Sumeet Vyas: I don't act when I'm directing

Sumeet Vyas, known for his roles in the early days of Indian web series with Permanent Roommates (2014) and Tripling (2016), recently discussed how he chooses which stories to narrate. “We decided to tell stories because we like narrating stories. Agar maza nahi aa raha toh kahani nahi kehni chahiye," he says.
Now a father to a young boy, Sumeet’s latest project, Raat Jawaan Hai, which he co-wrote and directed, explores the friendships of three young parents. In a recent conversation, he shared what inspired him to bring a parenting story to the screen and why he prefers to avoid following trends in the web series space.

'I didn’t want to make a series about how hard it is to be a parent of a young child'

Sumeet, the parent of a four-year-old, shares that many elements in the show have been drawn from personal experiences. He says,"Our writer, Khyati Anand, has written the show. In fact, we met at the park where our kids play. I knew Khyati as 'Kabir ki mummy.' Coincidentally, one day, she told me, 'I've written a show. Would you like to direct it?' When I read it, I found it very relatable. The writing felt honest and insightful - it wasn't superficial at all."

Sumeet says that he didn’t want to make a show about how hard it is to be a parent of a young child. He says,"Instead, I wanted to say that these three characters have taken time off from their work and personal lives to dedicate these initial 3-4 years to their kids. They're not going to work or parties so that they can spend this precious time with their children because this time won’t come back."

Sumeet says that when he read the script, he felt that no one had explored the genre of modern parenting so honestly.He says,"This space felt right for us because, since it hasn’t been done before, doing it now puts us in a very advantageous position."

After Permanent Roommates, a lot of other shows came up in the same format

Talking about never being trapped by what's popular and what works, he says,"We did two seasons of Permanent Roommates back to back. What happened was that after Permanent Roommates, a lot of other shows came up in the same format. Some were good, some average, some bad. That topic was being explored a lot at that time. Then we thought that if we did another similar show on the same topic, there would be no space for it. Banane ke liye banana achha nahi hai. Toh humne saat-aath saal nahi banaye. We released the third season of Permanent Roommates last year because we thought there was space at present for this genre."

He adds,"For Tripling, we did three seasons over all these years. What I feel is that the timing for a series is really important. I always think - kya ye waqt sahi hai ye kahani sunane ka? Agar sahi hai to hum karenge, ya hamare paas genuinely koi kahani hai jo humein kehni hai - woh bhi bahut zaroori hai. I don't think I've ever done writing or directing thinking, project bana dete hain."

'If earning money had been our only purpose, we would have done a job in a bank or sold shares'

Just before doing this series, he did a play Purane Chawal, and in the last 8-9 years, he hadn't directed a play, but he did it because it was exciting. Sumeet says,"Koi kahani hoti hai jo excite karti hai aur aap phir kehte ho - chalo ab karte hain. Kai log uska vipreet (opposite) karte hain - abhi action bahut chal raha hai. Aisa action koi likh de, ye actor kar lega, isko bhi action karna hai. This is not a motivation to tell stories; I feel there is a higher probability of getting it wrong this way."

Isn't it a familiar pattern in cinema and the OTT space? One moment, we’re inundated with police procedural dramas, and the next, with family-centric series or light-hearted college comedies, and then nostalgia for the '90s.
He says,"Tabhi hum log utne samriddh log nahi hain jitne baaki log hain kyunki hum log apne tareeqe se kaam karna pasand karte hain, isliye hum kam kaam kar rahe hain, kam paisa kama rahe hain, kam naam kama rahe hain. Agar hum bhi thoda market ko pakad ke chal rahe hote toh behtar kar rahe hote."(laughs)

He adds, "Hamare liye maza aana bahut zaroori hai. Agar kisi bhi kaam mein maza aana band ho jaye toh most likely main chhor deta hoon. Kyun karna? If earning money had been our only purpose, we would have done a job in a bank or sold shares, but we decided to tell stories. We decided to tell stories because we like narrating stories. Agar maza nahi aa raha toh kahani nahi kehni chahiye."

'When I act, I prefer only acting'
Sumeet's on-screen roles, from Mikhu Bhaiya to a bunch of other shows and films, have have made him a household name. So, with such a big following, why did he choose not to cast himself in Raat Jawaan Hai?
He shares,"In theatre, I don't act when I'm directing. Bahut kaabil log hote hain jo dono kar lete hain. Mujhe utna maza nahi aata hai dono saath mein karne mein. When I act, I prefer only acting. I don't want to think about other things. And when I'm directing, I enjoy working with actors, designing shots, blocking scenes, and figuring out how an actor will perform a scene and how good it will look."
He shared that he filmed a cameo for the show Raat Jawan Hai, but chose to cut it during editing.

'Making mistakes is normal - our parents made plenty of mistakes while raising us, and it was okay'

Talking about modern parenting, he says,"There’s a need to strike a balance because if you focus too much on one relationship, you end up putting unnecessary pressure on it. That’s when parents start micromanaging. I think modern parenting is difficult because there’s no room for mistakes. But making mistakes is normal - our parents made plenty of mistakes while raising us, and it was okay. It’s not like we were at each other’s throats."
He says,"I'm a parent of a young kid, Khyati is too, our producer has two little daughters, our sound recordist has a small child, and even our costume designer does. It so happened that the people associated with this project were all able to relate to the concept of young parents and their challenges. Iss terah ki kahani chunte hain, ye chaar actor lete hain, aur kuch bhi bana dete hain. Uss terah se kaam karna mujhe pasand nahi hai. Mere ko ye hai ki kahani soojhi hai, paanch logon ko bhi pasand aayi hai, ab figure out karte hain kahan se finance aayega, kaun se network pe jayega."