Naseeruddin Shah as Sangeet Samrat in web series
Anand Tiwari-directed web series Bandish Bandits is set to stream soon on Amazon Prime Video. Actors Ritwik Bhownik, Shreya Chaudhary, Rajesh Tailang and Sheeba Chaddha are the main cast of this ambitious musical love story. Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, who plays the ‘sangeet samrat’ in the series. Also starring Atul Kulkarni, Bandish Bandits will begin streaming from August 4 on Amazon Prime Video. Shreya Chaudhry, who plays pop sensation Tamannah in Bandish Bandits, opened up to the media about what drew her to the script. She said, “The script chose me. I was immediately sold when I came to know about the director and the cast. And things got even better when I read it. Tamannah is very different from Shreya, so that was exciting. Moreover, this is a romantic show woven around music and that aspect was very fresh for me.” Ritwik Bhowmik, who plays the classical musician Radhe in the show, said that he took no time to give his nod to the project. Explaining what had his attention from the word go, the actor said, “I got a call from Amazon and they said Bandish Bandits is basically a Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy musical directed by Anand Tiwari. No one would say no to that. So just like Shreya, I would say that the project chose me rather than me choosing it.”
Both Shreya and Ritwik have earlier shot for films (Dear Maya and the Hindi-Bengali film Dhuusar, respectively) as well as some commercials. However, Amazon Prime Video web series Bandish Bandits will mark their big break in the Hindi entertainment industry. The two actors play artistes who have different approaches and style of music and how their coming together breaks and challenges previously held notions of love and the art form itself. So what can the audience expect from Bandish Bandits? Ritwik said, “It is about relationship dynamics, art vs exhibitionism, mediocrity vs genius among other things. The trailer is just one-tenth of the show.”
We also talked to Rajesh Tailang, who plays a key role in Bandish Bandits. The actor said that the story of Bandish Bandits is special to him for multiple reasons. “It is a personal story for me. I am from Rajasthan and everyone in my family is from a classical background. So this whole process was very identifiable. Plus, it has been shot in Bikaner, which happens to be my hometown. So in a way, this was like homecoming.”
