Challenge to have viewers glued to content on web, says Apoora Lakhia

Mumbai: Apoorva Lakhia, the man behind massy entertainers such as Shootout At Lokhandwala and Mission Istanbul , says he is excited about his first web series "Crackdown" and hopes the show will be liked by the audiences.

The Voot Select series features a cast of Saqib Saleem, Shreya Pilagonkar, Iqbal Khan, Rajesh Tailang, Waluscha De Sousa and Ankur Bhatia.

Lakhia said unlike movies, web format is altogether a new world and he had a great time working on the series.

"It was a different experience for me, I had fun doing this series. It is a very interesting format, especially the scripting process, there are eight episodes and you need to have enough substance to keep the person hooked every time.

"I hope we have managed to sustain the level of interest of viewers, the way we have made it we are hoping people will binge watch it," Lakhia told PTI.

The filmmaker said that while in films there are song sequences to dazzle the audiences, there is no such thing in series and it is only the content that will keep them hooked.

"There is so much content (on the web) that if it is not up to the mark then a person can easily switch off. I hope we have managed to crack the code with our show.

"In movies you can have your pace, songs, but in this (web) you can't have songs and other stuff. The whole idea is to keep the person glued with great content, that's the formula one needs to crack. All this is a challenge."

Lakhia described "Crackdown" as a fast moving show with a lots of twists and turns.

"It is a RAW based, whodunit spy-thriller. It is interesting, fast moving and has lots of twists and turns. We had shot it in seven to eight locations."

The director said he had finished shooting for the web series a while back but there is a lot of work to be done.

"In this period, the maximum we can do right now is edit the show but that is also taking time, like what would normally take three days is now taking ten days. This is the only process that can happen now.

"It is still going to take time for the series to come out because actors will have to dub, the post production studios are shut, so special effects work and etc is still pending."

Lakhia hopes the web-series will come out on Voot Select in June or July.

PTI