Exclusive! The Night Manager creator Sandeep Modi: I enjoy highlighting elements that make the story more real and relatable

Sandeep Modi is not only the director of the The Night Manager, but also the co-creator of Sushmita Sen's Aarya

Sandeep Modi

Writer-director Sandeep Modi, the man behind the successful web series The Night Manager which stars Anil Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur, is also the co-creator of the first season of the Sushmita Sen-starrer Aarya. When we spoke to him recently, he shared an interesting observation about developing characters based on social context and gender.

In Aarya, the female protagonist joins a mafia gang to avenge her husband's murder and protect her family.

The story of The Night Manager revolves around two men: a former soldier, Shaan, who is on a mission to track down an arms dealer, Shelly, and bring down his business of war.

Even though in both stories the central characters deal with firearms, business deals, and more, the energy of every character changes based on their gender, even though they are doing the same job.

Talking about how a writer pays attention to the socio-cultural context while developing a character, Sandeep told OTTplay, "In our society, the paradigm changes when a man handles things, as opposed to when a woman handles the same thing. For example, when a man handles a business, he is not asked if he can come back home if his child has a fever or if there is some domestic crisis. But a woman is expected to handle everything equally. In Aarya, you see the lead character handling a business in a male-dominated world, and at the same time she has to handle her relationships, her home, and every other thing with equal efficiency."

He further added, "I remember in Aarya, we wrote a scene in which Aarya's son is down with a fever, and she is being told to go to the office immediately. That kind of dilemma that women face does not exist for men. As a writer, I am always interested in looking at that perspective."

"When I look at each character as a storyteller, you might not be looking at what they should do. But when you look at the gender of the character and put a social context to that, you will understand what pressure these genders have. Anil Kapoor's character in The Night Manager lives life king-size, but he does not have to think twice about things. But Aarya has to find a balance between her son and her business. I enjoy highlighting elements that make the story more real and relatable. I make a point to highlight that it is tougher for a woman to do the same job a man does because she is expected to excel in all spheres," explained the storyteller.

The show The Night Manager is now streaming on Disney+Hotstar.

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