Filmmaker Suresh Triveni has admitted that he was hesitant to venture into long-format storytelling with the Prime Video series Daldal, but the depth of its characters ultimately drew him in.
Created by Triveni and directed by Amrit Raj Gupta, the Bhumi Pednekar-starrer psychological thriller drama premiered on the streaming platform on January 30.
Recalling the early discussions, Triveni told news agency PTI, “When he (Vikram Malhotra, producer) shared the material with me, saying he wants to explore this, I was reluctant to get into the series purely because there is too much work in it. But then due to Covid, we had a lot of time, so we formed a battery of writers.”
“As we started, I had not committed myself, but then as we began discussing, I got fascinated. The start off point was the book, but then from there we just took off, and then you just get sucked into it,” Triveni added.
Explaining what drew him to the project, Triveni shared, “All of us are also consumers, before we are makers, we watch a lot of things and naturally (get) sucked into this world. There are so many tropes of how you can go around, but it is the characters, and the series gives you that freedom to delve deeper when you compare a film to a series. I think that is what excited me, and to understand the mind behind violence.”
Citing Mindhunter and Monster as major influences, Triveni emphasised their role in shaping his understanding of a serial killer’s mind.
In discussing his role as a showrunner, he said he focused on guiding, allowing the creative team room to grow.
“This is the first time I’m being a showrunner and that too a reluctant one. My job was to shepherd this entire journey and there are efficient people to do their craft. My job was purely setting it up, in key sequences I’d be there and then at the edit, just to shepherd it because then I can have a bird’s eye view on it.”
Produced under the banner Abundantia Entertainment, Daldal also features Aditya Rawal Samara Tijori, Murali Mali, Aarti Desai, Saurabh Goyal, Veeru Raw and Neha Mishra in key roles.
Known for films Tumhari Sulu and Jalsa, Triveni is currently awaiting release of Anil Kapoor-starrer Prime Video action thriller Subedaar and Madhuri Dixit’s Netflix comedy drama series Maa Behen.
Sharing experiences of working with Anil and Madhuri, Triveni said, “There is a reason why they (Madhuri and Anil) are who they are... If you show up, they just show up, and that’s incredible, and unfortunately, that’s a rarity in our times.”