'Raakh' director Prosit Roy: Initially, in my head, I was planning to give Ali Fazal a look like Vinod Khanna
Mumbai, June 22
Director Prosit Roy, who is receiving a lot of positive response to the recently released streaming series 'Raakh', had planned to present Ali Fazal's character of a cop in a very flamboyant way. The director wanted to give Ali the look of Vinod Khanna of the 1970s.
However, as the pre-production picked up momentum, he was advised by the show's creative team to take a different route for the lead character.
The director spoke with IANS after the show's release along with Ali Fazal, Sonali Bendre, Aamir Bhashir, Ramandeep Yadav, Anusha Nandkumar and Sandeep Sanket.
Talking about the research and pre-production, the director said, "So, we did a lot of research, there was one level of research which happened when Anusha and Sandeep were writing, so that research was also there and then when I joined in, there was one more level of research which happened because that was more detailed into the casting of the period, the production design, all the buses, cars, everything".
He told IANS, "We also met policemen from that era, they told us how the hair should be, and how the moustache should be. So, initially, in my head, I was planning to give Ali a look like Vinod Khanna and then, I was told that it doesn't happen like that because we are all influenced by the 70s films but those are not the right references. So, eventually, we dig deeper, I had a very good team of my assistants, they all dig deeper into it and we managed to pull out all the references and then after that, one by one, we created this period together with every department".
"A lot of it is also how it was shot because the structure of the shooting was also quite very different because at that time, we used to get only one type of light. So, the tube lights were just being introduced. So, if you see, there are tube lights in the police station itself but in the rest of the houses, all the tungsten lights are there. So, little by little, you know, we built the world", he added.
'Raakh' is available to stream on Prime Video.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Ali Fazal as a 1970s cop! The Vinod Khanna inspiration makes sense - he was the epitome of style in that era. But I appreciate that they didn't just go for a copy-paste look. The attention to tube lights and tungsten lighting shows real dedication to period accuracy.
Interesting approach - sometimes our pop culture references of an era are actually distorted by movies made later. Good on them for going back to primary sources. Would love to watch this series now!
Sonali Bendre is also in this! Makes me nostalgic. And the director's emphasis on research gives me hope for good content. But I wish they'd shown us more of the actual moustache styles and uniforms they decided on - that's the juicy detail people want to know! 😄
Honestly, after watching too many OTT shows with lazy production design, this is refreshing. Even small details like the type of lighting in police stations vs houses shows they took the world-building seriously. Hope the writing matches the production value.
As someone who loves period pieces, I appreciate the commitment to authenticity over style. The Vinod Khanna look would have been cool, but real 70s cops looked different for a reason. This is how you honor an era - by getting it right.
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