Following up the masterfully told Neerja 2016 is a tall order. But director Ram Madhvani is set to return with another promising outing, Aarya. Even though the series — based on the Dutch drama Penoza — has the tonality of a thriller, the director views it as a story about a family. "To me, Neerja wasn-t as much a hijack story as it was a mother-daughter tale. Here, I wanted to explore the interpersonal relationships in a family. I watched Penoza nine years ago and fell in love with the protagonist," recounts Madhvani, who then set out to create an Indian adaptation. "Two years ago, I spoke to the original creators [Pieter Bart Korthuis and Diederik van Rooijen], appraising them of the changes we are making. It was important to have it rooted in our reality."

The Disney+Hotstar show marks the return of Sushmita Sen, who was last seen in the Bengali film, Nirbaak 2015. Madhvani considers himself "blessed" that she gave her nod. "She is a star, in the position of saying yes or no [to a project]. When I met her, I walked her through our process. The opportunity and the story excited her.