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Like its lead heroine Bela Choudhury, Call Me Bae too has had its own journey. It began in 2018 when Karan Johar was mulling the idea of making a spin-off show on Kareena Kapoor’s iconic character Poo from his 2001 blockbuster film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Somen Mishra, head of Dharmatic Entertainment, the digital arm of Karan’s Dharma Productions, put out a call for budding female writers on his Facebook profile and one Ishita Moitra got in touch with them and they were finalised after screening samples of their work.
(Also Read – Call Me Bae Review: Ananya Panday is perfect in her candid, decidedly clean series debut)
Somen told us, “She knew Poo well, knew all the dialogues very well. She can quote it verbatim. Ask her.” But the Poo project did not come to fruition after Kareena got pregnant in 2020. It was later rewritten for a younger protagonist and eventually, Ananya Panday came on board as Bey. In an exclusive interview, Ishita spoke to Hindustan Times about how she shaped the show, crafting men in Bey’s world and continuing the trend of ‘sistercode’.
Then how did Poo become Bay?
Like all the best things, this one too comes back to Karan. So initially, Karan had an idea in mind – what if Poo grows up poor? And the first concept note I wrote on this show was named – POO-R! Later as things evolved, Karan, Somen and I decided that the show would possibly work better as a young adult series, with a young protagonist navigating the ways of the world, a new city, a new job, love, friendship dilemmas and essentially finding the gold within himself. And thus, Bay was born.
Karan said at the trailer launch that Bey could have been Poo’s daughter. How did you ensure that Poo did not have a hangover and Bey could do things on her own?
She is definitely a part of the Poo universe, with her courage, her one liners, her fashion goals and her affirmations. However, Bey is also her own person, we tried to infuse her with a lot of empathy, kindness, a rare awareness of her privilege, the ability to admit one’s mistakes. Also, the language we have given her is of today’s time and we hope it will make her stand out as a confident young woman of 2024.
After working in Call Me Bae, Karan signed you for his directorial venture Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. Despite being from different parts of Delhi, Bae and Rocky Randhawa have a lot of similarities. Do you see any similarities between the two?
Yes, when you point this out, I see that both have their hearts in the right place, both are “Dildaar – Yaaron Ke Yaar”, both are judged by the world and both are able to surprise them in the end. However, they are also very different, Bey is extremely polished and aware and will think 10 times before labelling someone, she will probably check their pronouns before addressing them. Rocky is the exact opposite.
From your personal experience, how do you identify South Delhi girls like Bey? What is it about them that the world finds wrong?
I don’t think it’s about South Delhi girls or South Mumbai girls. It’s actually about how quickly we judge people in today’s world. Everyone has their own struggles, be it a chowkidaar, a chota chor or a bey. So, I think with the show, we are trying to make a passionate appeal to everyone to make the world a kinder place for each other. Life is tough anyway.
Vir Das as Satyajit Sen could be the perfect villain for modern times. How did you choose this character?
Casting him was a masterstroke and all credit goes to our director Collin (D’Cunha) and our casting director Panchami Ghavri, who made Veer our SS. We in the writers’ room (Samina Motlekar, Rohit Nair and I) always wanted SS to have a balance of evil and humour. It’s a thin line and it’s great to see how Veer has pulled off this role. It’s a great performance. I love every scene with him.
‘Sistercode’ is at the core of this show. What did you want to highlight through this theme of sisterhood?
To me, sistercode is the answer to bro code. It’s when women support each other and fix each other’s crowns. And so, we’ve turned a slur about women into a word used for sisterhood. When sisters come together, they can run the world.
How did you maintain the tonal consistency of not just Bay, but the whole show? That it has fun and back-and-forth, yet also has some growth.
Our whole job as writers is to make sure the characters remain themselves and yet grow and develop. And you see that growth in subtle ways, the parts of them that don’t work for them change slowly and not all of a sudden and the parts you love stay deeply ingrained in them. Sometimes, we’re able to achieve that. Sometimes not. But that’s always the goal.
How would you rate the three guys who are after Bey on the Green Flag scale? Prince, Agastya and Neil.
Both Neil and Prince are full of Green Flag energy. They are supportive, sensitive, kind, intelligent men who believe in consent. I think Aggie is a more genuine character. However, even he is not a Red Flag but a Green Flag because as you see in the show, he too is capable of taking a hard look in the mirror and turning around. The only big Red Flag is SS.
Even though it’s been tough for Bay, the show has definitely remained clean. LostTale is a dream hostel, and landing a journalism job through a viral reel is like something straight out of a fairy tale book. Were you ever afraid it might seem unrelatable or exaggerated?
The idea was to make it such a fun, fairy tale (as you rightly said) comedy drama with an uplifting narrative. Comedy always arises from exaggerating an observation. The setting is definitely unrelatable as it is highly aspirational. However, all the emotions are very relatable.
In the end, I believe Four More Shots Please! helped you walk the walk so you could run with Rocky and Rani and Bey. How did working on that show shape you as a screenwriter?
You’re absolutely right. That show made me realize there’s a place for stories like that and when it was nominated for an International Emmy, it made me realize the world needs stories where women come together. Because those four flawed women walked the walk, so Bay can be flawed!
Call Me Bay is streaming on Prime Video India.
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