Ram Madhvani reveals: Aarya was initially planned as a movie 10 or 12 years ago

Amita, my co-producer, and I met her, and within five minutes, she said 'yes'. I half-expected her to reconsider, thinking her lawyer might call back two days later saying no no - she’s changed her mind, but with Sushmita, when she says something straight to you, she truly means it. And, so, she said yes. I was pleasantly surprised by her excitement for the role, and she mentioned, 'I have manifested this. This is truly what I've been looking for.' Working with her has been an absolute delight.

What I liked about 'Penoza' was family and its exploration of family dynamics. I also appreciated the fact that the series dealt with betrayal, truth, and trust, and the ideas of betrayal and trust against the family backdrop interested me.

Around 10 or 12 years ago it was initially planned as a movie. However, a month before the shoot, it got scrapped for various reasons. Though it deeply affected me, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Neerja happened as a result. Seven or eight years later, Disney Plus Hotstar approached me and asked if I would like to revive it as a series. Since I knew what to do with the story and had already written the script, I agreed, thinking it would be a good thing to do.

That's how, once I understood how to culturally adapt it and realized it wasn't just about crime but truly about a family, the whole concept clicked. It could have been set against any backdrop, and it revolves around a mother and the moral choices she makes as a woman. Thanks to Disney Plus Hotstar, we are now in season three, and we are very grateful for the incredibly positive reactions.

Yes, making it into a series worked in my favour. I keep saying it was not just the universe on my side but Miss Universe on my side too.

I'm surrounded by strong females — my wife Amita, who's our co-producer, my mother, my wife’s mother, my grandmother (whom I used to call Baa), and my sisters-in-law. There are many women I work with, in the office. It's fascinating to see them juggle various roles as wives, girlfriends, mothers, workers, co-workers, and friends. The roles they tightrope walk on are done with such grace, and with a lot of courtesy and strength. I'm fascinated by the way many women navigate the different roles in their lives. That's why all the women in my life are such huge inspirations.

Well, my parents, Amita, and her parents—both our parents—are big influences on me. When I joined Equinox, I started as a trainee under Sumantra Ghosal, who was my boss and later made me a partner. Today, Amita and I own Equinox, and he has been a significant influence in my life.

Apart from that, obviously, both my brothers, the family and my friends have played a crucial role. On the filmmaking front, there is a British filmmaker called Mike Leigh who truly influenced me a lot. I've watched all of his movies; although many people may not know him, he's a director worth seeking out.

Additionally, numerous movies and work in Indian cinema have also had a profound impact on me—filmmakers over the last 20-30 years like Yash Chopra, Satyajit Ray, and Guru Dutt have influenced me a lot.

Between ad filmmaking and feature filmmaking, I don't actually see that much of a difference. Advertising taught me to ask three crucial questions: 1. What are you saying? 2. How are you saying it and 3. Who are you saying it to? Most importantly, it taught me to consider how people should feel, what’s the emotional response we are seeking.

So, I'm constantly asking myself how the audience should feel when they are watching something. I’m in the feelings business. I'm in a mood-altering business. That, I believe, is the Riyaz that advertising taught me, and I carry it forward into series and feature films.

I owe a lot of my craft to advertising, and I'm very thankful for it. And to everybody in advertising, I say no, I'm not making feature films or series, and everybody in feature films and series, I say no, no, I'm not making ads. Because I want to do both and quite honestly, I want to continue making all kinds of cinema. I’m happy when I’m making any form of cinema.

Well, as a director, there are a couple of things. First, I am interested in what is being said, how it's being said, and how it makes you feel. Also a lot of the time, I always incorporate some spirituality, philosophy, and themes that will elevate the show or the film. Those elevations, whether from the Bhagavad Gita or the Sanskrit shlokas, are things that reverberate widely and are teachings that I inherited from my parents and Amita's parents.

So, I try to infuse a philosophical angle into everything that I do. Apart from that, I like to place my characters in moral dilemmas so they can make moral choices about who they are. Basically, those moral choices are what define them.

I really want to work with any actor or actress who wants to work with me. Instead of me wanting to work with them, it's their desire and power to greenlight projects and their hunger to work with me that’s most important. So, I am just happy when any actor says, 'I would like to work with you,' because I am in the service of that actor. They are the ones who actually decide whether the project will be made or not. I would just love to work with any actor who would love to work with me.