‘All of us have the capacity to do both good and bad’

National Award-winning filmmaker Prakash Jha, who is currently promoting his latest OTT series Ek Badnaam Aashram Season 3 — Part 2, a crime drama that explores the manipulative empire of the enigmatic Baba Nirala, and the rebellion against him, talks about the series which has struck a chord with audiences.

Right from its first episode, ‘Ek Badnaam Aashram’ has done well. Will this installment meet the expectations raised by the previous part?

It has a lot of twists and turns and reiteration of character arcs. I know there is plenty of drama and I am quite confident that it will work.

Do you think the content has become catchier because the Baba is shown in a bad light?

That’s the way he lived his life. There’s nothing good or bad about it.

The title is very intriguing. How did you choose it?

Because of the way the Ashram is being run. Ashrams are part of our Hindu culture, which is great. We all respect our culture and ethical values. But this is the story of this specific Baba and his ashram.

How careful did you have to be while penning the script?

You have to be careful while you are writing something that deals with public life. You don’t have to necessarily hurt people’s sentiments but you have to tell a story which attracts audiences. That’s what I have been doing with all my scripts.

Can you tell us a bit about the characters in this part?

Well, you have to judge Pammi after watching her on the show. I am of the opinion that we humans all have the capacity to do both bad and good. It all depends on our upbringing and how we understand our religion. Also, at a given point in time, we may do what we feel is right at that moment, but later we may realize that we have committed a blunder. We cannot absolutely define what is right and wrong —that’s the beauty of life.

As a filmmaker who has produced larger-than-life, politically-charged content, do you find working on the OTT platform very different?

Badnaam Aashram is like a film on a large-scale. The mounting was like that too. Mera style wahi hai [My style remains the same.] The story has to be expanded and continue, that’s a challenge in this format. OTT is good. I am learning, and that’s fine.

Since OTT reaches a larger global audience, what appreciation have you received internationally, including from Hollywood?

This is not for foreign audiences. It is for the Indian audiences living abroad. They have definitely seen it and appreciated it and they get in touch with me. I don’t know about Hollywood. Also, the distribution is not in our hands. Now, it’s premiering on Amazon. It will probably reach a wider audience.

What was working with Bobby Deol like? Have you signed him for another project?

The Aashram is lucky to have Bobby. He is such a hardworking and skillful actor. Yes, I have another film with him but we haven’t finalized it yet.