Manasa Sharma, the talented director behind the recently released Telugu series ‘Bench Life’, opens up about her journey of bringing her maiden directorial venture to life. With unflinching honesty, Sharma shares the challenges she faced as a debutant director and how her own life experiences inspired her to craft the complex and resilient character of Meenakshi, masterfully portrayed by National Award-winner Ritika Singh.

In an exclusive conversation with Mathrubhumi, Sharma also sheds light on the revolutionary impact of OTT platforms on the industry, providing a launchpad for new talent and offering an unprecedented opportunity for debutant directors like herself to showcase their unique voices and perspectives to a global audience.

How did you come up with the concept of ‘Bench Life’?

I am a former software engineer, so when Sony LIV had this requirement of making a series that focuses on the IT sector, I kind of thought that a bench is a concept that hasn’t been explored so far on any medium - be it OTT or movies in any language. Also, I also had friends who were on the bench. This series is quite sarcastic; I lean a bit towards dark comedy. I thought it would be a lot of fun to create a series around the concept and create characters that have not been seen before.

Through Meenakshi’s character, you addressed the difficulties that women face in becoming directors. Did you also face similar challenges?

Meenakshi is basically an autobiography of myself, at least most of it. My full name is Meenakshi Manasa Sharma. Sorry for being narcissistic, but I couldn’t think of any other name. But ya, Meenakshi is written out of my own experiences. Also, many of the scenes are from life. Even Meenakshi’s mother is inspired by my mother. Whenever I go out, she keeps on calling. She used to ask me to get on a video call even if I was in college. It just comes out of love and concern. Mostly, Meenakshi is inspired by real life, especially the end scene where everyone in her office appreciates her short film, which is the real incident that happened in my office. It’s largely inspired by the real struggle but is a toned-down version of my struggle.

Since Meenakshi’s mother’s role was inspired by your own mother, how was her reaction to the series?

She actually loved it but related more to the other characters, like the story of Charan Peri and Tanikella Bharani. She came to terms with me becoming a filmmaker after my second short film, 'Family Story,' was released. That hit hard. But she did give me those serious looks when Neerja, Meenakshi’s mother, kept calling. My mother knew it was written out of her. My mother-in-law and others were laughing at it while my mother was giving me stares. But she certainly loved how the series has turned out.

What was the most challenging scene to direct, or other major hurdles that you faced during filming?

On the spot, I didn’t feel anything challenging except for a few constraints that I had during night shoots or shooting at a crowded place. Creatively, I didn’t have any pressure because I had great actors and a great team - be it my DOP or the entire direction and production team. They were very hands-on; I didn’t feel any pressure or challenge. When I was going through the reviews, I was quite anxious about how people found the series. But there was this one review that mentioned that being a debutante and taking up so many stories in one series with so many character arcs and bigger stars was a challenging task. That is when I sat and realised that this is something that you hit above your level. It is quite challenging. I didn’t feel it while writing, directing, or narrating it, but when someone rightly pointed it out, it gave me the realisation that it was actually a challenging task in the entirety of it.

How do you balance your creative vision with the commercial considerations of the industry?

I believe that the commercial aspect of the series is changing from movie to movie, especially the audience, which has become more acceptable and evolving with access to world cinema. Whatever previously the commercial definition of the film industry was, it is changing. Even though I am someone who believes in commerciality, I don’t think that it has to be meaningless or doesn’t involve logic. There are so many commercial projects that don’t make sense at all. But then I think the audience is changing. As long as you create something that makes sense, keeps the audience entertained, and is relatable, that itself is enough. It would have a wider reach, and you can score a hit there.

How did you ensemble your cast for the series?

Right from the beginning, I was planning a lot about my debut. I did a couple of projects as a writer where we had new talented actors. But when it came to my directorial debut, I felt while writing the story that we needed to have established actors. I always believe that when you write something, the actors can elevate it a lot. It’s not like new actors can’t; what I mean to say is that every character, be it Balu or Meenakshi, had a limited set of actors that you could cast. It was while writing that I thought Rajendra Prasad should play Prasad Vasishta. I felt the characters spoke to me, and only those actors justified the roles while writing. When I went and narrated the story to the actors, they were quite impressed, and luckily they agreed to play the roles. I had requested the production house for certain actors, and they didn’t refuse. Even if the production house believed that these actors could play the roles, then it would be the best thing for the series. 

How do you think OTT has shaped the filmmaking scene for debutant directors?

It’s really a boon for all the debutant directors. For aspiring filmmakers, you can’t have producers investing in you when it comes to theatrical releases unless you don’t have a body of work that actually represents you and sort of creates trust. When it comes to OTT, producers also feel safe. In any project, the financial investment is the biggest aspect. It does require your creativity and time, but at the end of it, money is what speaks the most. So when the producer loses his/her money, there would be an effect on everyone. There won’t be many projects, and many of them will indirectly lose work. I have always believed that a producer should be financially beneficial (with a project). They should have those profits for us to have more work. Therefore, I believe that OTT, especially since the pandemic, has opened a lot of chances for aspiring filmmakers who are now able to convey their stories on various platforms. I believe more and more content should be made on OTT, not just from new directors but the established ones as well. Not only the filmmakers but actors also get to showcase their talent, which helps the OTT to thrive more.

Are there any directors who have influenced your work or approach, and how?

I read a lot, so at least in my writing, there is a lot of influence from the books. I am kind of an old soul, so I used to watch a lot of black and white films from the 1960s and 1970s. There was a director, B. Vittalacharya, in Telugu cinema whose stories were rooted in myths and folklore. I have followed his work. There is a lot of learning happening from the other Indian directors too. I learn a lot from the entire body of work that is available. For any other profession, you need to have schooling and education or a degree. But when it comes to filmmaking, you have a lot of material available for free to learn from. I’ve never been to a filmmaking scene or worked as an assistant director; it’s the free knowledge available that helped me.

Tell us about your upcoming projects.

Right now there is one feature film that is under production. I’m also writing for two more OTT projects, apart from writing a feature film, which will be my own direction and is presently under talks. Though I can’t reveal much about my feature film, I can tell you that it is going to be an action thriller with emotions. I believe that a proper story arc needs to be there for every project that I write, as it keeps the audience engaged. It’s going to be a very emotional story that is layered with action.