Y-Films — “One that dared to go against their Parampara”
With every passing web series, I wish I could go back to my Disney and Star One Serials. I still remember those times in school breaks and colony play time where we girls used to discuss the twists and turns from Miley Jab Hum Tum to Dill Mill Gayye to Dhoom Machoa Dhoom to many more. I even used to enjoy those Disney serials like Hannah Montana, Lizze Macquire and That’s so Raven after school hours without even changing my uniform. There is a reason why Millennials in India want to go back to those 90s era. It is not just to see Sachin,Dravid ,Sehwag and Ganguly bat together but to relive those moments when we were used to Sonu Nigam’s and Shaan’s voice than Arijit’s and waking up to Sanjeev Kapoor’s show Khana Khazana rather than to your phone’s constant Good morning WhatsApp forwards. I guess we, 90s Kids have the tendency to remember those TV serials and shows of 90s very well because during those days living room , where TV used to be there was a place where the entire family used to spent time together and now the entertainment has definitely changed from family-viewing to personal viewing.

This also explains the fact why Sarabhai vs Sarabhai’s producers thought of going to Web instead of TV. Few days back when I was watching Sarabhai vs Sarabhai Take 2 in Hotstar I missed those laughs which used to be in our living rooms. I wish they would have aired it on TV so that the new generation would have at least one show to remember their childhood days by. Specially for a 90s middle class kid the journey can be very well described as journey from Kasautii Zindagii Kay to Hum Paanch to Bade Ache Lagthe the . Bade Ache Lagthe the was definitely the last soap opera that I could remember before that I left for college. But in college fortunately, before the Q-Tiyapa , Roasts , Stand-up comedy and Web series days , I came across a gem called Rishta.com in YouTube. Perhaps this show was way ahead of its time. I was blown off by the whole concept,direction and how original and real the script was. What makes Rishta.com a utter masterpiece in Indian Television is the maturity that it commands and muster the contents of practical life elements so elegantly through its main protagonist played by Shruti Seth and Kavi Shastri. The credit definitely goes to the director Rishabh Seth to beautifully pull off each episode and restricting it only 26 episodes which makes it special and unforgettable. I was surprised when I came to know about the fact that this serial was produced by none other than YRF Television and to my surprise they have also produced other serials like Mahi Way and Kottey Sikkhe which were very well received by the critics but failed to generate TRPs like Rishta.com. I still remember when Ratna Pathak Shah said in one of her interviews that Sarabhai vs Sarabhai failed to generate TRPs when it was first aired on TV in 2004 when Star One was launched but it caught the much needed attention when the re-runs happened in 2008. I think its time to re-launch Rishta.com through Y-Films given that it would very well fit into the Web-series format. After the discovery of this serial, I was happy about the fact that much of the money that they generated out of many of the films featuring Uday Chopra barring the Dhoom series until they realized it is necessary to have ‘Act’ in Actor was put into good use by making some gems in Indian Television for the younger audiences.

When we talk about Yash Chopra, Aditya Chopra and YRF in general, the first thing that comes to our mind is the contribution that YRF have made to the Switzerland Tourism and the fact that SOTC has even launched a bollywood tourism package out of it in collaboration with YRF and we do need to admit that watching a YRF film was definitely a passport to a world outside the one we inhabit. Despite their CSR activites like producing films like Rocket Singh : Salesman of the year, Detective Byomkesh Bakshi,Titli , Dum Laga ke Haisha and introducing Ranveer Singh, bringing Y-Films into the limelight was something that charmed me and the fact that they were venturing into something out of their comfort zones without the involvement of the so-called “Passion following engineers” was something which was brave. Their first project was Lov ka the end which introduced Shraddha Kapoor and after that she hasn’t done a YRF film again, maybe this was the way they apologized to us. Jokes aside, the reason is that she walked out of the three film deal with YRF for Aashiqui 2. Next project which was Nupur Aasthana’s Mujhse Fraandship Karoge , other than the “Facebook-ishly middle class” title of the film ,this film gave us two superbly talented actors Saqib Saleem and Saba Azad along with a decent tightly scripted Bollywood Romantic Comedy with a great chemistry among the new cast and also a big thanks for bringing Raghu Dixit’s refreshing tracks and music into limelight. It was disheartening to see Y-Films did not invest in the expansion of their Film Production business especially after the good momentum they gained after Mujhse Fraandship Karoge. They could have targeted a specific audiences and brought such Teen Rom-Com’s and coming of age stories and hence by giving the Indian collage going youth a better variety so that we could have had our own library of such films rather than searching in Hollywood for these genres.
But nevertheless, they came back in action with a brilliant Web-series titled “Man’s World” by Vikram Gupta starring Gaurav Pandey, who had made a fantatic debut in Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania. The series had a very well defined intention and was made in collaboration with UN’s sustainable goal and it gained enough traction in web . The episodes introduced us to the concept of what it is like to be women by making a man walk in women’s shoes. It was very well illustrated by covering all the stages of the life and cameos played by the Bollywood celebrities specially by the in-house talent of YRF were impeccable. This was indeed a big advantage for the makers which they got by collaborating with movie production houses and they utilized it quite well. Since all the episodes had the same approach towards their goal, it felt quite preachy after 2 episodes. I found the show to be sexist in the name of being feminist. Although they did a wonderful job with the casting and production value. This was definitely a first step of YRF in the digital world on the road less traveled.

After a gap of 1 month, Y-Films came up with a RomCom Web series Bang Baaja Baaraat(BBB) by Anand Tiwari . It was so refreshing to finally see the mature talk of love which comes in the 5th Episode between the protagonist and their parents. That was definitely the most heart-warming scene in the series. BBB also gained a sudden traction because of the unexpected bikini bomb sensation Angira Dhar and the serial kisses scattered uniformly across the 5 webisodes . YRF has come a long way from the Mehadi Lagage Rakhna “ Bachelorette Party” to a Bikini Themed Party taking a step in the right direction to suit the New Gen Audience. BBB is a truly contemporary Rom-com that doesn’t shy away from showing the more risky aspects of urban relationships. The shows strength is again in the casting and the characterization of each character. It was go good to see Rajit Kapoor and Shernaz Patel let themselves loose among young cast. From Direction, to the script showing all the complications of a new age romance dealing from family acceptance,commitment doubts to showing a way to overcome these was truly commendable. The Heroine Angira Dhar is a definitely a great find. BBB has the power to increase the niche audience of such shows and that is surely a metric of success.
Third time’s the charm. Y-Films proved this with their Quirky web series , my personal favorite “Ladies Room — 2 girls , 6 loos” . The concept was so fresh and they capitalized on the fact the why does girls go to washroom in groups as soon as they reach a restaurant. The credit goes to the amazing writers of the show Ratnabali Bhattacharjee and Neha Kaul Mehra for letting the girls talk like they do. The dialogues were so realistic , sarcastic and funny all at the same time. Whenever TVF or AIB used to make videos on Boys hostels and their friendship , we really missed a hard-core Girl friendship series. Thanks Y-Films for giving us our Veeru and Jai in Khanney and Dinko. They were unabashedly and unapologetically funny and asanskari. The casting crew of Y-Films Shanoo Sharma should get a gold medal for casting Shreya Dhanwanthary and Saba Azad as Khanney and Dinko respectively. The beauty of the series lies in the fact that without giving a moral lesson or being preachy about feminism , they did much more than any other so called “Feminist” series including their own Man’s World. From their choice of all the six loos , the subtlety they had in all the episodes for example showing a women stand up comedian and showing that she can be funny and uncanny and the fact that each episode was only of 10 mins was an added attraction in itself with leaving us wanting more. I think Y-Films and Aashima Chibber did an incredible job in creating a classic series for all the girls to remember by.

We all have had that experience in our childhood when we used to change the channel while watching TV with family as soon as a kissing / sex scene comes or our parents used to sent us to get a glass a water . For today’s generation to encounter this experience in itself is a difficult one given the fact that everybody in the house have their own viewing device. Anyways, Y-Films has made an attempt to probably relieve our younger generation of this awkwardness with their new web series “Sex Chat With Pappu And Papa”. This was a bold and brave move from producer-director Ashish Patil, man behind the Y-Films to engage father-son in engaging discussion regarding various topics and they skillfully covered each topic be it masturbation, Pregnancy, Condoms, Periods and last by not the least and the most beautifully communicated episode Homosexuality. Mother-Daughter conversation is still common and happens in our day-to-day but the fact they showed a father-son conversation really stood out. Patil used humour and so relateable analogies to bridge the generation gap. The credit goes to amazing wirters Gopal Dutt and Devang Kakkad. No use of graphics and the facts that roll out during the credit scenes after each episode is so thoughtful and makes it very easier for the webisodes to be a part of school’s sex education curriculum. By using a small kid of 8 years they also put forth a message that if a kid is old enough to ask the question , then he/she is definitely ready to know the answers as well. The series have encouraged the parents to take notes for a change. The small thing that I noticed in this series was that all the characters from the previous Y-Films web series crossed paths during various episodes and I though if Marvel movies can do, so can we. This was an incing on the cake. Kudos to the director for conceptualizing this.
With each and every series , Y-Films have given us some incredible actors, unconventional stories and has stepped out the comfort zone of YRF. This is what made me like Y-Films and the fact that they are so different from their parent company yet maintaining the production values and thereby going against the”Parampara”of the family. Isn’t this what the every new generation is meant to do and hence creating their own identity. In midst of all these web series and movies, Y-Films joined hands with Brooke Bond Red Label to give a voice to the transgender community without trying to get preachy or patronizing through the language of Music. The Brooke Bond Red Label 6-Pack band has been curated by composer Shameer Tandon and it comprised of 6 transgender singers who were from India’s ‘Hijra’ community that released 6 songs backed by 6 music videos. This was Y-Films’ most important project that went on to became the Grand Prix winner in the Glass Loin Award Category in Cannes by Mindshare, who played a very important role in creating this for Brooke Bond Red label and Y-Films. Also for a brand that is that established and is a household product to really take on the issue of transgenders was really commendable.
It is sad that Y-Films hasn’t been active for past quite a few months after Sex chaat with Pappu and Pappa. I hope they don’t loose out on the momentum and the loyal audience and subscriber base which once gained is more than difficult to sustain in this ever changing digital world. But fortunately, an year ago, they had released this intriguing trailer of Darr 2.0 , which will be set in a new milieu and is a modern, original tale of obsession and fear in the age of cyber stalking and digital crimes directed by Vikas Chandra , Associate Creative Producer on Detective Byomkesh Bakshi. It is a great spin on the original SRK’s Darr . Y-films, you have definitely given us some memorable series which we will keep repeating to our next Generation like our parents do with Hum Paanch, Sanjeevni and Yeh jo hai Zindagi. I hope you will keep up the momentum and the unconventional streak. Until next time …
