More than the story, what was your reaction when you were told about the format of Black White & Gray?

Palak Jaiswal: It is a mockumentary of sorts and that hooked me. Also, the screenplay is written in such a way that a lot of events happen at the same time, but it never feels like chaos. The episodes are mounted in such a compelling manner that you can’t help but go from one to the next, often finishing the series in one setting.

When I read the script for the first time, my mind was blown because nothing that I expected was happening... it was all so unpredictable. It constantly keeps you on the edge.

Mayur More: When Pushkar (Mahabal, co-creator and director), told me the story, I was dumbfounded because I had never seen or heard anything like this. I was like: ‘Wow, this guy wants to make something very special and let me support him.’ I got the narration just two days before shooting... till then I didn’t know what was happening! So all my reactions on set — and in the series — are automatically of surprise! (Laughs)

These are ordinary people caught in very extraordinary circumstances. How did you build empathy and relatability with them?

Mayur: What was constant on my mind was that if such a thing happened to me in life, how would I react. I just did another crime show before this and that gave me some insight into the psyche of a killer, particularly things like what pushes a man to pull the trigger and kill another man? It is scary and fascinating.

Palak: Sometimes, certain situations happen life that push one to the extreme, but what these two characters have to go through is unimaginable. This is a mockumentary, it is a fictionally written story but it is shot in a documentary format telling people that it has happened in real life... but it is a fictional story! It is complicated in form and yet, I feel that the girl I play is relatable in many ways.... she lives a life that many girls in our country live. She also has a moral compass and that comes into play several times, forcing her to make a decision. Very few people have the intent to kill. But circumstances in life push her into it, and that could happen to anyone.

Given the format, were the challenges of filming more mental than physical?

Mayur: It was challenging in all aspects — mentally, physically, emotionally. The emotional scenes did take a toll. In the beginning, we were going to shoot it in a linear fashion, and I was happy that I could take it one day at a time. But then, the decision was made to shoot non-linear and I got quite nervous because I had already prepped to do things in a certain way. Also, I had only one or two takes to do some scenes and that brought on added pressure. But in hindsight, it worked out well.

The weather was challenging. It was hot in Nagpur and we had to run around a lot. Then we shifted to Uttarakhand, and it was very cold there, with scenes that demanded we jump into ice-cold water. It was tough but I had fun because I got a chance to do something which I enjoy.

Palak: For me, the challenge began from the script level. I had to figure out this girl, her mental make-up and motivations. At every bend, the boy and girl have two choices and it was important for me to gauge why she was going with one choice over another.

We shot a lot at midnight and early mornings. Our sleep schedules had gone for a toss. On one occasion, my stunt double couldn’t perform a certain stunt and I volunteered to do it myself. I ended up doing quite a few stunts myself. For my debut project, this was as demanding, but also as creatively satisfying, as it could be.

Mayur: Maintaining continuity was a challenge. We have shot the entire series wearing one set of clothes.