10 May,2017 08:30 AM IST | Mumbai | Joanna Lobo
A new online series of long-form interviews digs deep into the lives of this generation's influencers. Log on every Tuesday
Interviewing Paromita Vohra. Pics courtesy/Himanshu Rohilla
Didyou know that restaurateur and the man behind the Social chain, Riyaaz Amlani, was discriminated against as a student in a SoBo school because he lived in Byculla? Or that comic Ashish Shakya's parents were more upset about his All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) than the outrage that followed the All India Bakchod roast?
Purab Kohli
Well, if you can spare a few minutes, you will get to learn about their lives and inspirations of these and other famous personalities.
This is courtesy The Spool, a month-old series of conversations with people who define our times and lives. The Spool is a creation of digital agency Flying Cursor's content division.
Sapna Bhavnani
"There is no long-format content that profiles public figures whom we find interesting. We wanted to get into the minds of people who define our times, who influence us with their ideas, their enterprise, or their creativity," says Shormistha Mukherjee, director, Flying Cursor. "We delve into their stories and serve up a big juicy bite of a generation that's setting the tone for what we see, think and consume."
Purab Kohli
The interviews are released online every Tuesday. Each interview features a video, a long read and a quick read version; coming soon is an audio version of the interview too. Yesterday's person of interest was filmmaker and mid-day columnist Paromita Vohra, who spoke about feminism, unsexy foods, sexy literature and the fake sexual revolution.
"What we are suffering from right now is a fake sexual revolution, where it has been decided that the only way to be sexually liberated is to be like the most misogynist of randy men, which most men are also not like. Even men don't conform to a norm, but that norm has been turned into the definition of sexual liberation. So everybody is like, I want to be sexually liberated, I better like f#$k a lot and then, you know, talk like that also," says Vohra in the interview.
The Spool team
The questions largely focus on the interviewee's job and how it has impacted the rest of their life. So, Shakya goes into detail about how his life changed after the infamous roast, while Mukti Bhawan filmmaker Shubhashish Bhutiani talks about his process and making 'love budget, not low budget' films.
"We ensure the content is not gossip, but more about what makes them tick and what they stand for," says Mukherjee, adding that though they are a team of nine, none of them are journalists. "Each time we interview someone, four people from the team research their personal life. They meet and work out the content plan, and then build the narrative of the interview."
In the coming weeks, expect to hear stories about Malini Agarwal (of Miss Malini) and actor-funnyman Purab Kohli.
LOG ON TO: thespool.in
