His India-themed TV series "Brown Nation" has been picked up by Netflix, which also airs Aziz Ansari's "Master of None" and director Abi Varghese says he is inspired by the top-rated comedy-drama rather than considering it a competition.
Varghese is best known for directing a popular sitcom in the Malayalam that aired on Kairali TV for three years titled "Akkara Kazhchakal."
His latest "Brown Nation" is a slice-of-life series focused on life a struggling small IT business owner in New York and "Master of None" is loosely based on Ansari, who plays Dev, a 30-year-old actor trying to make his way through life in New York City.
"'Master of None' is an inspiration. Both the series have a lot of similar ideas. But I feel 'Brown Nation' is a lot more quirkier than that. I feel we have something pretty new in terms of the design of the show. The other show is more like a drama-comedy, ours is comedy," Varghese told PTI over phone from New York.
The series is created and written by Matt Grubb, George Kanatt and Varghese.
"We are an independent TV show that is on Netflix and that I feel will open doors for a lot of filmmakers as it shows that you don't need a big studio to get your material out."
"Brown Nation" has began airing on Netflix and Varghese says getting online streaming website on board was a surprise.
"When we started this project, we didn't know where it was going to go, firstly because it is Indian and also in America. We were looking for the right platform for it. In the past one year Netflix has opened up its doors. They watched a few episodes and were thrilled by it. They promote more diversified content."
The series features Rajeev Varma, "3 Idiots" fame actor Omi Vaidya, Shenaz Treasurywala and Melanie Chandra. Varghese says the series promises to deliver a typical Indian life with ironies intact.
"We have tried to develop universally appealing humour by using situations of a quirky business owner working to make it in the competitive world of New York. With diversity of talent and stories making impact, this series holds potential to reach out to multiple audiences.
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