In an interview with Hindustan Times, director Divyanshu Malhotra opens up about the inspiration behind the show, why he consciously avoided glorifying ‘Alpha men’, the extensive casting process, and his reaction to the series receiving mixed reviews.

Divyanshu credited the producers and writers for creating characters that were not the toxic alpha men that we see in today’s films and shows. “The producers and writers created characters whom we never wanted to portray in absolute black or white. As a filmmaker, I’ve always been very clear about how I represent men in my stories. I know there is a certain wave of representing Alpha men, but with Bobby, I wanted to show a common person who has been pushed into a corner where he feels he has no option but to stand up for himself and his family,” he added.

The filmmaker continued, “It also goes back to what I’ve learnt from my family, don’t make someone feel inferior and don’t let anyone make you feel inferior either. That doesn’t mean you have to be the loudest Alpha man in every room. You should have sewa ka bhav. Shaheer understood that beautifully. He gave us someone who is vulnerable, gets hurt, yet remains headstrong and is willing to do anything for the people he loves.”

The filmmaker shared his views on not glorifying alpha males and said, “We didn’t want to take the route of glorifying alpha men. In the second season, you’ll see an angrier version of him, but you’ll also see him regretting his decisions and embracing his vulnerable side. If I show violence through any male or female character, I also want to show them regretting it because otherwise, as a filmmaker, you’re glorifying that violence.”

The cast features actors from television, films and OTT. When asked the process behind bringing together such an ensemble cast, Divyanshu said, “The process took a very long time because bringing together an ensemble like this is extremely difficult. I have to give credit to Amar, our casting director, and Namit, our producer. I’ve seen Namit use everything, friendships, phone calls and every possible medium, just to arrange meetings with actors. A lot of the credit goes to Amar and Namit’s process.”

He added, “If you look at the cast, it’s a great mix of actors you’ve seen across different mediums — films, television and OTT. I genuinely believe that’s the future. If you’re a good actor, it doesn’t matter where you come from; there will always be space for talented people to tell stories together. I’m glad people are loving this casting experiment. That was exactly the idea. When I told my mother that Shaheer would be playing Bobby, she immediately said, ‘Oh, Arjun from Mahabharat?’ That’s the excitement we wanted audiences to feel.”

The show has received mixed reviews from the critics, which Divyanshu feels is a byproduct of experimenting and said, “At first glance, it’s a revenge drama, but it has so many layers. What we’ve done is an experiment, not just in casting but also in building a larger universe. We have 10 episodes of around 30 minutes each, with another set of episodes coming up, so we wanted to explore every layer of these characters.”

He concluded, “When you’re experimenting and moving away from formula-driven storytelling, mixed reviews are bound to come. But we were very clear that we didn’t want to follow a set formula. We wanted to explore marriages, relationships, dreams, personal grudges and the entire ecosystem because only then do the larger conflicts feel meaningful. Mixed reviews are a by-product of experimentation. But surprisingly, families are binge-watching the show together because there’s something in it for everyone. If you genuinely believe in an idea, you should experiment. We wanted to reach Tier 2 and Tier 3 households instead of limiting ourselves to a particular audience.”