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<h1 class="left">Meghna: How did the thought of an Indian adaptation of ‘Elite’ come up? What  were the key differences to the original plot you thought were important to make while adapting ‘Elite’ for an Indian audience?</h1>

<h1 class="centre">Ashim: I’ve wanted to make something about teenagers for a while, the strong, conflicted emotions you feel when you’re young. I could personally really relate to that struggle as I was kind of a rebellious, wild teenager myself.  </h1>

<h1 class="centre"> It was just an accident that one day I was offered the Spanish series Elite for a possible adaptation. I had never done a series or even actually considered it. The original show is really different from the films I make, it felt more like a telenovela, but there was something really unique about the writing – the characters, and the class conflict felt very relevant to India. I wanted total freedom to make it my way, which Netflix seemed open to. I wanted the tale to be the same, but the telling to be completely different. I adapted the show through an Indian lens. Here other than class there is also caste – so that makes the conflicts more complex. The way families work, and their involvement in the children’s lives are very different from Spain, so the parents here play a much larger role than in the original. The way the ultra-wealthy work in India is also different, they can buy their way through most difficult situations, which raises the stakes in a drama. This is, of course, because there is also more corruption than in a European scenario. So, in the original, the investigation remains only in flashback, but here the cops are actually part of the crime story, in the sense that they are on the payroll of one of the wealthy parents. There are a lot of social and cultural differences like this, which make it something else altogether. </h1>

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<h1 class="centre">Meghna: With all the talk around “nepo babies” bagging roles in  mainstream Indian media, it was refreshing to see so many new faces.  Tell us about the casting process and how you went about choosing who fits which character best. </h1>

<h1 class="right">Ashim: I was clear that I didn’t want famous kids or anyone well known. Each person needed to be a  discovery. Other than Gurfateh Pirzada, everyone else is more or less a non-actor, each  making their screen debut in Class. A lot of credit goes to our casting directors and also to my producing partner Niharika (Singh), who scoured Instagram to find a cast that realistically fit this world. I think we pretty much screen-tested everyone in each major Indian city. It was  more about the right mix of people who already felt close to the screen characters  themselves, who were authentic and brought a lot of their own lives to the role. Chayan  (Dhruv) was working in a corporate job and had dabbled in acting, Naina (Koel) studied to be  a filmmaker and Anjali Sivaraman (Suhani) had modelled and was a musician. Moses Koul  (Sharan) is also an amazing guitarist, Ayesha Kanga (Yashika) is a designer. All eleven of them are intelligent, and were also exposed to my work and understood that I wasn’t making something mainstream. I should also say that probably barring one  or two people, they were very difficult to lock. I really had to fight to make this casting  happen. It’s just that, for me, there were no second options to play these characters.</h1>

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<h1 class="centre"> Meghna: The characters look like they jumped straight out of a modeling catalog. Vanity is a key theme of the show, but this is also true of  characters whose role doesn’t necessarily revolve around their physical  appearance. Is casting conventionally attractive people a necessary  consideration for a teen drama? </h1>

<h1 class="left">Ashim: No, I don’t think so. In this case it was because this show is mostly about rich kids  that are narcissists. They live for social media. They dress up, work out, and do  all the things that models or movie stars would do, because that’s the world they  occupy. And the poorer kids have no choice but to compete. If you see my other  work, either Miss Lovely or Daddy, I don’t believe you need to have  conventionally attractive people at all. In fact, in Daddy I had to work very hard to tone Arjun Rampal down and make him a lot grittier.</h1>

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<h1 class="centre">Meghna: There are many debates about straight or cisgender people  playing the roles of gay or transgender characters. Since the show features a gay couple, what is your view on casting actors who may not relate to the nuances of sexuality as a member of the LGBTQIA community would, and training them to play the character convincingly? </h1>

<h1 class="centre">The internet really seemed to love Dhruv and Faruq’s storyline. </h1>

<h1 class="right">Ashim: I don’t believe that if you make a war film and have someone playing a soldier, you  need to cast an actual soldier for the role. I just think you cast the right person, and  that person could be gay, straight, trans – whatever fits the character. I’ve cast people I know are gay as straight people, and we don’t have this conversation. What I do believe is that everyone should have access to the industry, no matter their  sexual orientation, caste, class. That’s the real issue for me. And, of course, you  need to understand the nuances of sexuality if that’s what you’re making. Often, in  our country, people who say they are straight may not be, you know, so even those  areas can be very gray. And yes, I love Dhruv and Faruq – they were always meant to be the most romantic, and I’m happy that others also feel that. </h1>

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<h1 class="left">Meghna: Each character’s styling revealed a lot about their persona. From Suhani’s grunge, black on black, Maeve Wiley from Sex Education-esque wardrobe to Faruq’s red headphones and zip-up hoodies. Can you speak about the thought that went behind accentuating each character’s traits through their sartorial choices? </h1>

<h1 class="centre">Ashim: I had the visual world of this show in my head from the time we were writing it, I  kind of knew each of the character’s sartorial choices before I even hired any  crew. For me, Suhani was a sort of emo girl, with a bit of a goth thing going on,  Faruq would be an updated version of a Goa rave kid, Balli would be like a tik-tok  rapper with a lot of knock-off Gucci. Veer and Sharan would be very prep school,  but Sharan’s clothing would always have a bit of a twist. Neeru, in my mind, was  the local hero, dressing like his favourite Bollywood star. Yashika would dress like  influencers on Instagram, Koel would be the Chhatarpur farmhouse-version of a  Prada girl. Each of these choices had to reflect how their characters unfolded on  screen. Balli, for example, starts with a local bazaar vibe but as Koel start  dressing him, his clothes change in the second half. </h1>

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<h1 class="centre">Meghna: How pivotal was talking about caste as a separate issue rather than  clubbing it under the general umbrella of class-based discrimination when showing a story of haves and have-nots? </h1>

<h1 class="right">Ashim: Class and caste are separate but interwoven issues. It was very important to not  forget that these aren’t the same things. Some divisions in India are ancient, and  there are divisions that are modern as well. We are a very complex society  compared to Europe, and it was important to reflect that. Without becoming preachy,  I felt it was important to address these realities and not dumb things down too much. </h1>

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<h1 class="centre">Meghna: For many Indians, the show felt “unrelatable” because of its portrayal of  a world of the uber-rich, consumption of drugs, licentious sex lives, typically not associated with an Indian high school setting. From your research of students belonging to similar schools, is the depravity depicted in the show an exaggeration for the plot’s sake? </h1>

<h1 class="left">Ashim: Honestly, I think anyone who feels the show is unrelatable hasn’t had much  exposure to this world. It doesn’t take much to just google Delhi school scandals or  MMS leaks. It’s all in the public domain. In fact, while we were making the show, the “Bois Locker Room” Instagram controversy happened and a lot of this made it to the  writing of the show. Our show seems tame in comparison to the stuff that’s going on  already. It took a lot of research and immersion in the space to get it right. We had a research  team comprising of kids that had been to schools like this. We heard some truly  shocking stories, about how out of control the kids are, about substance abuse,  about shaming and outing people online – and the way social media plays a huge  role in mediating relationships. Generally we don’t see any of this stuff on Indian screens. But even the less shocking, finer details, like about how kids have bodyguards that follow them around to prevent them from doing drugs, or bodyguards that just play cricket with the kid because the parents are out partying. The character of Suhani’s bodyguard Bahuguna, came from one of these stories</h1>

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<h1 class="centre">Meghna: Class featured an original soundtrack, a newer development for Indian shows. Could you talk about the decision to go this route, the collaborators, and the songs that best complemented moments in the plot? </h1>

<h1 class="right">Ashim: Being an Indian adaptation of Spanish series Elite, there was tremendous pressure  to go mainstream with the soundtrack and select club and pop hits from major players and labels. But I didn’t feel like that reflected exactly what the kids were  listening to, and picked a lot of young bedroom-producers, underground bands and  hip-hop producers that I know. I was a co-founder of Bhavishyavani Future Soundz, one of the first electronic music  collectives in India, so I felt a natural affinity to gravitate to fresh music that wasn’t  being promoted enough.</h1>

<h1 class="right">Other than a familiar label like Azaadi Records – the show  has a Prabhdeep track – I picked new sounds from hip-hop producers NDS,  Sammad, 3-BHK, D₹V & LOKA and Delhi trap producers Rusha + Blizza. The  soundtrack also features garage/ dubsteb from Yung Raj and Noni-Mouse, and  techno from Spryk. These feature in the party scenes, which I love. There’s lots of  moody atmospheric tracks from Dropped Out, Natiq, Toorjo, DRV & LOKA - mostly  around Suhani’s substance abuse and romance with Neeru. I also reached out across the border to Pakistan and got acts like Janoobi  Kharghosh (recently featured on Ms. Marvel) to be a part of the soundtrack. That’s  the track “Hum Kal Mein” which is probably one of my favourites – it’s when Saba is  accidentally spiked and ends up tripping in front of the speakers at Balli’s party. The other track I love is Girta Sambhalta, originally composed for the show by  Aditya and Nayantara – which is a big part of the score of Dhruv and Faruq’s romance. They also composed the CLASS title theme, which I am very fond of. </h1>

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<h1 class="left">Meghna: Dheeraj’s struggle with his own Dalit identity collides with his brother’s  proud, oftentimes twisted, acceptance. Would the show have sent a  stronger message if roles were reversed, the brother who went to  Hampton International being the revolutionary as opposed to the one attempting to caste-pass.</h1>

<h1 class="centre">Ashim: I don’t think that would feel organic. Dheeraj wants to study and leave his past  behind, he doesn’t want to associate with his family that he feels pulls him back. He wants to explore new horizons, without, he believes, his caste identification. And Hampton appears to be a place where this could happen, he is hopeful about a  future where he isn’t labelled. Neeraj is struggling with his own idealism, he sees his  brother as a sell-out, but things don’t often work out the way he wants them to, there is just too much structural inequality. So I think these character journeys are reflections of their individual beliefs. Also, it’s interesting that both the brothers and  their father all have a different take on what their Bahujan identity is, there is no  single standard identifier. </h1>

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<h1 class="centre">Meghna: Mainstream media, in representing Muslim characters, often resort to the dichotomies of ‘good muslim and bad muslim’. How well do you think Saba’s character broke away from these depictions? </h1>

<h1 class="right">Ashim: She’s imperfect and human. She’s a good student and yet she lies to her  father who she loves very much. She claims to not care about the rich kids, but you  get a sense she sometimes obsesses about them. I love this about her character,  you can’t stereotype her at all. </h1>

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<h1 class="left">Meghna: How have the general reactions been to the show and this venture of  yours? People are curious to know whether there’s a season 2 in the pipeline.</h1>

<h1 class="centre">Ashim: The reaction has been very positive and very open. Those who were comparing the  first trailer to Elite, mostly no longer have that complaint as Class has become its own thing. It’s a relief and totally unexpected. I’ve waited for the day that a part of  our audience is willing to accept something layered, complex and intense, and in this  case they’ve actually celebrated it. My work doesn’t force people into being heroes  and villains, they are all just flawed, messed-up humans, and we don’t see too much  stuff like that. It’s a nice feeling for that to be appreciated. </h1>

<h1 class="centre">I wouldn’t rule out a Season 2. Personally I feel like I’ve said my thing and have had a clear vision setting up this world, I feel it’s now for others to take the story forward.</h1>

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