1) Who came up the idea for the series about two wedding planners battling it out in the Asian Glamour industry?
The creator of the show, Zoya Akhtar actually got the idea from her friend and we started to talk about it from there. She said it seemed like an interesting concept. Then Zoya and I attended two back-to-back weddings of our friends in Delhi. I think it was from that point onwards that we started to really think about developing a show like ‘Made in Heaven.’ After that, we began developing the storyline and characters. At that point, the other writer Alankrita Srivatava came on board and it just progressed from there.
2) The name ‘Made in Heaven’ is quite ironic and can stand for a number of things – Indians believe marital matches are made in heaven, when in fact, many marriages don’t work out. The name also alludes to the high standards of big fat Asian weddings – who came up with the name?
Yes, the title is meant to be ironic – because when you watch the show it focuses on so many issues. In India, there is definitely an obsession over marriage. The occasion of a girl’s wedding is supposed to be the most important day of her life. The focus is just put on that specific day as opposed to the entire marriage itself and the rest of her life. Constantly throughout the show, a social critique is made from ideals such as this and the concept of social reality itself.
3) Tell us more about the female lead Tara, how is her ambitious nature and strive for success inspiring for female viewers of the show?
I believe that as a main character, Tara is largely representative of the role a lot of young women in India currently have to play. She specifically hails from a lower middle-class family. However, her mother has drilled into her head that she must utilise her good looks to marry above her social position. Therefore, the show also looks at what happens to a woman when she is faced with this kind of family and cultural pressure. Eventually, we thought she might turn into a person who might end up harming her friends and those close to her.
4) How does the storyline pick-up on issues such as LGBT rights, especially since one of the lead characters Karan, is gay and is not allowed the legal privilege of marriage himself?
Previously in India, there was a law in place which made homosexuality a crime. From the perspective of the show, we wanted to look at what can happen to a person, in this case, Karan, who is marginalised throughout his entire life for being gay, and how they can come to terms with that.
5) What was one of the most exciting scenes of the series for you to direct?
I have many favourite scenes! But if I had to choose I think my most favourite scene is when Karan is with his childhood lover during a flashback in episode 9. The whole scene is directed by Alankrita Srivatava, and it’s definitely very emotive to watch.
6) What was it like working with strong female filmmakers such as Zoya Akhtar (Gully Boy), Nitya Mehra (Life of Pi), and Alankrita Srivatava (Lipstick under My Burkha).
Myself and the other female creators had worked together often during the last 20 years. Alankrita and I met through putting the show together. However, Nitya and Zoya I had met before. I really had a blast with them and I think it’s always lovely working with great friends. All of us are from different backgrounds; verbally we’re very different people. However, we have a mutual understanding of each other. In terms of our ideologies and our commitment the show we’re definitely alike.
7) What type of response are you expecting from the series? Will we be expecting a second season if the show is hugely successful?
I’m sure you can expect that! So far we’ve had a very big response, larger than what we were expecting. Especially through social media, Twitter and Facebook the feedback has been phenomenal. We’re very much looking forward to Season 2 and we’re working on that right now!
Manisha Bhanot
