Prime Video’s upcoming crime thriller “Bambai Meri Jaan” tells an action-packed tale of good vs. evil in post-independence India — but at its core, the show is a story about family.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Let's start with Ritesh and Farhan.
00:21 What was the genesis of this series?
00:25 And let's start with that
00:27 and then we'll go with the creators.
00:30 - I think the question reached Ritesh
00:33 before it reached me so you can start.
00:35 - Hi, good evening.
00:37 So I think the genesis has to be what it is,
00:40 is the story which came from Mr. Hussain Zaidi.
00:43 And I think it's a genre which I think
00:48 most of us are suckers for.
00:50 You love this crime genre.
00:52 I think it's very popular as well.
00:54 I think based on the material which was so potent
00:58 is what I think all of us immediately reacted to.
01:02 And the interesting part of it is that
01:04 it's set against the backdrop of
01:06 when India got its freedom.
01:08 So it's in the backdrop of the free nation
01:10 and what that freedom meant for the underworld.
01:13 So it also meant freedom for them
01:15 to do what they wanted to.
01:16 And so it just talks about the birth of the underworld
01:19 and gives you an insight into that era.
01:21 - Farhan.
01:23 - You know the thing is when we first heard
01:27 that Hussain wanted to share something with us,
01:29 instinctively I felt that it's going to be,
01:33 okay it's gonna be another cop versus gangster
01:36 kind of story.
01:37 There'll be action, there'll be all that stuff.
01:41 But given the fact that he knows so much
01:44 in terms of the three decades of reporting
01:45 that he's done, written books about it,
01:48 there was this hope that there will be some X factor
01:51 in that story when it comes to us.
01:53 And as you've seen now in the first two episodes,
01:56 this family unit that he's taken
01:59 and created all this drama that really, really engages you
02:02 beyond just the bad guys versus the good guys
02:06 kind of thing.
02:07 It really stays with you.
02:08 It's an emotional journey.
02:10 You feel what the characters are feeling.
02:12 And that was very, very exciting
02:14 to see when it came to us as a story.
02:16 - And for those who don't know,
02:18 Hussain Zaidi was one of Bombay's,
02:22 Bombay and now Mumbai's foremost crime reporters,
02:26 as Farhan said, reporting on the scene
02:28 for more than 30 years.
02:30 And since then he's written lots of books
02:32 chronicling what happened during those years.
02:36 And again with Farhan and Ritesh,
02:39 how and when did Renzil and Shujat come on board?
02:45 - I think it was immediately after we had
02:48 that first narration where Qasim also was there.
02:51 And that's how it starts the process.
02:53 Sometimes you get material which comes attached
02:56 with the creators, the director as well.
02:59 But I think this one was purely with Mr. Zaidi
03:02 who came in because of, like I said,
03:04 his research and his entire goodwill
03:07 which he had generated as a journalist over that period.
03:11 And I think that's how then we worked
03:13 with Shujat earlier on "Rock On."
03:15 So it was, and I knew his sensibilities
03:18 in terms of what he would do with something
03:20 that is we got him on board.
03:21 And then Renzil and that's how the writer's room opened up.
03:25 - And Renzil and Shujat,
03:28 obviously this is a fiction series,
03:30 but there are many parallels to real life in the series.
03:34 So what were the sensitivities in adapting this
03:39 for streaming and for the modern generation
03:45 many of whom don't know what the history was
03:49 back at that time?
03:50 - Yeah, I think the genesis of this, of course,
03:53 came from Hussain Zaidi.
03:55 And we all know his repertoire of books published
04:00 and his career as a crime journalist over three decades.
04:04 The universe will feel the same, right?
04:11 Because it is a part of the recent past
04:14 and it does chronicle the birth of organized crime
04:19 in the city of Bombay from the '60s onwards.
04:22 So yes, there will be some familiar territory
04:25 that will come in.
04:26 I think Hussain purely as a writer
04:30 has so many more stories to tell.
04:33 And this story really went beyond most of the books
04:37 that he's written and published
04:40 because there is so much material that is there.
04:43 And as Farhan said, for us, what really got us going
04:48 was the emotional anchoring of the narrative,
04:51 which was about the family and juxtaposing it
04:55 with the growth of a new India,
04:58 a new city where the good, the bad as well comes in.
05:02 And that is how we drew parallels with the family
05:05 and with the city.
05:08 Yeah, it's a love letter to Bombay.
05:10 It's an ode to Bombay.
05:12 And at the same time, it does trace back the history of it
05:17 and purely coming from the reportage world.
05:20 So yes, the universe will feel similar,
05:23 but I think the story is about a family
05:28 and their trials and tribulations.
05:30 And we all are some of the choices we make.
05:32 And as we saw by the end of episode two,
05:37 the choice that Ismail Khadri made,
05:39 and now you will see the repercussions
05:40 of what happens henceforth.
05:42 - Renzil.
05:44 - Yeah, I think he gave us a great,
05:47 I think Hussain gave us a great platform
05:49 from where we could spring forward.
05:52 But I personally maintain,
05:53 and I think this is true of all storytelling,
05:56 if you don't have the right characters to root for,
05:59 you're uninvested in the emotions,
06:02 all the shootouts and all the car chases,
06:04 and that's like the icing on the cake.
06:08 So I think one of the big things,
06:11 I think that really happened,
06:12 and this has been my longest,
06:14 in short time, writing assignment,
06:18 and with my writers in the writing room,
06:20 Sameer and Chaitanya,
06:22 is to develop these emotions and these characters
06:25 so it's relatable.
06:25 And more importantly, I think today with streaming,
06:28 it has to be universal.
06:32 - The universal question,
06:33 we'll come back to with James and Appanna in a few minutes,
06:38 but let's now open it up a little more
06:42 and include Ritesh, Farhan, Renzil,
06:46 Shujat and Appanna,
06:48 and ask you what were the challenges
06:51 of recreating 1960s, '70s,
06:55 and a bit of the '80s in modern times,
07:01 because the city has changed so much.
07:03 - Best answer by Shujat.
07:07 - Yeah, present day Mumbai is a tough place to shoot.
07:14 It's a tough place to shoot anyways,
07:15 especially, I mean period,
07:17 there's no chance with the kind of development
07:19 and the progress the city has made.
07:21 So we put up a mammoth set,
07:25 and this entire show was really born out of troubled times,
07:29 because we had to battle two deadly waves of COVID.
07:34 The set had to be broken and built,
07:37 reconstructed twice over from scratch,
07:40 and if that wasn't enough,
07:42 we were hit by a cyclone as well.
07:43 Yeah, and I thought I was lucky.
07:47 So yes, a lot went into it,
07:51 physically, mentally challenging for the entire crew,
07:56 but it's not possible to do it without the grit
08:00 and determination of a collaborative team,
08:04 whether it's the cast who had to keep on coming back
08:08 after such long breaks to get back
08:11 into the skin of the characters,
08:13 or my entire crew reconstructing the set,
08:16 my production designer,
08:17 because years went in terms of the research
08:20 and the intricate detailing of constructing the set.
08:25 My director of photography, John Smith,
08:28 who did a terrific job referencing
08:29 in terms of the lighting of those eras.
08:32 We had to keep on upgrading the set
08:34 from '60s to '70s and '80s.
08:36 It spans over three decades.
08:38 Yeah, it was exhausting, to say the least.
08:41 - Renzil?
08:46 - Yeah, I think Sujath put it well,
08:50 and he was quite comprehensive.
08:52 I just feel that, you know,
08:55 we've had, Sujath and I used to text each other
08:57 every night through the, especially through COVID.
09:01 So I'm kind of pinching myself to, you know,
09:05 it's kind of surreal to actually be here
09:07 in front of all of you, you know,
09:09 presenting this for such a long time.
09:11 You know, we were living day by day,
09:14 just, you know, trying to figure out
09:17 how to do the scene for the next day.
09:18 Yeah, so it's been a labor of love,
09:22 and a pretty long one at that,
09:24 so I think I'm thrilled.
09:26 - Renzil was a cute young boy when I met him first.
09:31 But of course, I would also like to mention,
09:35 you know, Ritesh, Farhan, and Qasim,
09:38 my producers, who stood behind me,
09:40 not like rocks, but mountains.
09:42 The entire Amazon team, especially Aparna,
09:46 who was really, I mean, the backbone,
09:50 you know, believing in us and having that faith,
09:53 which is really important to keep on,
09:55 you know, pushing ahead.
09:57 It becomes really something that you kind of
10:01 keep on depending back on.
10:03 And I must say, we had all the backing
10:05 in the world to do this.
10:06 - So Aparna, what was the catalyst
10:12 in you deciding to keep the set standing
10:16 in the middle of two waves of COVID and a cyclone?
10:21 (audience laughs)
10:22 - This project is really a labor of love.
10:26 It's just incredible passion that, you know,
10:30 everyone brought to the table.
10:32 Lockdowns were understandable, you know,
10:35 the whole world was battling it.
10:38 But when the cyclone hit our sets,
10:40 and you know, it was destroyed,
10:42 it, you know, it really shook all of us.
10:45 I remember speaking to Shujat, and he said,
10:46 "We'd make it."
10:48 I think it's this resilience, this passion,
10:50 this sense of ownership, this belief
10:53 is what sort of kept us going for it.
10:56 We truly believe in this show, as you can see.
11:00 - And coming to the cast, Kritika and Avinash,
11:06 amazing performances, and you haven't seen most of it
11:10 because they really come into their own
11:13 from episode four onwards.
11:15 And it's an absolute treat to watch them.
11:18 So let's start with what was the brief given
11:22 to both of you by the creators?
11:24 - Do not act like it's a period drama.
11:30 Do not act like you belong in that period.
11:32 To keep it very real, be very authentic.
11:35 A lot of attention to detail, everything,
11:38 the way we speak, the dialect, you see the sets,
11:40 you see the costumes, all of this.
11:42 There was so much done in terms of the physical world
11:45 around us, and then to have brilliant actors
11:49 like KK and Nivedita, Abu and Amir,
11:51 really miss them right now,
11:53 especially after watching these two.
11:54 It was just, it was made absolutely,
11:58 it was made really easy for us.
12:00 - Avinash?
12:03 - Considering it was four years back,
12:07 I don't have much memory, but what I do remember is,
12:11 I remember auditioning for it, I tested for the part,
12:15 and for some reason, believed that this was mine.
12:18 And then there was nine months of silence
12:22 from my director's side, because he was flirting
12:25 with other actors.
12:26 And then eventually, it kind of came to me.
12:31 I remember getting a call, I met him,
12:32 and we just spoke about everything else but the show.
12:35 He gave me the script to read,
12:38 and I remember just shaving my mustache.
12:42 I kind of made that mustache and sent him a picture.
12:46 Next thing I know, he sent me clothes
12:49 that I'm supposed to wear, and says,
12:51 "This is the life you're living now."
12:53 There was not much conversation that happened about it.
12:56 Do you remember some?
12:58 Yeah, we didn't speak much.
13:01 And all I can say is that there was immense amount
13:05 of faith that he invested, and all I can hope is,
13:09 I have given it back to him.
13:11 That's my hope.
13:13 But here we are today, with our show,
13:16 and having a global premiere.
13:17 - And in terms of prep, what did both of you have to do?
13:23 I'm particularly interested in body language,
13:26 because getting a body language of a particular period
13:30 is quite something for an actor.
13:33 So what did Rensal and Shujat tell you?
13:37 Did they put you through boot camp?
13:38 Walk us through it.
13:41 - I was the last one to join the cast,
13:43 so I had a lot of catching up to do.
13:45 But Avinash and my brothers and everybody else
13:49 was really already in the skin of the characters,
13:52 and they spoke like these people,
13:55 and they really welcomed me very warmly.
13:58 I struggled with the body language a little bit,
14:01 because Habiba's not your typical girl,
14:04 and very different from who I am,
14:06 and the dialect as well, I'm not a Mumbai girl,
14:08 so, and also this is '70s for me in the show,
14:12 so just to get the dialect right,
14:14 to get the body language right,
14:15 it was both those things, I think all credit goes
14:18 to Shujat sir, firstly, and then Rensal
14:21 and our dialogue writers, Hussain and Abbas,
14:24 who really helped me perfect every line.
14:28 So I looked like I belonged to this world.
14:32 - Avinash?
14:34 - Well, there's still pockets of Mumbai
14:36 where you will find people talk like
14:39 the way we are talking here.
14:40 So yes, individually, I would walk around
14:46 and try and talk to these people
14:48 and have some kind of sense from them.
14:50 But beyond that, we actually had workshops.
14:54 We did a lot of reading for the script.
14:57 After that, we had a workshop for almost 10, 15 days,
15:00 if I'm not wrong.
15:01 - Body language, okay.
15:03 - And we would actually break down scenes together,
15:05 all the actors would get together.
15:07 In fact, the beauty was, it was one of those rare projects
15:12 where you felt that all the actors wanted to come together,
15:16 do multiple readings on their own,
15:18 and share their own research about what they were finding.
15:22 This was one experience that I think
15:25 I would take to my grave, because this kind of integrity
15:29 and intensity from everyone involved is very, very rare.
15:33 And I'm really blessed to be part of this show.
15:35 - And moving on to the streamer, so James and Aparna,
15:42 2023 alone has been a stellar year for Prime Video,
15:48 starting with "The Heart," which premiered at Berlin,
15:52 and has been made in heaven.
15:54 - Also on the "Self-Show" of course.
15:56 - Yes, and "Made in Heaven" season two,
16:01 and there's "Jubilee," and "Modern Love," "Chennai."
16:06 - "Farzi." - "Farzi."
16:08 So, so many.
16:09 So my first question is, successive country heads
16:14 of Amazon India have talked about doubling down
16:17 on investment in the territory.
16:20 Is that going to continue?
16:22 Is that plan in place?
16:26 - Well, first of all, thank you.
16:27 It has been a great year.
16:28 I think, you know, not only in India, but around the world,
16:33 but yeah, the stuff in India stands, you know,
16:36 above the rest, I think.
16:37 Those titles you all mentioned, they're just incredible
16:40 in terms of their quality, the number of customers
16:43 they reached, and their popularity around the world.
16:46 So there's certainly no plans of stopping what we're doing.
16:49 I think we've announced before that there's a few countries
16:54 in the world, actually there's a lot now,
16:56 where, you know, most customers come into Prime Video,
16:59 come into Prime through Prime Video,
17:00 and India is one of those.
17:01 So that means, you know, when you think about
17:03 how incredible that is, you know, in a place like the UK,
17:06 most people associate Prime with retail,
17:10 and then video is kind of this added benefit.
17:12 In India, it's actually mostly the opposite,
17:14 where people are like so enamored with the content
17:17 on Prime Video that they come in, and they're like,
17:19 oh, maybe I'll do some shopping,
17:21 that's like the secondary thing.
17:22 And that's not an exaggeration, it's really a testament
17:25 to Aparna and the partners like Excel
17:27 that we've worked with these last,
17:29 it's almost 10 years now for Han and Ritesh
17:31 since we met and started down this path.
17:33 So it's incredible.
17:34 So, and then to the, yeah, and I think I answered
17:38 your other question too, yeah, no plans on stopping
17:40 what we're doing, expanding into new areas,
17:43 you know, ad-supported content, just really trying
17:46 to deliver whatever we can for customers, keep it going.
17:49 - Aparna?
17:50 - He said it.
17:55 We'll continue to, we have a massive slate
17:58 in development at the moment.
18:00 We are developing a lot of shows.
18:02 We've already put out so many shows this year,
18:04 many, many more to come.
18:05 And continue to serve our diverse audiences
18:11 across the length and breadth of the country.
18:13 - Now, specifically, Bombay Marijaan is being released
18:18 in a number of Indian languages
18:20 and 30 international languages.
18:23 So is this prime video India's quest for breakout glory?
18:28 - All of our originals launch in 240 countries
18:34 and territories, and we localize our shows.
18:38 Farsi this year was amongst the top shows,
18:42 you know, from across the world.
18:44 But we truly believe that a show like this,
18:48 which is so intensely local, rooted, authentic,
18:52 you know, and at the heart of it, very, very emotional,
18:57 a genre that anyway cuts across all demos,
19:01 you know, transcends all barriers of language
19:04 and nationality, will resonate with audiences,
19:08 not just in India, but across the world.
19:10 - And taking a step back and looking
19:14 at the broader Asia picture, your image,
19:18 and I already made, you know, includes Southeast Asia
19:21 as well, and James, obviously,
19:23 you're the head of international.
19:25 So what can you tell us about further plans
19:30 for the region going forward?
19:32 - Why don't you talk about Southeast Asia?
19:35 - Our philosophy remains the same, you know,
19:38 it's always customer backwards,
19:40 and Southeast Asia is not one homogeneous whole,
19:43 you know, every country, Philippines is so different
19:45 from Indonesia, so different from Thailand.
19:47 So really, you know, producing content
19:51 that is rooted in those territories.
19:53 The interesting thing is that we have local boots
19:55 on the ground to understand the cultural nuances,
19:59 the specificities, and developing a lot of shows.
20:03 So in coming months and years, you'll see a lot coming out.
20:08 We just put out two originals in Southeast Asia,
20:13 LOL, Thailand, and Philippines.
20:18 - James.
20:20 - I think, you know, when we started, you know,
20:24 India was one of the first couple countries
20:25 after the US where we started adding content.
20:27 And so when you think about on a global scale,
20:30 you know, we've got colleagues in the US who make,
20:33 or aren't making at the moment 'cause of the strike,
20:34 but who make these great big global shows and films
20:37 which go out around the world.
20:39 And then we started in Japan and India,
20:41 were actually the first two places we started saying,
20:43 "You know what, we need content from Japan
20:44 "to make sure we have a good service for Japanese customers.
20:47 "We need a good content coming out of India."
20:50 But now, you know, all these years later,
20:52 we're really starting it all to kind of fit together.
20:54 So as Aperna is building out the slate in Southeast Asia,
20:58 you know what, they're already loving the stuff
20:59 that's coming in from India,
21:00 the stuff that's coming in from Japan,
21:02 the stuff that's coming in from the UK.
21:04 Last year, we also started expanding into Africa.
21:06 So we hired teams in Nigeria and South Africa.
21:08 So those teams also watch a lot of content
21:10 from India, from the UK.
21:11 And now that we're adding Nigerian content,
21:13 Nigerian content is traveling back to the UK and to the US.
21:16 So they're all starting to feed on each other
21:18 and it's not like anybody is standing on their own.
21:21 So it's super exciting.
21:22 We had all the leaders from around the world.
21:24 We all got together in Singapore, actually,
21:26 a couple of weeks ago.
21:27 And it's just wonderful to see the content
21:29 now coming from everywhere and everybody
21:30 putting into this pot of what's the best you got
21:33 from around the world.
21:34 And yeah, it's a really wonderful time.
21:37 - So this is my cue to ask Farhan to sing a song.
21:41 (audience laughing)
21:42 But he probably won't.
21:44 But if you will.
21:45 (audience laughing)
21:48 - This is a surprise.
21:53 (audience laughing)
21:55 But I'll actually say no.
21:57 (audience laughing)
21:59 Or maybe I'll sing it.
21:59 No.
22:00 - Oh, well, it's your loss.
22:05 So on that note, thank you everyone for being here.
22:09 Thank you, the creative team.
22:11 And thank you for a wonderful show.
22:13 - Thank you.
22:14 - I'm sorry it's been very hot, I know.
22:15 But thank you for being here.
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