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Check out what the Founder and Creative Producer of Boundless Media, Natasha Malpani Oswal had to share about their new web-series, Cancelled.
Boundless Media focuses on telling genre-bending, contemporary stories for a new India. They produce long-form and short form content to satiate the audiences’ hunger for smart, original content. With a number of projects in the pipeline, Boundless Media has produced some interesting pieces of content in the recent times with Cancelled being its latest offering.
Cancelled walks us through the life of three youngsters as we get to see how Gen Z is facing the changes brought on by 2020. It has also highlighted how the social-media-savvy youngsters keep up with their life online while also facing online abuse in a fun and relatable manner. We had an interesting chat with Natasha Malpani Oswal (Founder and Creative Producer at Boundless Media) about the show and more.
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Here are some excerpts from the interview:
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What message are you trying to convey through Cancelled?
"We’re living in a strange time. It’s hard to get away from online hate and cyberbullying. Our online and offline lives have also blurred. 'Cancelled' is a fun and very relevant series. We follow the comic capers of three very different GenZ-ers who come together online to save the world from online bullying and realize it’s not easy to be a hero.
We want to shine a light on how much damage trolling and cancel culture (a new phenomenon when a group of people on the internet choose to ‘cancel’ a person’s career and the work they’ve done over decades overnight) can cause in a darkly comic way. Your online behaviour can have real-world consequences- there is a dark side to social media. We all need to be careful about how we engage. Cancelled will entertain you, but will also spark a real conversation."
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What was the inspiration behind the concept of Cancelled and specifically focusing on the younger audience?
"The Class of 2020, as well as GenZ, are dealing with a perfect storm. Just as they were growing up, and leaving home to go to college or start their first jobs, they’ve been forced to move back home, instead of meeting new friends, starting new relationships and finding themselves. They’re spending most of their time online, and they’re beginning to question institutions-the media, the education system- when it’s clear no adult has the answers, in the midst of all this uncertainty. They’re also questioning age-old beliefs: why should they get married? Is sexuality a spectrum? What do skin colour and weight matter?
We wanted to highlight how Gen Z is dealing with change through our 3 main characters- Rishab, Anusha and Vidyut- in a very fun and relatable way. Along with most of the Gen Z generation, they’re all very vocal and savvy on social media, but often have to deal with online abuse. They are also deeply conflicted and insecure in the real world- one of them is dealing with body image issues and ghosting, the other is struggling with his identity and the third is questioning the value of school. it’s hard to tell which of their lives is more real to them.
We think it's important to bring to life the very real struggles so much of the country is going through, through fiction- and also through humour. Sometimes, you can find the most truth in fiction and comedy."
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3. Do you think easy access to the internet has made it easy for miscreants to create trouble?
"Absolutely. It’s easy to be brave and bully people when you don’t have to use your real identity or name. I don’t think people would be as vocal or hateful in the real world, where your words can have direct consequences."
4. How did you manage to shoot with so many restrictions and safety precautions to be followed?
"This is the third series we’ve released in 2020! 'Unseen' is a dark take on mental health during the pandemic, and 'Objectified' is fun and high-energy mixed-media series. We’ve gotten very good at conceptualising, scripting, directing, shooting, and editing online now."
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5. What kind of stories or concepts draw your attention at Boundless Media?
"At Boundless Media, we tell stories for a new India. We look for stories that are truly experimental or genre-bending and also have an element of societal commentary. We want to tell stories that are untold. Our shows are contemporary and cutting-edge. We shine a light on what’s happening in the world in real-time, but always in an entertaining way. We work across formats- short form, film, series- and also genres- comedy, drama, fantasy, horror."
6. Platforms such as yours give upcoming actors an opportunity that didn’t exist a few years ago. How do you scout for talent?
"We’re always scouting for talent. We look for great writers, directors, actors, editors, musicians, animators and designers- and we believe the country is exploding with raw talent. We want to support and nurture both new and upcoming voices. We find talent everywhere - through pitches, cold emails, even on social media!"
7. What is the core philosophy of Boundless Media?
"We want to raise the bar for storytelling. We think the Gen Z and the millennial audience is extremely smart and hungry for high-quality stories. They consume content from all over the world on a daily basis. We want to entertain them, and to start a conversation through our work- we’re all about building community. We think there’s never been a better time to be a storyteller- or to experiment with new formats and genres."
Check out the trailer for Cancelled here: