The 2005 jailbreak incident in Bihar’s Jehanabad sent shockwaves through the entire country. The clash between the Naxalites and the police remains one of the defining moments of our country’s history. The incident has now inspired the latest series- Jehanabad – Of Love And War headlined by Rajeev Barnwal and Satyanshu Singh. Boasting off an ensemble cast, the series stars Ritwik Bhowmik, Parambrata Chatterjee, Harshita Gaur, Satyadeep Misra, Rajat Kapoor, Sonal Jha and Rajesh Jais among others.
In an exclusive conversation with News18.com, Satyadeep, Ritwik and Harsheeta opened up about working for the show and their awareness of the events it is based on. The actors also opened up about people taking offence easily and whether they are concerned about that now their show is out in the open.
How aware were you guys of the theme of Naxalism before coming on board for Jehanabad?
Harshita: I was aware of it. But I wasn’t aware of the incident that happened in Jehanabad. And of course, the show is not only about that, but it’s also about this love story that eventually is surrounded by that event. So to answer your question, I was aware of it. But in the show, you’ll get to see more.
Satyadeep: I, of course, was aware of the idea of Naxalism but I was not aware of the incident at Jehanabad. When I was told about this project, I was told that Sudhir Mishra will be the showrunner for it. And it’s always a very good idea to have him involved in political stories because he has a very intelligent sort of take on politics. You could always consider yourself in safe hands.
Ritwik: Honestly, I wasn’t very well aware. I knew probably some news articles that I had read that introduced me to this world, and then probably movies that I’ve seen based on it. But to start this show, I really told myself that you’ve got to go into the history and understand where they come from. And I tried, I really tried. I read a couple of books and I went and visited places where I could just sit and discuss with people what their ideologies are and what their views are about society and politics.
But I realize that it’s a vast world and a lot in the history of our country. So to understand all of it and read about everything is going to take me some time. Hence, with the limited knowledge that I’ve picked up from the research, and then with the clarity of the script, I went ahead and did Jehanabad. The show definitely educated me about a lot of things.
How did the research process look for you guys?
Ritwik: The show isn’t really only about the certain thing that you’re talking about. It’s not only about one movement, it’s about a lot of things- different characters coming together, their lives and their relationship dynamics. Research for Jehanabad could not only be bracketed to understanding the armed movement, it had so much more to it. Hence, we stuck to the script.
When you are choosing your scripts or your characters, is it important for you what your character represents or advocates?
Satyadeep: You could either be a character that completely voices you, or it could be a character that is completely opposed to you. It depends on what gets you more excited. My character was a cop in this who finds himself in situations and I play lots of cops. I always pick a script first. And if the script works, then everything else is secondary.
Harshita: As Harshita, I can speak about my ideology when I’m speaking about the character in the interview. But if I have to play that character, I am not supposed to judge their ideologies. I’m supposed to do it if it’s interesting, and if it is a part of a good project and surrender myself to the director. And then if I don’t believe in those characters, ideologies, that’s my separate take on it.
Harshita, you made your debut with Sadda Haq where you played a college girl and in Jehanabad you played a college girl as well. How was your journey been till now?
Harshita: I’m happy to be playing same college girl for nine years. Maybe I have grown but the character hasn’t which is great. My screen age is still the same. It has been a caterpillar ride. The journey has been a learning process. Not only I think I have grown as a person but also got inclined spiritually.
Are you not tired of playing a college girl continuously?
Harshita: College girl is a broad theme. I’m going to college in every project but the characters are different. I was glad when I was selected for this project because of the particular age of the charatcer and even now also if I can play a college girl then it is a huge compliment. I think I have longer years too.
Nowadays people take offense to every little thing. Does this concern you?
Satyapdeep: You think about them, but what do you do? As you rightly said, people take offense to anything. When stories like these are being finally vetted by the channel and the production, they are very careful at that stage itself to control it. But sometimes you’re in the shooting of it, or something happens, which you didn’t think about. You are creating some art and there is bound to be difference of opinion in terms of interpretation. And you can’t control that. So you just do what you have to do and people will do what they need to do. There is no point stressing yourself over that.
Ritwik: It reaches us later but it becomes the producers’ headache first. If the producers are secured about what they have made then it is quite a calming feeling for the actors. Everybody is trying. In today’s time, everybody who’s making movies and shows, everybody’s trying to make sure that they do not offend anybody or hurt anybody’s feelings. Because at the end of the day, we do not make any project for people for that purpose, for people to get annoyed by it. We want to entertain, tell new stories and we want to keep you engaged while telling stories. We at no point really want to hurt you and offend you.
Jehanabad – Of Love And War is now streaming on SonyLiv.
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