The TV mega-serial space is crowded with multiple shows with the usual common thread being that they are all usually about the trials and tribulations a daughter-in-law. Enter What the Folks!, a 5 part web series by Dice Media and its refreshing take on the age-old saas-bahu story. Nikhil (Veer Sawant Singh) lives with his wife Anita (Eisha Chopra) in Delhi. He comes to Mumbai to take care of his company’s expansion plans and stays with his in-laws for a month. The story deals with a typical Indian household where preferential treatment is doled out to a son-in-law, especially a newly-wed.
The series keeps its situations real and authentic, something unusual for a web series. Ruchir Arun, a two-time National Award-winning director, who has helmed this series, says, “We had a lot of fun making this web series. Thanks to the wonderful cast and the amazing script, which I did not need to change at all, my work was made really easy.”
The series has garnered around 9 million views on YouTube as of now, and Veer Sawant Singh, who plays the lead, Nikhil, says, “I think the reason why it has come to be appreciated is on account of the chemistry between the cast. During the entire shoot, whenever we would get a break, we would all get together and bond. There was very little ‘acting’ as family because the bonds we formed made us all feel like an actual family.”
Ask Vipin Sharma (who plays Nikhil’s father-in-law, Prakash, and was last seen in Mani Ratnam’s Kaatru Veliyidai), what he thinks is the biggest takeaway from this series, and he says, “There is a scene in Episode 3, at the party hosted by the Sharmas, where Prakash says, ‘Love comes and goes in life. But respect...respect is non-negotiable,’ when talking about what makes a successful marriage. That I think is a very important point for every single person watching this series. I think this has the potential to be remade as a film too, for a wider audience.”