Projects like Lockdown Rishtey require people you can trust blindly: Rohit Roy

27/10/2020

For actor Rohit Roy, his new web show Lockdown Rishtey will provide the much-needed respite amid the overdose of thrillers we see on the digital platform. “You don’t a love story or a human interest story,” he says. An MX Exclusive, Lockdown Rishtey is a collection of five stories exploring human relationships during the global pandemic.
The Abhijit Das directorial also stars Gurdip Kohli, Anjum Fakih, Indraneel Bhattacharya, Abhishek Kapur and others, along with Rithvik Dhanjani, Suchitra Pillai, Arjun Punjj, Manasi Joshi Roy and Prerna Panwar being the presenters of each story. The show, which has been completely shot on mobile phones during the lockdown, is currently streaming on MX Player.
During an exclusive chat with indianexpress.com, Rohit Roy spoke about why he thought his was the cutest story of the lot, shooting the show at home and his desire to return to the sets.
We’ve had several lockdown shows. What’s special about Lockdown Rishtey?
Lockdown Rishtey was among the first to be shot. It took a while to get to a good OTT. And, if you go on to any major OTT player, the maximum shows are thrillers and murder mysteries. Lockdown Rishtey is exploring five different elements of human interest, whether it’s friends or relatives or couples. I feel people will lap it up because sometimes you need a little bit of relief. Also, lockdown has been quite beneficial to creative people. You start thinking out of the box, which is the need of the hour. Everything is a new normal. And with this show, we got to try out a new format of filming.
Your segment is an emotional story. How was it shooting such a plot at home and away from your co-star?
After so many years of experience, it kind of flows naturally. Otherwise, you need somebody to tell you where you are wrong. After having 25 years of experience, I know what’s expected of me and my character. Here, the only challenge was there wasn’t any co-star to react to. Rest, I find it the cutest story of the lot. Married couples go through issues despite how successful they are or where they are. What we’ve shown is there is a silver lining to every challenge. I could identify with my character as well. All of it happens in my house every day.
Weren’t there any challenges shooting it yourself?
The challenge was to make one house look like five different houses. I was shooting here and my co-star Gurdip Kohli was shooting at her house. Our spouses were shooting our bits. Since we are from the same trade, we knew what was required. I really enjoyed it because the director in me always takes precedence. I learned a lot of new things from this show.
Even Mansi is a part of the show. Was there any specific reason why both of you agreed to be a part of it?
The reason for us doing it was one common man – director Abhijit Das. I’m extremely fond of him, and the love and respect is mutual. This kind of project requires people you can trust blindly.
You and Mansi also came out with Locked in Love. How difficult does it become for active people like you to keep your creative energies flowing even if at home?
In every adversity, you look for an opportunity. I never found myself caught in the situation of a lockdown. The reason why these kind of stories are being told is because of the limitation of the lockdown.
How confident are you to return to the sets?
I hope it gets normal because eventually, you need the hustle and bustle and madness of a set. Creativity is a process which can be individual or group. We’ve explored enough of the individual. Now we want to return to the set. I’m looking forward to shoot my last song for Mumbai Saga. The stories will now be more contained, but not limited.

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