Ram Madhvani on creating 'The Waking of a Nation': ‘The show is about racism and prejudice’

Ram Madhvani previously helmed Aarya, led by Sushmita Sen

Making a historical drama is a big responsibility. Bigger even, when the subject is one of the bloodiest chapters of Indian history. Creator Ram Madhvani is aware of the responsibility he is shouldering as he makes The Waking of a Nation, a six-part series centred on the Hunter Commission that was established in October 1919 to investigate the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The creator-director, however, points out that his series is historical fiction.

"There were five British and three Indians in the Hunter Commission. The Indians walked out, saying that what they called investigation was, in fact, white-washing. So, this series looks at that investigation," he starts, when we get on a call. "There is this term called historical fiction. If you go into a bookshop, there will be a whole range of books [under the genre of] historical fiction. I suppose they are inspired by true events. This is a story [told] from our characters' point of view."
Researching a historical subject can be strenuous. More importantly, it can be a tricky affair. Madhvani agrees, noting that a critical factor in the genre is the lens you view the story from. He explains, "There are so many versions of [history]. Our tale is, in some ways, fictional. But I read and did my due diligence. I'm interested in that part of our colonial past. Many years ago, I did a short film called This Bloody Line, which was about Sir Cyril Radcliffe. The fact that he drew a line in one month and divided this country, when he had never been to India before, was fascinating to me."

Ram Madhvani

I'm interested in how there has been a cultural colonisation. So many things have been, in some ways, stolen from us. The Waking of a Nation is really about racism and prejudice," says Madhvani of the SonyLIV series - starring Carl Wharton and Krishnakant Singh Bundela - that is currently in post-production.

From Neerja (2016) to Aarya and now, The Waking of a Nation, regardless of the genre his stories belong to, he says a common thread runs through them all. "I'm always figuring out how to do stories that have some kind of philosophy and spirituality in them. The first season of Aarya had the Bhagavad Gita. I used Sanskrit shlokas. That comes from my father and the books that surrounded me, and from my father-in-law, who is a freedom fighter and a Sanskrit scholar. So, The Waking of a Nation has the lead character named after my father, and is dedicated to my in-laws."

Even as the historical offering has him consumed at the moment, one wonders about the fate of Aarya, led by Sushmita Sen. The revenge drama was one of Disney+ Hotstar's most acclaimed shows, with the first season even earning an International Emmy nomination. Amid the platform's merger with Jio, has he been pursued to bring out the next season of Aarya? "Right now, because of the merger, we have to decide when Aarya is landing. I think people want to see it, and we would like to make more [seasons].

We have two more seasons. So, we will see whether that happens. That show changed me. It made me realise the scope of my job and the joy of long-format storytelling."