Weekend Exclusive | We had a much simpler life: Milind Soman

Milind Soman’s production company Face Entertainment has produced MTV’s new show MTV Rush which is a 13 part movie series. Adgully caught up with Milind Soman on the sets of MTV Rush as he candidly converses about the show, his production ventures and much more.

 

Talking about the concept of MTV Rush he said, “Each episode of Rush tells a different story. The different perspectives of different characters are revealed. There are 12-13 main characters, but in all there are hundreds of characters through which the stories unfold. The issues that the show deals with are the ones that plague the youth, the culture and the society today.”

 

Speaking about the association with MTV, he said, “MTV shares our vision. Something on this style and scale has not been done before. Whenever you do something different, you are skeptical about the acceptability, but thankfully MTV saw the uniqueness of the concept and helped it come on-board.”

 

Milind has been a part of the film and television industry for a long period of time and has seen the mediums evolve. He says, “Television has incredible potential because it is a different medium. To use the medium in a best way is a challenge. Like today, we have internet amongst other mediums, which is incredibly versatile. There is so much creative freedom to do what you want.  In the near future, all the mediums will integrated, be it television or internet.”

 

Milind is very excited about his next project which is Bejoy Nambiar’s next film David. He exclaims, “I love acting but I have only a certain amount of time that I can give as an actor. Usually, I do two films a year.” His company Face Entertainment currently has five shows on-air.

 

Commenting on the production values in recent times, he says, “Production values today have improved tremendously, because the audiences have become more discerning. They now have a chance to compare with what is happening internationally. The media is growing faster. The exposure has increased and people can decide for themselves. Apart from production values, it is also about the soul of the product. Production values are all about packaging but the audiences are actually getting through to see the heart of the product. The shows we made in the early 90’s were made with much soul.”

 

MTV Rush is a show that addresses the issues that the youth face. On being quizzed about what the youth could take away from the show, Milind said, “The show is about society at large. It is about modern society and how it impacts the youth. It reflects the dreams and aspirations of the youth. They can imbibe whatever they want. Our message is upfront. We want viewers to enjoy the show.”

 

 A versatile man, Milind Soman has donned the hats of a model, actor, and a producer. On being asked which of these roles is his favourite, he confesses, “I started acting simultaneously at about the same time that I started producing shows. Before that, I did modeling. Whatever I do currently becomes my favourite.”

 

Milind exclaims, “In my generation, we had a much simpler life. Today, you live in a pressure cooker. Today, there is so much pressure; almost at the point of explosion and that is the rush. When you are in college today, that is what you experience. With MTV Rush, we have tried to portray the same rush through the backdrop of a college festival where everything comes to a burning point- all the talent, all the creative energy, all the dreams, all the frustration. With very show, there is a pressure. Face Entertainment always tries to do something that we have not seen before. In that sense, MTV Rush is extremely different. In fiction also, we always try to look for a different subject. We have been very lucky that MTV saw the potential of this project and approved MTV Rush.”