Ram Madhvani: I’m Not A Confident Director, I’m Rather Watchful

Known for National Award winning film "Neerja" and OTT series "Aarya", Madhvani said he has started appreciating the unpredictable nature of life.

"I’m calmer about fear and worry. I don't worry about worrying, I'm not scared of fear. To always be in a situation of not knowing and always having that feeling in your stomach, which says, ‘Oh gosh, how's it going to go?’, is a good thing.

"I’m not a confident person as a director. I’m rather watchful and scared. Now, I have begun to deal with all those emotions in a positive way. I don't deal with fear in a negative but in a positive way,” Madhvani told PTI in an interview.

Starting from his breakout feature film "Neerja", based on the life of 22-year-old air hostess Neerja Bhanot, to his latest offering, the third season of "Aarya", the director has effectively used 'shlokas' and Bhagavad Gita verses in his storytelling.

Madhvani said his work will always have an element of spirituality and philosophy.

“In ‘Aarya’, there was Bhagavad Gita (verse). In ‘Neerja’ there were Sanskrit shlokas, in 'Aarya 3' we have Sanskrit shlokas. There are certain reverberations that you get from Sanskrit. So, there will always be something of this sort, which is elevating the show," he said, adding that in his upcoming series on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre he will be incorporating Kabir's writings.

Another important aspect that he likes to explore through his stories is the moral dilemma.

"The other thing that I'm interested in is putting the characters through a moral crisis. What is right? What is wrong? Should they have done, should they have not done that," the director added.

His interest in spirituality was propelled during his growing up years.

"I was surrounded by books that my father read... The books that were around in the house whether it was the Bhagavad Gita or whether it was stuff from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, and that's what I grew up with.

"So, those questions about life, like 'Who are we? and Why we're here?', became part of the daily thread of the conversation around us. And those are the questions that I can express in the work that I do. There are no answers, only new questions," he added.

Madhvani’s latest work is the third season of Sushmita Sen-starrer “Aarya”, streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. The latest chapter shows Sen's titular character tackle a new set of enemies.

The series also stars Ila Arun, Sikander Kher, Vikas Kumar, and Maya Sarao. It is co-produced by Amita Madhvani, Ram Madhvani, Ram Madhvani Films and Endemol Shine India.