s revenge. It seemed as if the writers were trying very hard to keep the two tracks connected.
We wanted to show what the real background of Atwal is when he is not celebrating the wedding. The idea was to show how what they did during the marriage affected their personal lives. This is where the second story came from. If you are a hero who always wins, you end up making many enemies whom you underestimate because of your arrogance. So Rinku made a lot of enemies in the first season- Saloni, Shashwat, Teji-Daman, Koel, Ghosh. Samarth is now its byproduct. In the second season, the bad guy inside him is cornered. You take Narcos. Pablo Escobar was also besieged because all his demons had come to torment him. Similarly, we wanted Rinku and Papaji to be jealous because of the situation they have created.
We too had to take the drama forward. How long can you take revenge on the cuckoo? And once his revenge is over, what’s next on the show? Had it been a finale, things would have been different. It paid off for some, and backfired in other places.
Meiyang Chang plays the role of Abhay, who helps Koel in Underkhi 2. (Photo: Instagram / Meiyang Chang)
We also feel that Abhay lacked a proper backstory. Was Meiyang Chang’s character cut out on the editing table?
Actually Abhay’s track was extended during the shooting. On paper it was even less. He was a means of revenge. We cannot match a cuckoo with someone who can commit a crime. We extended the track that was ready to take the bullet for Abhay Koyal as there was a certain empathy he developed. Also we wanted to leave it to the imagination. So we didn’t show what happened to Saloni and Shashwat. You never know when they might return next season. We had such a huge story that it would have been difficult to open every character like Samarth, Arjan Singh, those Israeli gangsters. There’s not much you can do in 30-32 minute episodes.
When Undekhi debuted, she had very few faces, except for a few. In fact we could never have imagined that Harsh will be playing the character of Chhaya Papaji.
When I got on the ship, the cast was already sealed. This was the first acting gig for the five of them. Earlier it was being directed by someone else. If I tell the budget of season one, you will be shocked. People cannot believe that all the interiors of Undekhi have been done in Mumbai. They think it is Manali.
Harsh’s casting was also hanging for several days. we needed someone like that Rishi Kapoor For papa. Harsh comes with a certain notion. He is a neat looking man. So that is Gujju. So when his name was suggested, I was skeptical. I did not know that he was born and brought up in Delhi. Also he was already stereotyped on TV. Harsh improves a lot. He is such a wonderful actor, I only tell him what I don’t want and leave the rest to him. Harsh made Papaji almost on his own.
And what about Surya Sharma (Rinku) and Aanchal Singh (Teji)? What changes have you noticed working with him this time around? They were the new faces in 2020.
During the first season, Suriya, Aanchal And others were new too, so they presented themselves. There was no anger as they were all hungry to do good. This worked in favor of the show. I could tell them anything and they would just follow. Now, as they got older, they demanded some respect. Subconsciously an actor demands certain things and we understand that too. But he didn’t let that affect his characters. He has earned it all.
Rinku’s graph also increased. He also became soft after marrying Muskaan. How did you see the change in your characters including Daman and Lucky?
I deliberately made Rinku a little softer this time, now that she is married. Despite being Rinku, he makes a strong comeback in the end. It was also important for Daman to look like Atwal, showing that he could do anything if he had a gun in his hand. Rinku and Daman should look like brothers. I also wanted a female gangster who loves guns and who uses guns. That’s why we made Muskaan like this. A girl can’t just be a good looking face for Rinku. The entire show is about a patriarchal family that deals with strong women. Now it will be interesting to see how Teji and Muskaan collide on different levels in the next season. I love when relationships stay on edge. Muskaan, Lucky and Daman are also like loose guns.
Are you planning to make up for actor Dibyendu Bhattacharya’s absence in the next season? Season two actually used DSP Ghosh.
Dibyendu and I have known each other since the time of Devad. And fans will demand that we bring Ghosh back. I got complaints that he disappeared for several episodes. Now whatever happened in his mind has taken revenge.
Are we ready to move out of Manali and enter Punjab in season three? You have really fired bullets at the silent valley of Himachal, haven’t you?
We have already entered Punjab in terms of plots. Because Himachal is such a beautiful place, I loved that contrast. When I came to know that I had to show the complete devastation in Manali, I thought I would use the coolness of that place and make it cool. Manali has become a graveyard for me.