Chaskela director Anish Shah: We had to make the show in limited time

Anish Shah talks about his project, working with Deeksha Joshi after Dhunki and his upcoming collaboration with Pratik Gandhi.

A still from Chaskela.

The Gujarati web series Chaskela released recently and has received critical acclaim for being a show that is refreshing in a lot of ways. Right from its title, which means crazy in English, Chaskela piqued people’s interest.

In an exclusive interaction with OTTplay, the director and co-creator of the show Anish Shah spoke about his project, working with Deeksha Joshi after Dhunki and his upcoming collaboration with Pratik Gandhi.

Excerpts from the interview:

What made you pick the title Chaskela?

It has become a slang in Gujarati language which means being crazy and unfiltered. We just thought that it fits the concept of being around friends, which is the safest place.

We actually had a different working title but while the song was being penned, we decided to use Chaskela as our title too. It has an appeal and an immediate recollection, which gave us all the more reason to use it as our title.

How did you cast each character?

There’s a limited pool of actors in Gujarat. I cast Deeksha since I have done a film, Dhunki, with her and Pratik Gandhi, earlier. During the development process, I had Deeksha in mind as Radhika. I had already told her that I was writing the character for her. We spoke to some other actors too. The content is not something that Gujarati audience is used to watching. It questions a lot of traditional values for starters.

What went on in your mind when you thought about the concept of Chaskela?

It’s about going back to school and college days. In Gujarat, which is a dry state, we usually go out for coffee or gather at our friends’ place. We also tried to bring in how the direction of a conversation changes while talking to friends.

What is the difference between making a web series and a film?

The resources we have are limited. The first step was to accept that we had to make the content in a very limited budget and shoot days. We had to be on-the-go. With films, you have the liberty to stay in a scene.

Since Deeksha has been a part of Dhunki and Chaskela, can we expect to see you and Pratik Gandhi collaborate for a web series?

I’m doing a film with him next. I’m quite excited to work with him. We’re all happy for him for what happened with Scam 1992. The great thing is that despite all that, he’s ready to come back and work in the Gujarati industry.

Does that mean there’s no web series featuring him which you’ll direct?

No, not anything right now.

What are your upcoming projects apart from the film featuring Pratik Gandhi?

I’m doing two more Gujarati films. We’re also working on the second season of Chaskela. Kadak Meethi’s second season might also come out next month hopefully. All these contents are in the development process.

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