'We Have to Engage & Entertain Audiences, Not Preach': Zoya Akhtar

Made In Heaven 2 releases on Amazon Prime Video on 10 August.

Zoya Akhtar speaks about Made In Heaven 2 and more.

(Photo: The Quint)

The much-anticipated second season of Made In Heaven is all set to release on Amazon Prime Video on 10 August. Ahead of the show's release, The Quint caught up with the creators - Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Alankrita Srivastava, Nitya Mehra and Neeraj Ghaywan - to speak about the love and appreciation that season one received, what's different in season 2, representation in the Hindi film industry and more.

Speaking about season 2 Alankrita replied, "I feel this season has dug deeper into the characters and themes." Zoya added, "It's bigger and grander in scale. This season has bigger cameos and faces. But what's different in season two is that it has more soul. It's more layered and more delicate and painful for the characters. I find that more gratifying."

One of the new faces in Made In Heaven 2 is 26-year-old trans doctor and social media personality Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju. When asked about representation on screen and the importance of getting people from a particular community to play themselves Zoya said, "It's very important to get people from the community, and it speaks about your intention in doing so. You have to have them as part of the journey and share their experiences, because only then can it be honest and empathetic, otherwise you are just putting your projection onto something."

Neeraj echoed her thoughts and said, "Representation involves respecting the lived experiences of the people you are narrating stories about. It should come from a place of education and empathy. You can't come from a patronizing gaze of, 'Tell me two bits about your life and we will make it happen.' You have to involve people from the communities, learn from them and then put your stories forward."

Watch the video for more.

Video editor: Veeru Krishan Mohan