Akarsh Khurana talks about his first web series - Tripling

A still from Tripling that Akarsh cowrote with Sumeet VyasIts the last week of September and the rains show no signs of calming down But at 7 am Akarsh Khurana is up and about headed for a shoot The fast and furious format of writing a web series leaves him with little time to spare We catch up with him over the phone as he makes his way to the shoot of his second web series which he has started working on after the success of Tripling which he cowrote with Sumeet VyasThe Internet has taken over so one needs to align oneself to the format We needed writing that connects with people I didnt find it too difficult to get into the space Even in theatre we have been doing a lot of urban plays in English that connect with the young audience And of course the TVF guys who have championed the genre were always there to help I get calls from Mumbai and Seattle the same day an episode is aired Thats the kind of reach a web series has says the Akvarious Productions frontrunnerTripling tells the story of three eccentric siblings on a road trip It was web series poster boy Vyas who got Akarsh on board Since he was also going to act in it he needed someone to write it with Sumeet and I go back a long way we have done a lot of theatre together Also what made writing this show particularly interesting is that we also know each others siblings I know his sister Shruti very well as he knows my brother Aadhar So a lot of life came into play while fleshing out the three protagonists Akarsh saysAfter Triplings success writer Akarsh Khurana is already onto his second web series PicNimesh DaveThe format might not allow the luxury of an expansive narrative but at the end of the day its about telling a story Akarsh says The limitation of time is something that Sumeet and I imposed on ourselves We didnt want to go beyond the 1520 minute space because you know attention spans arent getting any longerHe adds But yes in keeping with the format we had to make the episodes tight and leave each one with a hook They also had to work around brand mechanics On a creative level we dont get involved with that much Given the story is about a roadtrip it was safe to assume that there would be some car brand coming into play As long as it was not an SUV it was fine by us since our protagonist Chanchal is not an SUV guyThe web series is only a short detour and soon Akarsh will be returning to his comfort zone mdash theatre Its my happy place I will never let go of theatre This year we have two plays coming up mdash one at the Prithvi festival and another a Hindi play in November starring Kumud Mishra he says He adds If you notice Tripling is full of theatre artists Theatre is a breeding ground for talentAsk him if his father Akash Khurana has watched the show and he replies He and my mum watch it more religiously than I do I have had elderly people telling me how they watch the show with their friends Its a welcome break from what they watch on TV the way we show relationships is how they are in real urban life Fourletter words as part of the daily lingo is a reality It also helps them understand the younger generation better