Directors Ashwiny Tiwari and Nitesh Tiwari on the making of Break Point
Nitesh Tiwari spoke candidly about how the creation of this series what not as easy as it seems. While Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi described Break Point as a “great healing journey,” it was a new and thrilling experience for the directors, who had previously directed films with a sports theme.
With the success of Break Point, filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari along with his filmmaker wife Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari threw light on the making of this documentary series.
Nitesh Tiwari has been a tennis fan since Boris Becker rose to prominence as a result of his fast-paced serve and volleying abilities, which included the famous dive-and-take point at the net. Nitesh Tiwari was unaware of the fact that he would subsequently support an Indian doubles team that would go on to win back-to-back Grand Slams in 1999. Break Point, a seven-episode documentary series made by the husband-wife pair Nitesh Tiwari and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, focuses on those two players, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, popularly known as Lee-Hesh.
The directors mentioned how being able to be a part of the legendary duo’s journey was a lifetime opportunity. It fell into their laps during the uncertainty of the pandemic and the lockdown. After numerous video calls with Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, much creative writing went into account to make the audience glued to their screens. Then when the directors finally met the legendary duo, it felt as if they had known them ‘forever’.
Nitesh Tiwari spoke candidly about how the creation of this series what not as easy as it seems. The director, who is popularly known for his blockbuster sports movie ‘Dangal’ starring Aamir Khan, has also won a National Film Award for Sushant Singh Rajput’s ‘Chhichhore’.
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What came as a challenge with Break Point was that it was a tale of two real-life legends and had to be narrated by the two. The directors did everything in their favor to make Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi comfortable while opening up about their lives. If they wished to laugh, they could laugh, and if they felt like breaking down, that would be their Break Point.
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, who directed the Kangana Ranaut starrer ‘Panga’, also spoke about creating sports movies. Break Point was very much different from the movies because of two points. Firstly, this was to be a documentary series, not a movie. Secondly, the real-life heroes were talking in front of the camera themselves so there was no need to make some other actors act in their place.
While Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi described Break Point as a “great healing journey,” it was a new and thrilling experience for the directors, who had previously directed films with a sports theme.