Ashi Dua: ‘We took from our lives and put it in the show’

Following up Lust Stories 2 with Big Girls Don’t Cry, creator Ashi says making boarding school drama came organically to directors as they were all raised in hostels

Seven girls in a boarding school prepare for their final year, their personal ambitions and experiences shaping them into the adults they will become. Producer Ashi Dua and creator Nitya Mehra’s Big Girls Don’t Cry is designed as a vibrant young-adult series that Indian audiences could do more of. Dua, the mind behind popular anthologies Bombay Talkies (2013) and Lust Stories, observes that the genre hasn’t been widely explored here. “Almost 65 per cent of India is under 35 years of age, which makes it a great place to have teen and YA stories. There are so many stories to be told in that age group. No matter how many series we make, we’ll always fall short,” she explains. 

In a way, the Prime Video series—directed by Mehra, Sudhanshu Saria, Karan Kapadia, and Kopal Naithani—is born out of the makers’ personal experiences. They wanted to depict the joy and struggles, friendships and rivalries of hostel life. It was also crucial to lend a local flavour to the show and represent Indian girls in their surroundings. “During our research, we knew we had to tell this story from the prism of the Indian boarding schools. We were careful to not seek anything from the same genre of shows made in the West. Karan, Sudhanshu, Nitya and I had all gone to boarding schools. Be it Welham [Boys’ School], The Doon School, or Lawrence School, we’ve lived that life. It was easy for us to tell these stories. We took from our lives and put it in the show. It’s a love letter from us to boarding school kids.”

The show is led by Avantika Vandanapu of the recent Mean Girls fame, Aneet Padda, Dalai, Vidushi, Lhakyila, Afrah Sayed, and Akshita Sood, with Pooja Bhatt as the principal. To Dua, roping in Bhatt was a big win. “Working with Pooja Bhatt has been a sheer privilege. We’ve watched her as a kid, and seen her [evolve] into this powerful woman. Sudhanshu, who worked with her on Sanaa, got in touch with her. She didn’t even read the material. She heard the story and instantly said that she was on board. One of the biggest challenges and joys was casting. We wanted seven fresh faces; we auditioned over 400 girls in eight months. Avantika sent her audition to us from Los Angeles, and we knew she was a great fit.”

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