Abhinay Deo is set to rule the small screen with his latest series 24. But good news is already flowing in, with Deo winning six awards at Spike's Asia for his latest TVC. In a freewheeling chat with Punam Chavan, the filmmaker speaks about his achievements and helming a TV show for the first time
Winning six awards at Spike’s Asia from 4, 832 entries is a big achievement. How do you feel?
It’s an amazing feeling. Ramesh Deo Productions (RDP) has won one gold, four silvers and one bronze at Spike’s under different categories such as direction, editing, sound design, music and cinematography. What excites me most is the fact that out of the six awards that we won five are for the crafts category which means that we have proved the West that we Indians are nowhere less in the execution of ideas. I’m in seventh heaven.
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Director Abhinav Deo largely shot 24 in real locations
The television commercial (TVC) shows the lives of the cricketers to the cricket-playing youth from Leh to Pondicherry. Why did you choose cricket as the theme?
While we were making of this commercial a friend of mine shared a plot with me of having cricket as the central theme. It clicked somewhere that I wanted to capturea parallel journey in the lives of the common cricket-playing youth across the country along with our Indian cricket stars. Since ours is a cricket-loving nation, the concept of this TVC hit the right chord and people appreciated this.
Tell us about your new television drama 24 that captures 24 hours in the life of a Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) agent.
It was challenging because we tried to encompass every passing second in the life of a ATU agent. It is a realtime show where we have tried to capture the most crucial 24 hours of his life. Particularly in a fast-moving city like Mumbai, shooting on the lanes of the city was a very challenging task. Normally in fictional shows the shooting is done indoors but for 24 most of the shoot was done on location.
Any memorable moment while shooting this series?
We were shooting with Anil Kapoor at Curry Road at 4 pm. There was a crowd of approximately 2,000 people flocking to get a glimpse of Anil. We were shooting in the peak hours and a crowd that had gathered to watch the shoot. So there was a traffic jam. To continue shooting amidst all this was memorable and also a challengeu00a0in itself.
Are you connected to the number 24 in real life too?
(Laughs), yes. This series will always be special. This number will remind me that while shooting for the series I found even 24 hours are less for me.
Are you planning to come up with any more seasons of 24 in the near future?
Yes, we are planning to come up with new seasons of 24 but that depends on the kind of response we get from the audience. Their feedback is of utmost importance to us.
Have you ever felt the baggage of being a star kid of two extremely successful stars (Ramesh and Seema Deo) who have ruled the Marathi film industry with their work?
No, I have never felt the baggage. My parents have given us a simple upbringing. We were raised very much like children from any other Maharastrian household with a lot of family values. So this type of insecurity or a baggage was out of question as my parents never forced us to be successful. They just taught us to be hard-working.
What are the films you are planning to make after 24?
I am working on three movies right now. But the projects are in a nascent stage. We are still in the process of developing the script.
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