Biswa Kalyan Rath on the second season of Laakhon Mein Ek, which deep dives into corrupt medical practices and the rural economy
Shweta Tripathi plays Dr Shreya Pathare in the series
Despite all the drama, there's an uncomfortable silence throughout the second season of Biswa Kalyan Rath's Laakhon Mein Ek. Much of this arises from its fast-paced editing, but also from a certain amount of ignorance that can be attributed to the urban viewer. We're all familiar with corruption dropped like a pinch of salt into every industry — be it education, banking or the health sector. What this season does is use Sitlapur village as a microcosm of the country, through the story of Dr Shreya Pathare (Shweta Tripathi). It unravels the mechanics of corruption through the demand and supply of medical supplies.
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Directed by Abhishek Sengupta, each of the eight episodes in the series varies between 20 to 30 minutes. Compared to the first season, which premiered in October 2017, where Rath, an IITian himself, delved into the IIT coaching crisis, the storyline here takes a while to grow on the viewer despite maintaining a similar visual tone with the dark setting. The series is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Edited excerpts from the interview with Rath.
What compelled you to tell this particular story in season 2 of Laakhon Mein Ek?
We wanted to do a different story than season 1 for sure. Since we had covered engineering already, we wanted to move on to the second option given to students in our country — medical. But we didn't want to do a student story this time, but one about the first job. That's how this story idea was born.
The main theme remains the same; about ordinary people facing extraordinary choices. We have also tried to keep it as realistic in treatment as the first season. The story remains about a person in a system.
As a writer and someone familiar with IITs, was it challenging to transition to a different plot in season 2?
We spoke to a lot of people from the medical profession, from students to working professionals. We also had a researcher and a medical consultant helping us out, and we took their insights. But the most important thing was to create a compelling central character and create storylines around the research to make it personal.
Was Shweta Tripathi your first choice to play the lead?
She was definitely our first choice. She is a joy to work with. She gave us her 200 per cent in every shot. The director Abhishek Sengupta and she were very much in sync about her character
and that has brought out a great performance.
Biswa Kalyan Rath
What advice do you have for those setting out to write a compelling web series?
I am actually too junior to give any advice but I think emotional honesty is most important in any form of writing. So, they should write what they want to watch. Also, as some great writers have said, writing is rewriting. So don't be afraid to rewrite if required.
What do you hope viewers will take away from the show?
First of all, hopefully, they are entertained and secondly, I hope they are inspired by Dr Shreya Pathare.
Log on to Laakhon Mein Ek on primevideo.com
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