'I WANTED TO STEER CLEAR OF MELODRAMA'

Director Ram Madhvani, along with actors Taaruk Raina, Nikita Dutta, Bhawsheel Singh Sahni, and Sahil Mehta discuss their web series, The Waking of a Nation, the director's idea of patriotism, and more

- SHREYAS PANDE

WHILE looking back at the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in his recent web series The Waking of a Nation, creator and director Ram Madhvani was conscious not to infuse a false sense of jingoism into the narrative. Instead, he chose to focus on building a case about how the incident was a pre-planned conspiracy, evoking themes of racism and prejudice along the way. It is a thoughtful blend of fact and fiction. "I wanted to make something on colonialism and how the Britishers ruled over our country for so long," he says and in doing so, the filmmaker steers away from melodrama. He wanted the tone to be right from the get-go. "I don't know how to make a 'filmy' movie. That's not how I am as a person too," he says.