Metal heads rush for Bejoy’s TV debut

Shaitan director’s 13-part series, MTV Rush, to feature death metal bands, theatre artists and stand-up comics.

Director Bejoy Nambiar, famous for his 2011 hit Shaitan, will now bring his brand of creative content on the small screen. As the brain behind MTV Rush, a 13- episode series featuring 12 teenagers at a college festival, Bejoy’s small screen debut will also feature niche musicians, metalheads and indie bands. “Rush is unlike anything seen on TV and will air sometime in July,” he says.

Music producer Mikey McCleary, who composed the background score for Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai, and performs under the stage name Bartender, will also be performing two Bollywood covers on the show. “At a time when independent pop videos don’t get airtime on TV, the show’s a respite for people who like alternative music,” he says.

Though he played his entire album for Bejoy, he feels his rendition of ‘Chalte chalte yuhi koi…’ (Pakeezah, 1972) and ‘Tum jo mil gaye ho…’ (Hanste Zakhm, 1973) may make it to the episode. Bands such as Bhayanak Maut, Demonic Resurrection, The Light Years Explode, Shaair + Func and Blakc, who are usually seen performing at city music venues, festivals and college gigs, will also feature on the show.

Ask Bejoy why he chose a TV show despite having made a mark in Bollywood and he says, “The treatment of the show is much like that of a film. It emerged from a film script called Fest that I wrote long ago. In fact these are 13 short films where I get to collaborate with so many musicians, theatre artists and stand-up comedians.” The show is conceptualised by Bejoy, who has also co-written the scripts with theatre playwright Akarsh Khurana of Akvarious Productions. Of the 13 shorts, Bejoy has directed three, while the rest have been shot by his associate directors.