With his last film, Aunty Ji, starring Shabana Azmi, director, Adeeb Rais, sent out a strong message about how people are judged based on their looks and age. The short film garnered positive reviews for its strong storyline.
But Adeeb’s new project, Yeh Crazy Dil, is not as intense. It’s a romantic story. “We talk about what happens after a break-up. I feel, of late, people are breaking up more than falling in love. It is the ‘swipe right’ era. This is a bitter-sweet love story about a young boy and girl who part ways to rediscover themselves,” explains Adeeb. But what’s more interesting about Yeh Crazy Dil, is the fact that, the director turns actor as the lead character in this web series. Cast opposite him is Zoa Morani, who was last seen in the film Bhaag Johnny.
Talking about working as an actor while directing, Adeeb reveals it was a difficult task. “It was an added challenge. I had to work on my lines and spend time with my co-actors to get the chemistry right. While doing all of this, I was also responsible as the director. But yes, being on camera has helped me get better as a director through the perspective of an actor,” he offers.
Though Adeeb started with films such as Kuch Spice (a short film starring Purab Kohli), Main Aur Mr Right (a feature film with Shenaz Treasury and Barun Sobti) and Lovey Dovey (a short film starring Nidhi Singh), he was keen on experimenting with a web series because of the format. "The biggest challenge with directing a web series is to tell a story that gets people hooked right from episode one. The story that runs for a few hours needs to be balanced and interesting,” he says in conclusion.
Yeh Crazy Dil will be available online later this month on MX Player