IFFI Goa: Creating India's own James Bond with Manoj Bajpayee

Makers of the series, Raj & DK, along with Aparna Purohit, and Samantha, were part of the 'In-conversation session' on 'Creating Cult Icons: India's own James Bond with the family man'. The session was held on the sidelines of the 52nd International Film Festival of India in Goa. Here's what the discussion revolved around.

"I never try to make the character larger than life. I always try to live in the reality and make the character a representative of the masses," Manoj Bajpayee said.

Manoj has done an amazing job in the web series and won hearts with his performance.

Manoj said the life of an Indian middle class is a comedy and it is the inspiration and reference for all his characters. "I didn't need to search Srikant Tiwari, my character in `The Family Man' series anywhere else. I got it within me, in my family, in my surroundings and everywhere", he said.

He said that The Family Man is a great story of a middle-class Indian guy, who is trying to find a balance between a demanding job and a demanding family. "When Raj and DK came to me with the synopsis, I was sold out to it", added Manoj.

Directors of 'The Family Man,' Raj Nidimoru, Krishna DK, famed as Raj & DK, said they wanted to do a pan-India story. "The biggest expression of freedom that we experience when we started The Family Man series was why should we limit ourselves? To break the barrier and make the story pan-India, we reached out to the actors, crew, and writers from different regions", said the duo.

Noted Tollywood actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu said her character as Raji was the most vulnerable and challenging role for her and she sought a lot of handholding and training for this. "Raji was so new, unique, and exciting. It allowed me to explore a new dimension and the actor in me couldn't refuse this challenge", she said.

Responding to a query on OTT, Samantha said that OTT is a platform that demands a strong story and empathy of character. "It's very difficult to engage the audience of a web series as we have to overcome many hurdles. The control is always in the hands of the audience," she added.

Aparna Purohit, head of India Originals, Amazon Prime told that five years back the team went around moving door-to-door to creators and asked them for stories. "It happened finally. We are thankful that Raj & DK choose us to tell their story. We are happy that today it transcends all barriers. It resonated within us and it touched audience across the globe", said Aparna.

"In India, everything beautifully co-exists, so will OTT and the big screen. Engaging and compelling content will always capture the audience. We were able to thrive even during the most difficult phase of the pandemic through the power of art," she added.