Siddharth Singh and Garima Wahal, scriptwriters of the blockbuster hit, Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela , have tried their hand at something new — a webseries. “The treatment has been very different for the two,” says the duo over a call. While Ram-Leela , an adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet, includes heavy dialogues, the language used in the web series titled Shaadi Boys , is as contemporary as it can get.
“The series is targeted at the youth. Our focus was to make the episodes seem as close as possible to reality,” says Siddharth. The team focussed on getting the slang and usage of words right. “We realised that there has been a radical change over the past five years. The lifestyle of teenagers, their thought process, is different from how we thought. So, we spent a lot of time with youngsters in college, cafes, and other popular hangout spots, just to observe them,” he adds.
The script for the web series was conceptualised and written in two months. The story is about three Mumbai boys — a Hindi script writer, a choreographer and a cameraman — who fail to make it in Bollywood, and instead move to Delhi and get into the wedding industry. There, they find themselves making a quick buck. “It takes a potshot at the Indian wedding industry, which is immune to recession. In parts, the series also gets into the age-old debate of which city is better: Mumbai or Delhi?” they say.
Unlike a movie, an episode in a web series lasts just for 20 minutes. “We don’t have the privilege to tell a story in an elaborate way. It has to be fast-paced, and created in such a way that the audience remains hooked to it, and is tempted to watch the next,” he says. Also, unlike a movie, which caters to a family crowd, a web series is more personal. “Most people watch it on their laptops. And they expect it to be real. So, the tone and language should convey the same,” he adds.
Besides Ram-Leela , they have worked in Karan Johar’s Brothers , penned lyrics for three songs in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani , and have a couple of projects — Raabta (directed by Dinesh Vijan; starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon) and Toilet – Ek Prem Katha (directed by Neeraj Pandey and starring Akshay Kumar) — that are set to release soon. “We never thought we would be doing a web series, but we found the story extremely entertaining. Also, we believe that web content is the future. Nobody watches television anymore. There has been a big boom in this sector, and we thought, why not be part of it?”
The star cast of the show launching on VOOT this month includes actors Rishab Chadda, Abhinav Verma and Aakash.
