Mumbai, Maharashtra: In an exclusive conversation with IANS, the cast of 'Made in India: A Tata Story' including actor Jim Sarbh, actor Vaibhav Tatwawadi and actress Namita Dubey shared their experiences working on the series based on Xerxes Desai and the creation of Titan. They spoke about what drew them to the project, praising its strong storytelling, emotional depth and cultural significance in depicting pre-liberalization India. The team also highlighted director Robbie Grewal’s collaborative approach and the positive environment on set. The actors reflected on the show’s nostalgic elements, including its portrayal of the 1990s and use of classic Hindi music and noted how the blend of different acting styles enriched the performances. They described the series as both engaging and educational and expressed gratitude for being part of a meaningful project.
#MadeInIndia #ATataStory #JimSarbh #VaibhavTatwawadi #NamitaDubey #XerxesDesai #Titan #IndianBrands #WebSeries #OTTRelease #RobbieGrewal #IndianIndustry #ActingPerformance #PreLiberalizationIndia #1990sNostalgia #HindiMusic #Storytelling #IndianHistory #CorporateStory #CastInterview #ProductionTeam #CulturalSignificance #IANS
#MadeInIndia #ATataStory #JimSarbh #VaibhavTatwawadi #NamitaDubey #XerxesDesai #Titan #IndianBrands #WebSeries #OTTRelease #RobbieGrewal #IndianIndustry #ActingPerformance #PreLiberalizationIndia #1990sNostalgia #HindiMusic #Storytelling #IndianHistory #CorporateStory #CastInterview #ProductionTeam #CulturalSignificance #IANS
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello everyone, welcome to INS and congratulations for Made in India, a Titan story that's about
00:03to release.
00:05My first question is open to the floor, anyone can take the lead and start.
00:10Of course, it's that one story which we feel deeply connected with and we really feel proud
00:13about.
00:15But what was about your characters respectively that kind of appeal to your senses, artistic
00:20senses and then made you go, made you give your nod to the series so to say, anyone can
00:25take the lead and start.
00:26Sir.
00:26Mic is in your hand.
00:27Mic is in my hand.
00:28Mic is in your hand.
00:28Yeah, please.
00:29First access.
00:35Firstly, I connected to the overall story in general.
00:39Is that how you look at the content in general or is that your first instinct to look at the
00:44story over from the bird's eye view?
00:47Yes.
00:48I think, yeah, I want to be part of this story at all.
00:53First of all.
00:54And second of all, do I love my character within the context of the story?
00:59Then further things like who's the director?
01:01What's the producer?
01:02Who are my co-actors?
01:03Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
01:04Well, but first, so the story itself I thought was fascinating.
01:09Then, of course, it was spearheaded by Xerxes.
01:12And so I liked the scale and ambition of it, not just of our project, but what he had.
01:22Right?
01:24I liked that he really focused on creating a happy work environment.
01:33I loved the principles with which he worked.
01:36So there was so many things and they all were yeses.
01:41You know, they all were things that only excited me further.
01:44So I loved it.
01:46I loved being part of the project and I loved the team that was put together to make the project.
01:52Robbie Grewal, our director.
01:55He was selected by Sunil Bora and Prabhlin, who was so enthusiastic about the project right from the beginning.
02:05They're almighty motion pictures.
02:07They're so lovely.
02:08They treated us so well and made us feel so comfortable.
02:13And then Robbie did the same thing.
02:15And then the team that he assembled did the same thing.
02:17And then all of the co-actors were also incredible.
02:22So everything just kept getting better and better as the project went on.
02:26And then it made us feel that we were striving towards something quite beautiful and quite true and quite pretty
02:32and quite interesting.
02:33And we did have a lot of ambition and we wanted to tell the story truly and powerfully.
02:39And I have the tendency to veer on the more subtle side.
02:46Robbie is good at bringing more things out.
02:51Vebov has a completely different approach to acting.
02:53Well, not a completely different approach, but just a different approach.
02:57We're very different kinds of actors.
02:59You know, we and that's how we were as friends in the show.
03:04So then, you know, art was imitating life and life was imitating art.
03:08And then the two were feeding each other.
03:10And the feeding of each other just kept making things grow and grow and grow.
03:15And so, you know, I loved it.
03:19Aditya, who shot it, I think he's done a superb job.
03:23I haven't watched it. Have you managed to watch any of the episodes?
03:25I saw one episode.
03:26So I think it's been edited superbly.
03:29I love all the use of the old Hindi music.
03:33It creates this nostalgic vibe and feel that's just so nice.
03:37It just puts you in that time immediately.
03:39So I think everybody has worked with such honesty and love to make the project come out.
03:45That I hope it resonates with people.
03:49So, yeah, I'm sure it will.
03:51I'm sure it will.
03:52I can't believe that this story hasn't been told yet.
03:55You know, once you make it through the show, you'll be like, what?
03:58This was a story that was meant to be told.
04:02And that's what was my first sentiment was when I got through the reading of the entire show that we
04:08did with the entire cast together.
04:10There are some stellar actors otherwise also, you know, even in the office, you'll meet the other actors.
04:16And yeah, some very fantastic cameos also.
04:20So I was like, this is a story that has, it is, nobody knows about this in India.
04:25I mean, Xerxes, I obviously knew the entire arc of Mr. Tata and whatever, you know, he's done and achieved
04:33the kind of achievements that he's and he's got so much of like social and cultural capital to this country.
04:39You'll never forget.
04:40He's one of the architects of modern India.
04:42And there's not a story that, you know, focuses on that or how he bought about Titan Industries.
04:50And, you know, this is a consumer brand that just set a precedent in entrepreneurship also.
04:56So these were things which I have come to know after reading the script.
05:00So if I was, I felt so compelled to like read, to see it audio visually.
05:07And now when I saw the trailer, my first instinct was, wow, this and everybody who's I've like interacted with,
05:13they've all said that we had no idea that, you know, Titan, that this was the story of Titan, a
05:19watch.
05:19The music is kind of encrypted in our DNA, like that music that we were at the end.
05:24We've grown up with that.
05:25So it's, so I think there were too many reasons for this story.
05:30And then just having the right cast, being a small part of that cast, just being part of this world.
05:38Robbie Sir, Sunil Sir being so absolutely enthusiastic about it.
05:42So there was, there was nothing for me to like even think twice about.
05:47So I'm glad that people will watch it and they'll come to know who Xerxes Desai was.
05:52Because I had no idea that this was the journey of him as a character.
05:57And for you, Babu, I have a different question.
05:59He mentioned this thing that two very different approaches to acting.
06:03Purely in terms of contrast, this reminds me of, of a dialogue from The Dark Knight, when he just says,
06:08that's what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.
06:12What's that amalgamation of like when two artists from very different school of thoughts, they come together and create something
06:18beautiful for made in India story, for example.
06:22Luckily, the approach might be different, but it was something which was complementing each other.
06:29It wasn't that dude, what the hell is he doing? What the hell am I doing? How are we going
06:34to come on the middle ground?
06:35It was never like that. But yes, approach to a certain extent was very different.
06:40And I guess it helped us because the characters are also poles apart.
06:45Even though they are the best of the friends, but they are poles apart.
06:49And I guess, I actually got a call from the producer Sunil, sir. And he's very enthusiastic person in general.
06:56He's like, I saw Nirmal Bhattak's house, he has done a lot of work in article 370.
07:00By the way, I'm saying Sunil, but I said, of course, sir, I know you.
07:03He said, I'm doing a project called Titan.
07:06So I was like, okay. And he said, dude, this project is not always like this.
07:11So I would really love you to be a part of this.
07:14And I said, sir, I want you to play one of the founders.
07:17I said, what are you doing? Yes, yes. I went, I met him. And the team was so good.
07:23The production team, then our director, Robbie, sir. Everyone, like honestly, I'll tell you, it was a treat to work
07:29with all of them.
07:30And our DOP, the art team, everyone, everyone. So normally, when someone comes to you and asks, what is your
07:41next project?
07:41You have to tell the details of the project. You have to create a world that this is my project.
07:46This is a romcom or this is an action story, whatever.
07:49For this particular project, I used to just say that my next project is Titan. And then people used to
07:55tell stories related to Titan.
07:56So that was the time I realized this is something very special and it all emotionally already belongs to the
08:03audience.
08:04Before even we started the shoot or before the release also, it already belongs to the audience. And I guess
08:09that is what makes it very special along with the amazing team.
08:15And Jim, coming to you, the story set in pre-liberalized India, 30-35 years to the new economic policy.
08:22What are your memories of that time period when India was still under the License Raj? Not much privatization was
08:28there.
08:29So when you were that time, I was just a twinkle in my dad's eye. I don't think I was
08:39alive then.
08:40No, no. I'm 37. You must be. You must be at 15, 16 at that time.
08:46When? When are we talking?
08:47Nineties, 1990?
08:48Nineties, so that's the thing. So, 1991, I moved to Sydney. My family moved to Sydney. And I was four
08:57years old. And then I lived there until I was about eight, nine.
09:00Then I came back again. And then my memories honestly are of school and downstairs and playing football and that's
09:10about the extent of it. I don't really.
09:12Do you think the tech in the nineties was just the perfect amount considering Abhika Tech is very intrusive and
09:18hyper-connected?
09:19You know, I don't know. And I was very, very lucky in my opinion. I lived in the suburbs of
09:28Sydney. So not even city of Sydney. So not in an apartment in like an old school suburban house.
09:36You know, now the suburb was like far out, you know, of the main city. So it was wasn't expensive.
09:44It was all the kids in the area went to the public school.
09:47It was just, it was really a very, very simple and lovely childhood because there's a park up the road.
09:54You had a backyard. Everyone had backyards. You could go to anybody's house and play outside.
09:58And it was all about that. Now, despite that, my mother tells me that if she put me in front
10:04of the television, she would come back three hours later and she'd be like, Jim, what are you watching?
10:11And I would be sitting there just watching the news or the weather or whatever it had changed. I was
10:19just obsessed with the television and what was going on on the television.
10:23So, you know, maybe if I had access to all of that technology, I would have used it. I would
10:29have found sneaky ways to use it.
10:30But I think living in that particular place, it just opened yourself up to this possibility of going to the
10:40park up the road, you know, going into the woods.
10:45It was just another thing, you know, our backyard would be full of cockatoos. If we threw discarded food on
10:54a rock, a kookaburra would come and eat it.
10:56You could walk and see wombats in the thing. It was like another thing. I really honestly believe that's the
11:01way a kid should grow up.
11:02If you have the opportunity of taking your kids outside of a city and giving them a more natural kind
11:09of upbringing, I think it's just the best thing for you.
11:13If you have that opportunity, of course.
11:15Okay. And for you, Namita, working with Robbie Grewal, his last project was Joel Thip, I believe, a streaming film.
11:22Very different thought processes when he's directing or creating a story or making a story to derive from such an
11:28artist who thinks across the board. What's that like?
11:32Robbie, sir, was actually the most comforting part of being because I was slightly intimidated with Jim.
11:38His process is like, you know, really, everything that is in front of you will take notes and like he'll
11:46be acutely aware.
11:48He has a lot of spatial awareness, I feel. And I felt like with Robbie, sir, just being there to,
11:54you know, ease you out and just tell you that you do your thing.
11:57Yeah, this is going really well and he'll encourage you. So, for me, it was like the most comforting thing
12:03on set and for me to not have these heart palpitations that I'm going to do a scene and how
12:08is it going to turn out to be where he's dropping suggestions at the drop of a hat.
12:12So, these are things you're like, yeah, he would like suggest a, you know, a different line, a different reaction.
12:19What? Yeah. So, I would have to deal with that and Robbie, sir, would be my shock observed. He would
12:26absorb the shock that I would be like the my, yeah.
12:30There's a disagreement brewing there. Would you like to say something?
12:32I would stick to the script very strictly.
12:35He would come right before the scene as the tape is going to happen and he would say just when
12:40I do this, do this. Okay, just react like this or whatever.
12:43He tells me to take note of, okay, this jam is lying in front of you.
12:46I was saying that I'm going to be doing this. I'm just letting you know that I may do this.
12:51If I try this, then just know that I may try this.
12:55He said I'm not going to come in the scene and I'm just not going to say the line. I'll
12:58do this. I'll be like, okay, okay, okay. I'll be aware that.
13:02I just like to add blocking.
13:04Yeah. So, yeah. So, it was comforting to have Robbie, sir, who I could exchange those glances with and be
13:11like, yay. I'm not the only one being thrown off.
13:15Okay. And coming to you above, apart from the timepieces, the Tata conglomerate is also known for SUVs of the
13:2290s, of the 80s, Tata Sierra as one.
13:26What's your favorite from the house of Tata, if you have to quote one or name one?
13:33Good question.
13:37Tata Safari, I'll tell you why. Because it has that nostalgia. So, while I was doing my engineering from Pune,
13:44at that time, the only one in our group, he had that car and whenever we used to go to
13:51outing. So, that was his car. So, I remember Tata Safari. So, for me, it's nostalgia. So, yeah. That's it.
14:00It's a car.
14:00Okay. And finally, for my last question, Jim, you are a deep thinker and a quick thinker as well as
14:06Namita mentioned in the previous answer.
14:08I want to know what you do in your meantime? How do you, what's, what's, what is it that you
14:12consume literature, art or anything? And how do you process it?
14:20Thank you for saying that. I don't know if it's necessarily true. But I like to watch things I like.
14:26I like to read things I like. I like to spend some time with friends. I like to be around
14:31people whose thoughts and approach to life I really enjoy and I can learn things from.
14:38Yeah, it's like that. Currently, I'm reading Confederacy of Dunces and Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. There's
14:47a show I really like at the moment called Widow's Bay on Apple TV. Highly encouraged. Yeah.
14:55The last time we met, I think you were reading a book by Jim Corbett around the chump hour time.
14:59Oh, yeah. I'm fascinated with this guy, that guy. I hope somebody makes a show or a movie based on
15:06him.
15:06I would love to play the character. One, of course. And two, it is really a truly like another one
15:14of these inspiring stories, you know, of a English guy raised in India, grew up in India, absolutely rejected wanting
15:23to go back home, had no desire to go back home, did not enjoy his compatriots and how they were
15:28treating India.
15:29I thought they were exploiting it completely, fell in love with the place, could speak Hindi better than anybody else
15:36around, started out as a hunter because that's kind of what he had done when he was younger and then
15:43they needed help, hung up his gun, would only come back in at specific times when there was a man
15:51-eater, basically, that needed hunting.
15:54The chump hour tiger.
15:56Many. He hunted many of them. And you hear the stories and it's incredible. And he says that if he
16:02had grown up in a different time when the camera was invented, instead of the gun, he would have never
16:07picked up a gun.
16:08He would have never ever picked up a gun. It's just back then, the only way to go into the
16:12jungle for five, six days was if you were a hunter.
16:15You know, there was no other, there was no other financial, fiscal way to support it.
16:21Find it, what a fascinating guy, what an interesting, lovely story.
16:27I hope that gets made one day.
16:29I'm sure.
16:30Someone makes it.
16:30Titan releases on 3rd of June.
16:34Perfect. So on that note, thank you so much and I wish all the best.
16:36Thank you very much.
16:39Sorry.
16:40Hi.
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