Bandwaale, the recently released series on Prime Video, captures the reality of most small towns in present day India, where new-age aspirations, fuelled by social media access, and old-fashioned conservatism walk hand in hand. The show revolves around a young aspiring poetess, Mariam (Shalini Pandey), who finds a way, living in Ratlam, to explore her potential and cross all the barriers that face her in the arduous journey. Ankur Tewari, the co-creator of the series, recalls that the genesis of the series came from ‘some disappointing experiences as a writer’ in Mumbai, which both he and Swanand Kirkire relate to. “We both decided to take affirmative action on it, to meet every day and start constructing a story without any agenda,” Ankur adds. He further recalls how musicality and small-town ethos organically became a part of the story. “Both Swanand and I wanted to write something which was hopeful, had words at its core, complemented by music. Also, both of us are from small towns — that’s how Ratlam came in, and with them the brass-band culture. Through the writing process, we followed a path of honesty,” he notes.
Preranaa Khatri, Chief Business Officer, OML, talks about how honesty appealed to them as they came onboard for Bandwaale. “Once we heard the story, the way everything came together — the music, storytelling, and characters — all of those put together was what we were looking for,” she recalls. Akshat Verma, who helms direction for the series, adds, “The writing was very evocative, with a lot of authenticity to it. Besides the three protagonists, you’ll also see these supporting figures and what they want.”
Co-creator Swanand Kirkire talks about how the evolving small-town dreams aided by social media were a key theme as well. He explains, “Earlier, if you wanted to do something, you had to leave your home and fight in the cities. Now, social media has given people that freedom and access. Our protagonist Mariam (Shalini Pandey) wants to do something, but she doesn’t have a true collaborator. Every person she goes to becomes a problem for her. It's a journey of a girl navigating through the men's world.” The noted lyricist-actor also talks about how the theme of inclusivity adds a distinct dimension to Bandwaale. He elaborates, “Mariam is a Hindi poet, hailing from a Malayalam-speaking family in Ratlam. With Kerala comes the culture, which lends a new colour to the show and its universe. You realise we all share the same problems. Later, you realise some of these storytelling choices just happened subconsciously.”
In the series, Swanand also plays the role of Robo, a local singer from Ratlam who lives in the past and harbours feelings towards Mariam, who is much younger than him. Swanand recalls why he became surer of playing the part, as the script was finalised, adding, “There is a certain innocence to Robo, he is not harmful; he is just idiotic and delusional. Eventually, he realises he is making a mistake. I have seen people like him. It’s a very on-the-edge character. Ankur and I knew we had to tread carefully, and I felt that I could do a good job without any prejudice.”
The element of music is integral to the show. While popular influencer Yashraj Mukhate has composed the songs, Sid Shirodkar has composed the background score. Talking about the music, Ankur recalls, “We went to Jaipur, and found Kawa band, which played all our brass-band music. For Psy’s character, we had new-age influencers in mind, and asked Yashraj, who was one of the references. That process was just as organic as the script.” Akshat too talks about how there was no reverse-engineering involved, be it in terms of crafting the story or marketing. “Swanand and Ankur wrote it from a place of needing to tell a story. We were not working backwards in terms of what the market wanted. That approach changes the tenor of what you're looking to do,” he adds.
Talking about their portrayal of a small town like Ratlam, Ankur recalls how they were conscious of not incorporating quirks or stereotypes for the sake of it. He says, “Whether it’s a story from a city or a tier-2 town, you need to treat your characters with respect. It wasn’t like we put caricatures of what people perceive as a small-town person. We don’t mock them, we try and honour them on page.” Swanand reflects on the subject, “We have never seen those towns properly on screen. There are people in Ratlam who have made films locally, are doing podcasts and releasing audio books. That's a colourful, aspirational universe there. It hasn’t changed completely, but people are more aware of everything.” Swanand, who eventually plans to direct films in the near future, says, “Any film or story always has a message, and it should reflect your times and society. I like the stories of small towns where I grew up, and that’s the world I want to recreate on screen more.”
Akshat, who has previously written films like Delhi Belly and Kaalakandi, talks about the hopefulness of the story that resonated with him. “There's a truthfulness to the hope here that is incredible. If there are people in small towns watching this show, and if they can take away a semblance of hope from this, it will be a big thing for us,” he adds. Ankur agrees with the sentiment. “Any person trying to make it in a small town should feel that they are not alone. There are a lot of us trying to make it. Everyone's working hard, and as I wrote in a different film, Apna Time Aayega,” he concludes.