After a long wait of 7 long years, fans finally got the announcement of Pitchers Season 2. While the trailer of the series started trending on social media soon after it was revealed, its fans can’t wait to witness the upcoming season. Pitchers Season 2 starts streaming on ZEE5 and TVF on December 23 and it sees the return of Naveen Kasturia, Arunabh Kumar, Abhay Mahajan, and Abhishek Banerjee in the lead roles.
The much-loved web show’s previous season featured Jeetendra Kumar as the only married guy in the group of 4 including Naveen, Arunabh and Abhay, who leave their jobs to kick off their own start-up company. Now, in the Season 2 trailer, what left fans thinking is that Jeetu was nowhere to be seen, but we see a new addition to the star cast – Ridhi Dogra.
In a freewheeling chat with News18, Pitchers S2 stars Arunabh Kumar, Naveen Kasturia, Ridhi Dogra and music composer and Pitchers Season 2 director Vaibhav Bundhoo talked about why Jeetendra is missing from the trailer, the gap of 7 years between the first and second season and lot more. During the chat, the writer of the series, Arunabh Kumar, described his experience of working as an assistant director to Farah Khan on one of the favourite Bollywood masala films of Shah Rukh Khan – Om Shanti Om.
Singer and music composer Vaibhav Bundhoo, who composed loveable tracks in Pitchers, returns with the second season of the show, donning the hat of a director. Talking about why the series took so long to get back, Vaibhav shared, “We were very nervous, excited and everything at the same time. We didn’t want to disappoint the audience and the expectations of fans because they really loved the show. The main reason was that we didn’t want to disappoint the viewers.”
Arunabh, who also wrote the series, adds, “It’s a lovely feeling to get back with the show. We’ve been writing and re-writing the show. There are a lot of people in the show, and to get all of them together at one point in time, and write a script that Vaibhav liked, and will approve of – also took a lot of time. “
When asked about Jeetendra Kumar not being in the series’ trailer, he shared, “All the characters in the story have progressed and so is the character of Maanvi Gagroo, who played Naveen’s girlfriend’s character – who is also a very important character. So, we have these people, and as it happens in life, is what is going to be portrayed in the second season. And once you see the series, you’ll realise that there are some pleasant and unpleasant surprises depending on who you are a bigger fan of. In real life, there is entry of new people and exits of new people – that keeps happening.”
Naveen Kasturiya said that it feels “superb” that the series is finally getting back. “We were waiting for it for so long. And at one point I also thought that it will not happen – because it was too late. Earlier we had a feeling that it won’t happen, and now it is happening finally, which is great,” says Naveen.
Ridhi Dogra, who is a new addition to the show, shared her experience of being associated with Pitchers Season 2. She shares, “It’s a great feeling. When they started, I remember watching their shows and cheering them on saying they are doing such incredible work. What they’re doing should not stop. Speaking of my personal journey, I feel really great – that I’ve worked on myself a lot. Today, I’ve found myself in their company. I’m able to take a lot from them and perhaps add some value from whatever work is asked from me.”
Not many know that the ex-TVF CEO Arunabh Sharma worked as an assistant director to Farah Khan on sets of Shah Rukh Khan starrer Om Shanti Om. Speaking about his experience of being associated with the film, Arunabh revealed that feels “fortunate” to have landed his first job on Om Shanti Om in Red Chillies Entertainment.
He shares, “I always say this – Red Chillies is my film school. Shah Rukh Sir is my first boss and Farah ma’am was a class teacher. I had fabulous teachers like V Manikandan Sir, Nakul Kamte Sir, and many others around. I feel I got to learn from the best, Om Shanti Om was also a very big and amazing film. I also got to learn so much about art. It was fantastic and to work with the biggest star of not just this country, but the world. I used to be a stand-in, and as a stand-in assistant director, I used to be at the same place where Shah Rukh Sir would stand and the camera movement, they (the star cast) would practise with me, and I had to learn the lines also. At times, I used to feel very surreal, because he used to ask me sometimes – tell me I’m moving from where to where. So, it was amazing. Everybody says and knows that he is a charmer, but I think the kind of work ethic he has is something that inspired me the most. Once he is there, he will give 50 takes, he will be there, and he will make sure you do the best for the story. Having seen somebody on television in Fauji and standing beside him – was a privilege. You could say I’m a Red Chilli alumnus, and will always be that.”
“Then when we were starting our TVF journey – we started a crazy talk show called Barely Speaking with Arunabh and he (SRK) agreed to come for the first episode. And it was a celebrity talk show and it had not been released, and he sort of gave a pat on the back, saying you guys are doing a good job and I trust whatever you do, and it became the most viral video in 2014. My friend Zakir Khan recently said in one of his shows, “Kuch sapne dekhe bhi nahi the, woh bhi poore ho gaye. (There were some dreams that I didn’t see, and even these got fulfilled)’ I feel the same,” adds Arunabh.
Pitchers Season 2 starts streaming on December 23 on ZEE5 and TVF.
