Bringing Kashmir’s complex history of turmoil to the screen is not easy. Neither is adapting the popular Israeli show, Fauda (2015). Sudhir Mishra took on the dual challenge as he helmed Tanaav. “I had seen Fauda long [ago]. I didn’t watch it again [before adapting it]. After a while, you have to forget the original, and reimagine it,” says Mishra, who has shared the directorial responsibility with Sachin Krishn.
In the SonyLIV series starring Manav Vij, Sumit Kaul, Rajat Kapoor and Arbaaz Khan, a Special Task Group agent comes out of his retirement to chase a much-dreaded terrorist, who was believed to be dead. Given the sensitive subject, adopting a humane approach was key. “As storytellers, you try and understand it in a human way. Of course, everything [in Kashmir] is political, and affects the lives of people in the state. It’s up to people how they understand [the situation]. If you are not sensationalist, which I am not, and if you are not itching for a controversy, then you deal with the story in a compassionate way,” states Mishra.
