From Films To Working With Somasundaram, Topless Director Dinesh Mohan Talks With ZEE5!

Shows with a series of misfortunes always give the audience the drama and entertainment they seek. With that, director Dinesh Mohan has collaborated with ZEE5 for an Original series about a heist drama gone wrong. We got in touch with the director for a quick interview. Interestingly, the conversation with the director was nothing short of fun! Right from discussing films and filmmakers to talking about Topless, Dinesh Mohan sure took us through a trip of getting to know him. To describe Topless in one word, Dinesh called it a series of ‘random’ events coming together. If you got a peek at the teaser of Topless, you would probably agree with the director. In fact, you can check out the teaser below. 

When I first met Dinesh, he did seem a little nervous as he feared that he would have to converse in Hindi (since he was flown down to Mumbai for the launch event). He was visibly relieved when I reassured him that the interview would be completely in English. Once this little bit of misunderstanding was cleared up, the director opened up about his series. He stressed that his heist comedy differs greatly from what the audience has seen hitherto. “Mine is not particularly a heist comedy. In Topless, the heist gone wrong moment is in the first episode itself. It’s basically a journey between the leader of a group of thieves and his followers. It explores what happens to the team after the leader is dead,” said the director as he took us through what Topless is about. 

Watch the movie Headhunters online on ZEE5 in HD.

Five minutes into conversation with him, and I could already see why Dinesh chose a non-linear, and somewhat wacky, storyline for the ZEE5 Original Series. During the interview, Dinesh revealed how he has drawn inspiration from Hollywood director Guy Ritchie’s Snatch and ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ for Topless. Hence, it is not surprising that the show has random stories that intertwine to form a series of hilarious chaos. Discussing films with him was a revelation as quite a few names and suggestions were exchanged between us. He also added that Tarantino’s famous Once Upon A Time In Hollywood left him awestruck. 

The series’ star, Guru Somasundaram, essays a crucial role as he plays a politician who also wishes to acquire the Topless painting for some mysterious reasons only known to him. Talking about working with Somasundaram, Dinesh revealed, “He was a pro. The first day of shooting with him, he called me to a room and spoke for an hour, only about his role. He was asking what seemed like unnecessary questions about the character. I was wondering why he is asking such questions because they are irrelevant to the series. Later, I saw how he built these layers to his character for the series. He is always in character when he is on the set. I just had to restrict him to a few things.”

We also played a short rapid-fire round with the director where he revealed that his favourite director is Quentin Tarantino. That does explain why he liked Once Upon A Time in Hollywood so much.  Aside from that, the filmmaker also gave Vijay Sethupathi’s Super Deluxe high regard. In fact, he did mention that Topless does bear quite a few similarities to Super Deluxe,  its parallel storyline, for instance, and random series of events. While he confidently mentioned that taking up wacky, non-linear scripts is something he can do best, the romance genre is not his cup of tea.

During our chat, Dinesh also stated how he thinks OTT platforms are the best way to get their work to the audience as it has a bigger reach. While Topless is all set to release this month on ZEE5, Dinesh already has plans for his next project. Although he only revealed a bare minimum about the project where the protagonist is a hallucinating police officer, it sure piqued our interest. 

If shows with heists as its primary plot interest you then we’ve got an interesting watch for you. Director Dinesh Mohan has created a promising ZEE5 Original Series, Topless, to ensure that your February month is full of entertainment! The series revolves around chaotic comedy that ensues after a bunch of small-time thieves steal an old topless painting, crafted by a British artist. It turns out that the painting is cursed and prone to bring misfortune to the buyer. However, several other parties are also interested in it, including a ruthless politician Kalki and the artist’s granddaughter from London. The show is set to release this month.

For more entertainment, check out Yaaradi Nee Mohini, now streaming on ZEE5.