EXCLUSIVE| Love Kills: Madhumita Shukla Hatyakand director Deepak Chaturvedi: 'Some parts of the show are uncomfortable'

Discovery+ has premiered its latest true crime original ‘Love Kills: Madhumita Shukla Hatyakand,’ on February 9th. The story features the trivial 2003 murder of the young, poetess Madhumita Shukla at the hands of Amarmani Tripathi, UP’s foremost kingmaker and ‘Baahubali’ politician and her lover.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Deepak Chaturvedi, the series’ director and showrunner talks about a wide range of topics – from details of the show to larger conversations around the genre of true crime.

Where did the idea of the show come from?

The show’s idea originated from Times Chronicles, the producers of the series. When I joined the team, the core ideas of the show were already there. Some specific stories, the editorial and production-scape of those stories were being bounced around internally. Once the story of Madhumita and Amarmani was brought to the table, the decision to make it into a series was unanimous and everyone was aligned on it very quickly. We knew there was a lot of material here for us to unpack and explore.

How much time did it take for you and your team to complete the research on the subject?

Research is a continuous process through the entire life-cycle of a show such as this, which was approx. 8-9 months. There is no substitute for robust research. And we, as a team, are very invested in the research process. It has informed all our editorial and creative choices. As we got deeper into the research, we were often surprised as our initial understanding of the story evolved significantly. Some of our assumptions were challenged. We single-mindedly and somewhat ruthlessly went where the research took us.

The discussions that went behind the casting of the show

In terms of our featured contributors, we were determined to bring all sides and perspectives into the show – that was our main focus. It was not easy. And I think we have managed to bring all perspectives into the show. Our ensemble cast covers all the stakeholders, and they are the ones who were closest to the story experientially. The process of bringing the creative, technical and production crew for the show was very organic and collaborative. Obviously, it was a function of a combination of many factors.

We have seen so many crime movies and shows on OTT off late. How will this stand out?

First, the story itself. It is a dramatic, layered, and topical story with strong characters. Second, the range of access and contrary viewpoints that we have managed to fuse and represent in the series is another big stand-out, I believe. Many true-crime documentaries can be lopsided in as much that one version tends to dominate. That is not the case here. Another stand-out is the attention given to research and being driven by it, not by a pre-fixed idea of who is guilty, who is not, who is a hero figure and who is not – that is a trap that often storytelling can fall into, and we have not succumbed to those binaries. We have stuck our necks out for the research we did and the story we believe in. Fourth, we have managed to go take the story beyond the case details, we are informed by it but not limited by it. It is a living story of real people with their strengths and flaws. We have gone beyond the crime into the lives of our principal characters, and I think that approach to the story is fresh. Finally, the show has some important revelations that even a relatively familiar audience may not have known before.

How was the shooting experience

It was thrilling and draining at the same time. Some of our interview shoots were very intense, and to be able to get people to open up to us, for them to take some difficult uncomfortable questions and answer those questions, was extremely rewarding and humbling at the same time. A special mention in this regard to Madhumita’s sister, Nidhi Shukla, and the daughters of Amarmani & Madhumani Tripathi – Tanushri & Alankrita. There is a lot at stake for the Shuklas & the Tripathis personally and they were brave enough to share their stories with us. They both have seen the series and appreciate what we have achieved. One more fulfilling shooting experience was our visualisation of some of the reconstruction scenes, how we stayed authentic to the case within the limits of our production scale; some of the creative choices we made with reference to the format, the choice of lenses, lighting and design elements did work out well and will hopefully enhance the audience- experience as such.

Do you feel given the subject, some people could have issues?

I cannot say much about that. All I can tell us is that we have made a sensitive, well-rounded, and nuanced series. The subject matter may be “sensational” but our treatment and handling of it is anything but sensationalist. Yes, some details may be uncomfortable for some individuals, but I do not think anyone can take issue with the content as such.

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