"We were aware we had to treat the subject sensitively… The actors were comfortable only because of how well the director (Richie Mehta) handled it,” stated director’s assistant Parinaz Jal in conversation with Parsiana on December 17, 2020. The 28-year-old doubled up as script supervisor on Delhi Crime, the Netflix drama that won the Best Drama Series Award at the 48th International Emmy Awards on November 23.
The film is India’s first to win the global award. Emmys are presented annually by the New York-based International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. "Every year, our judging department carefully selects and approves over 900 independent jurors from around the world for its three rounds of judging,” notes their website.
Parinaz Jal (above and top l) with Richie Mehta (r) and
an actor on the sets of Delhi Crime
The seven-episode drama is based on the 2012 gang rape of 23-year-old physiotherapy intern in a bus in the national capital, her subsequent death and its aftermath. The theme did not bother Jal. "When I read the script, I said to myself ‘this is how the subject should be handled’… We recreated the whole event…even where the victims were found… There were many moments of silence in the team…We had to be respectful to their memory…(But) we were not going to let the incident faze us.”
Jal emphasized she was the director’s assistant, not an assistant director. "It can get a little confusing as the job titles are similar but the roles differ… The director’s assistant helps the director execute his vision… I was his liaison with the five assistant directors and for all other aspects of the series…. I was his creative sounding board.” As script supervisor, she had to "manage the continuity of the scenes and liaise with the edit team at the time of the shoot.”
The highlights of the filming "were too many to count,” Jal exulted. "I really cherished the days I spent travelling with Richie to speak to the police officers for research… I understood the benefits of research well done.” She added that "it was a treat to watch our cast bring the script to life so beautifully.” The downside? "It was extremely hectic. We were on a very tight schedule.”
Web series are here to stay, proclaimed Jal. "Indian audiences are craving good shows and with the advent of (new) platforms, we are being exposed to web shows from all over the world. Today the audience demands quality cinema… We then have the privilege of making such cinema.”
According to media reports, a second season of Delhi Crime has been commissioned. Jal will not be involved in that project, "because that will be directed by someone else (other than Mehta).”
She listed her three previously released works: Fitoor (assistant director — trainee); Death in the Gunj (second assistant director); What are the Odds? (director’s assistant and second assistant director). Her forthcoming film scripted and directed by her, What did you think? has been selected for international festivals, she stated.
"My husband (lawyer) Areez Gazdar and my brothers Pashan and Cyrus are my bouncing boards on all my projects,” she stated, expressing thanks for the support of parents, Hoshang and Farida Jal, and in-laws, Rumie and Beroze Gazdar. "Let’s just say I’m a lucky girl.”