This is the first time that real-life couple Rohit Bose Roy and Manasi Joshi Roy shared screen spaceActor-couple Rohit Bose Roy and Manasi Joshi Roy are all set to spread love through their web show Locked in Love. The five-episode series is streaming on Hungama Play. Apart from acting, Rohit has also directed the show that will bring alive five love stories, each focusing on a different trait of relationship.
The actors recently interacted exclusively with indianexpress.com during an Instagram live session, about their experience of making the show. Rohit Bose Roy spoke about creating the series and how he had initially planned it to be just one story, which turned out to be five at the end.
“We are really excited to bring this to the audience. The initial response has been really good. Honestly, we didn’t know where we were heading when we started it. During the lockdown, we just felt that we should make use of the time we have. Also, while we both have individually done so much work, we never shared screen together. Since no one gave that chance, we decided to do it now,” shared Roy with a smile.
He went on to further add, “Two months back, when we were already weeks into the lockdown, we realised that no creative work would happen any soon. And we had a lot of time in hand. Whilst a conversation with Manasi, we decided to make a short film, and it soon became an anthology of five. It all happened very organically. It was actually a coincidence that all of the stories focused on traits love. Even the title, ‘Locked in Love’ came very naturally, as it not only depicts our current lockdown situation but will also tell the story of two people locked in love.”
Manasi Joshi Roy also joined the chat and shared that the moment Rohit discussed the idea with her, it really made her excited. “More than an actor, I love his work as a director. Just to see him work more made me really excited. Also, we felt we couldn’t have used our time better than this.”
The actor confessed that while it was a task to manage house chores and shoot, she shared that women somehow manage to multitask. “Thankfully, I have a strong support system. What also worked in my favour was that I would divide my responsibilities beforehand, to avoid any overlap. Most importantly, acting is not a job for me, it’s my love. So we somehow managed to pull it off well.”
Watch Rohit and Manasi take a fun compatibility test
Interestingly, it was their daughter Kiara, who turned cinematographer for them. Juggling between her online classes and exams, the young girl also made her professional debut with this show. “Times are such that we couldn’t get anyone home to shoot. She has been our biggest support and has done a wonderful job with the camera,” shared the proud parents.
When we asked Rohit when was the time he realised he wanted to be a director, he smiled to share, “I think from my very first show Swabhimaan. My DOP Pravin Bhatt (father of Vikram Bhatt) told me that I keep asking questions like a director. He said, acting is fine, but you will become a director someday. And then more than a decade later, Sanjay Gupta offered me to direct for him. When I asked him, he said the same thing, that I keep talking about filmmaking than acting. I think I realised that direction is my real calling.”
The couple also shared their take on anthology and quipped that given the short attention span of viewers these days, the genre could be perfect for them. “The time commitment is less, and each film has a different story. Since there is no connection, you can watch each one at leisure in your own time,” said Manasi Joshi Roy.
Lastly, the actors pinned out five reasons for the audience to watch their show. Rohit said, “Firstly, it’s the labour of love. And if you believe in love or even if you don’t, you will definitely be able to identify with one of the characters. Secondly, there is a twist in every tale and trust me, you won’t be able to guess it till the end. Thirdly, the world will get to see both of us together for the first time.”
On her part, Manasi said, “Each story is very beautiful and showcases different aspects of love. And lastly, even though it’s been shot during lockdown, the quality is of any film that you have ever seen.”