Amazon miniTV’s new show Jamnapaar is an aspirational drama about a young professional on his path to what he deems as success. Streaming since May 24, Jamnapaar recorded the biggest web series opening ever on Amazon miniTV. It follows Shantanu Bansal aka Shanky (Ritvik Sahore), a final year CA student who is ashamed of his East Delhi roots. He wants to have a ‘cool’ corporate life in South Delhi and sets out to make his dream a reality without realising the pitfalls along the way. The show’s visuals—from the humble lanes leading to the Bansals’ house and Shanky’s CA classes to tall office buildings in South Delhi—capture the contrasts and conflicts between both worlds. Clashing family ideologies and an inner battle between his morals and dreams leave Shanky in a difficult position where he struggles to find his identity. Jamnapaar gives viewers a front row-seat to Shanky’s self-discovery journey.
The 10-episode show also stars Varun Badola and Anubha Fatehpuria, who play Shanky's middle-class parents, while Ankita Saigal plays the role of his sister. Raghu Ram plays the role of Rajat Thapar, a Jamnapaar-boy-turned-South-Delhi-biggie who’s idolised by Shanky. We caught up with Sahore and Ram to learn more about their characters and what it was like working on Jamnapaar. Edited excerpts.
Tell us about your character and the show in general.
Sahore: I play Shanky who is going through that teenage phase where he feels that he knows it all and everyone else is wrong. He is a very bright student and his father wants him to do something that he doesn't want to do. But, he is very focused and knows he can make something of himself with his capabilities and will go to any lengths to achieve his dreams.
Ram: My character Rajat Thapar is the poster boy of what success should look like—he is alluring and enticing with the glitter of gold but yes, everything that glitters may not be gold. We all have goals and ambitions, we want to scale heights of success but we all have moments where we doubt our capabilities. So, to see somebody who has come from where you are and has reached that place is inspiring. For Shanky, that inspiration comes from my character who originally hails from Jamnapaar and is a big name in South Delhi now.
Ritvik, the show follows Shanky’s journey of finding his roots after struggling to make choices that require him to sacrifice his morals. Have you been in a situation where you felt you’d take the moral high ground by making the harder choice?
Just like Shanky, I deeply value my morals but yes, there are times when you have to align them in a way where you can achieve what you want to without completely letting go of your self-respect and morals. I have been in situations where I have tried to make decisions keeping those values aside but at the same time not letting go of them. Having said that, not a lot can happen in your comfort zone and as they say, for achieving something you have to sacrifice something—there is a price you have to pay.
Raghu, you’ve spent some years of your life in Jamnapaar. How did it feel to represent a place you once called home?
I absolutely loved it! Being a part of the show really felt like I was back there and all the characters felt like they truly were from Jamnapaar. I could perceive that since that is where I am from. It was amazing and I can't describe it—the writers have captured the inner conflicts of the place very well.
Raghu, can we expect to see parallels between you as Shanky’s mentor and you as a judge on Roadies?
On Roadies, I was a very tough task master—some people looked at me as a mentor but I was not. It was very tough and on-face and if you could find inspiration in that, it's up to you. There is no such strong parallel between my character in Jamnapaar and me being a judge there—I had to get away from the persona of Roadies Raghu which I had developed.
What was a standout scene for you while shooting Jamnapaar?
Sahore: There is a confrontation scene between Shanky and his family. It was a long scene—very time consuming and full of emotions. With long emotional scenes, there are multiple angles and takes, so you really have to stay in the state of that emotion because it is very easy to lose that with exhaustion. But in that scene, I really felt like I achieved something and reached someplace else. After we locked that scene I felt very satisfied.
Ram: I had a scene where I was supposed to come out of the swimming pool in my trunks and I was very nervous about it because I have never done something like that before. I tried to convince the director, the DOPs (director of photography) and the assistant directors that maybe we can proceed without that particular shot. But then the director said ‘You will do the shot!’ and so then we had to do it.
What was your last purchase on Amazon.in?
Sahore: I recently bought a bike so I got some shoe protectors for the gears from Amazon.
Ram: I think my wife recently purchased an Audible book of Frozen for my 4-year old son and I got some fish oil tablets for myself.
Jamnapaar is now streaming exclusively on Amazon miniTV for free.
