Q&A WITH SUJOY GHOSH
CRIKEY! DIRECTOR SUJOY GHOSH SAYS HIS NEW NETFLIX SERIES INVOKES THE SPIRIT OF A ONCE-CONTROVERSIAL WRITER
Q. How different was it writing a long format show rather than a film?
Here, I get a lot more time to delve into things which I don’t in a feature. It is also a little scary. I really don’t know what is right and wrong, as this is the first time. It’s all intuition. I write what I believe in. I am playing the balancing act.
Q. Did you anticipate the success your film Badla found earlier this year?
It’s the audience who make it happen. I have nothing to do with it. They are the ones who kept the mystery secret, recommended it to others to watch and took the onus of the film. This has happened before with Kahaani and Jhankaar Beats and even films that are not mine, be it Badhaai Ho, Stree or Andhadhun last year.
Q. What was it like working with children?
I was working with nineyear-old kids whose attention span is a little less than that of a goldfish. It’s incredibly hard but I only got through it because they were so involved and curious. They have so much innocence and life in them. They were happy to go on this adventure with me.
Q. Is Typewriter your tribute to childrendriven mystery adventure books such as ‘Famous Five’ and ‘Secret Seven’?
Absolutely. In fact, I am in a room right now which has every Enid Blyton book you can think of. Growing up, I devoured all of these. The greatest thing about reading them was that I felt it was me who was solving the mystery. I always wanted to make something where children would be the heroes. The kids here do everything that I always wanted to do, like get out of class to hunt for ghosts.