Prateik Smita Patil says ‘film industry isn’t a man’s world’; Maanvi Gagroo explains men have brought the ‘male loneliness epidemic’ upon themselves

After a run of six years, Prime Video India’s buddy drama Four More Shots Please! has come to a conclusion with season 4. In an exclusive interview with SCREEN, the primary cast — Sayani Gupta, Kirti Kulhari, Maanvi Gagroo, Bani J, Prateik Smita Patil, and Dino Morea open up on the instances when they judged their characters and their takes on the viral phenomenon termed the male loneliness epidemic.

Sayani and Prateik, a lot of Ross and Rachel from Friends-kind of back and forth was  going on between your characters Damini and Jeh respectively. Did you never get exhausted by that?

Sayani: I feel very close to Jeh and Damini. But also, for the audience, they take it very personally. There are people who are Team Jeh and there are people who are Team Damini, but after season 3, a lot of people have walked up to me and started scolding me. “How could you do this to the best boy in the world?”

Dino, this has been your year, with Housefull 5, The Royals, Rana Naidu season 2, and now, Four More Shots Please! season 4. How did that happen?

Dino: I was supposed to be a part of all the previous seasons. I’m not telling you who I was supposed to play. But for some reason, it didn’t work out. But finally, when the makers and the writers realized that Anjana (Kirti Kulhari) has gone through so many men in all the seasons and has to find the correct person, who ticks off all the right boxes, the apt man, then guess who shows up (laughs).

Kirti: He’s the man who shows up after the husband is gone. Once you’ve made your mistakes, then you find this ideal man.

Dino Morea in Four More Shots Please!

Would the women agree that the men in this show are far better than most men out there?

Sayani: Hundred percent. I don’t think Jeh really exists. No man is that patient, that nice, that hot, that understanding. But because the writer’s room is all women, it’s the man of our fantasy, which is what I think was something very consciously done. All the women’s collective consciousness has manifested Jeh. Honestly, after season 2 and 3, I kept asking the writers, “What does Jeh see in Damini? She’s constantly breaking his heart, and he’s constantly there.”

Prateik: Every time I watch the show with my wife (Priya Banerjee), I just get a look. She’s like, “Dude! What is wrong with you?” I think the thought behind Jeh is just be a yes man. Just say yes to everything. Because there are very few men who do that. There can be one man who says yes to everything.

Sayani, since Damini is a self-assured journalist, do you think that’s why she’s confused about Jeh, who can be a doormat?

Sayani: He’s not a doormat. He’s a good guy. He genuinely has a lot of respect and love for Damini. She’s a complex character. But as actors, you can’t judge your characters. You have to submit and see them with empathy. My takeaway was that yes, Damini is very extremely opinionated, fiery, and fierce. Her politics is in the right place. But that doesn’t mean she’s not falling apart in something else in her life. You could be really ambitious, and an amazing friend and human being, but there could be a part of your life where you’re just unravelling. Jeh is like her anchor. She has built a cocoon around herself and she knows she’s fcking up, but I don’t think she can help it.

Prateik: It’s quite toxic, particularly from Damini’s end. But Jeh also keeps accepting it even though he does keep boundaries.

Prateik Smita Patil and Sayani Gupta in Four More Shots Please!

For the rest of you, have there been instances where you’ve judged your characters?

Kirti: For Anjana, in the third season, where she’s still not letting go of her ex-husband Varun (Neil Bhoopalam), a part of me was bored in terms of Arey yaar, ho gaya matlab, come on! But you also understand that it happens. It’s very, very difficult to let go when you’ve been married to someone, right? It could also happen in my personal life. So, it’s a journey you undertake as a character.

Maanvi: Also, unlike life where we make mistakes over the spans of our lives, this is a show that’s compressed. We’re making far too many mistakes, so there’s more room for judgement. I have judged my character in season 1 with the whole sexy-cam track. I was telling Rangita (Pritish Nandy, producer) and Anu (Menon, director), “Nobody does that, yaar!” But they told me it’s pretty rampant. Of course, the response to season 1 changed my outlook towards the character. Then in season 3, after Siddhi lost her dad, I kept thinking why is she not seeking help? Why is she not seeing a therapist or a grief counsellor? She’s just falling apart. Her friends are having to deal with her.

Bani: The thing I couldn’t understand is why would she drink every day and then hit the gym next morning? These are two such opposing poles. Itni polarity, bhai! Everybody knows nutrition is so important. So, for me, that was the biggest thing to get over. Once I got over that, I could accept everything (laughs).

Sayani: And you’re not going to have those abs if you drink everyday!

Bani: That’s the creative license and the magic of filmmaking.

Sayani Gupta, Maanvi Gagroo, Kirti Kulhari, and Bani J in Four More Shots Please!

There has been a phenomenon doing the rounds online — the male loneliness epidemic. What do you think has led to that?

Bani: I think women were just settling for and accepting the things like they’ve been for so long. And now that we’ve actually found our footing, and are financially independent more than anything else, we’re able to speak for ourselves. We had to be subdued and do things their way. But now, we stand on our feet and become our own person faster. That’s why men are feeling lonelier today because they have to listen to us more now. And they’re still choosing not to.

Maanvi: I don’t know if I’m the right person to comment on this because I wouldn’t know how women would feel if men comment on something they don’t know. Having said that, I will comment on this (laughs). I think men have brought it upon themselves. I’m sorry but women are no longer going to mother you. And if that’s a problem, then maybe you should look in the mirror rather than continuing to expect it from the women in your life. And then blaming on the equality movement and feminism. If you look any any of our DMs or even the comments we get on our posts, I can give it to you in writing that 90% of these comments are from men. So, I’m sorry but what loneliness epidemic?

Sayani: The number of men who go for therapy is way lower than the number of women, especially in India since it’s also a cultural thing. The men of today are, for good reason, more in touch with their emotions and are able to speak about them more openly than they were able to even a few years ago. Which is why they’re talking about real things within the bro groups and male friendships. It needs to be much more, of course. Which is when violence will be less in society, it’s all interconnected. Having said that, because there’s a lot of talk about mental health, that balance is finding its footing. Men have been lonely for generations. The father and the son don’t have a relationship because they’re not able to communicate with each other. Loneliness has always existed. It’s only now that we’re able to table it for discussion.

Finally, Prateik, since your late mother Smita Patil is a symbol of the empowered woman, how do you think the image of an empowered woman has changed since her films in the 1970s and ’80s to this era of shows like Four More Shots Please!?

Prateik: I don’t think things have changed much. The narrative is still the same, where women are trying to be strong and portray who they really are and want to be. The stories and cinema will be different, but it’s the same narrative. My mum made some bold choices when she was around. In a way, she’s paved the way for many women to stand up for themselves. There are women doing that today, 100%. Four of them, and so many more. Times are changing. You cannot call the industry a man’s world anymore. It still isn’t there, but women can call the shots. That wasn’t the scenario 20, 30, 40 or 50 years ago. I can’t wait for a world where women are ruling. It’s going to happen. It’s inevitable.

Sayani: She walked so that we could run. She’s the reason we’re all sitting here.

Prateik: What is Four More Shots Please!? It’s women empowerment, in its own way. Women are trying to be themselves, and fck you if you have a problem with that. You don’t pay their bills. They have their own jobs. They’re going to choose the men they want.