It was after she graduated from RMIT Screenwriting in 2010 that writer Mithila Gupta boldly pitched an idea to Neighbours producers, to shake up the 10 soap.
The Kapoor clan brought Indian and Sri Lankan heritage to Erinsborough in 2011, with the family remaining for two years.
It was a evolutionary move which drew some online criticism, including later by actors for the way they were written out. For Gupta, only just embarking on her career, it was a baptism of fire.
“There’s so many feelings I have about that, because it was a really tough time. But also that was my first experience of the industry as a writer. It seemed impossible at the time, but I had really great support people who were in positions of power,” she tells TV Tonight.
“I pitched that it needed an Indian family. The show was not diverse at all”
“I pitched that it needed an Indian family. The show was not diverse at all. It seemed globally to be kind of looked down on, for that reason. There were people who could have shut that down in two minutes. But the people in power, listened, and we made it happen. So for me, for my first job, still a trainee at that time, I was just like, ‘Wow, anything is possible!’
“And now I’m sitting here, looking at this little flyer I have for Four Years Later. Back then, I would have thought this is impossible, but it’s happened, so that’s kind of shaped how I approach the industry.”
Indeed, television serial’s often-reference training ground would prove a worthwhile experience. Gupta would go on to write for Winners & Losers, Home & Away, Playing for Keeps, The Heights, Doctor Doctor, Bump and Five Bedrooms.
Now her own series Four Years Later, an 8 x 30 romance by Easy Tiger will screen on SBS.
Using both Hindi and English languages, and filmed in Mumbai, Jaipur and Sydney, it portrays a long-distance relationship between two young Indians who meet as part of an arranged marriage.
Indian-born Gupta, who moved to Australia at the age of 4, says she drew upon the experiences, in part, of her parents changing countries.
“Their experience is neither negative nor positive, it’s all the things in between”
“What I’ve seen is their experience is neither negative nor positive, it’s all the things in between. It’s always been really different, contrasting and evolving. So I’ve always wanted to tell a truthful immigrant story set in Australia that reflects this,” she explains.
“I’ve also always wanted to tell a love story, because I’ve grown up watching Hindi cinema and it’s Romance has left me feeling a bit disappointed with what happens in real life.
“So I’ve always wanted to tell a real and grounded love story with Indian characters.”
The idea grew from meeting her own husband, initially from a single date in Sydney before being separated by apndemic lockdowns.
“We built our relationship over Zoom, and we’re now married. I’ve always wanted to tell this story about a couple separated, because I’ve heard so many such stories from other immigrants. I just felt after Covid, this is something everyone can relate to. We’ve all been separated in one way or another,” she continues.
“My father actually took the dating app out of my hands and started swiping”
“We met on a dating app. When I was in lockdown with my parents, I’d given up. I threw my phone down, and I was like, ‘I’m not doing this anymore.’ My father actually took the dating app out of my hands and started swiping, and he landed on my (future) husband’s face. He said, ‘You should go for this guy. He looks really honest,’ and luckily, he was also really handsome.
“So I said, ‘Sure.’ Went on a date, and here we are. So in many ways, it was an arranged marriage.”
Yet Four Years Later‘s lead characters Sridevi (Shahana Goswami) and Yash (Akshay Ajit Singh) do not instantly connect.
“They’re opposites, they’re drawn back to each other”
“I wanted to show a couple who clash in their initial meeting, but then because they challenge each other, and they’re opposites, they’re drawn back to each other. So what kind of happens after that initial meeting is not planned, it’s them just going with their emotions.
“Most people in my generation who are arranged, have dated. They’ve gotten the chance to know each other and make a decision about whether they like each other. It’s just the way they initially found each other was slightly different. When you think about it, not that different to something like Tinder or a website.”
Directed by Mohini Herse (Appetite) and Fadia Abboud (House of Gods, Five Bedrooms), the series also seeks to dispell some misconceptions as well as showing Indian characters in a contemporary light.
“We invented the Kama Sutra, but we’re not seen as sexy”
“We invented the Kama Sutra, but we’re not seen as sexy. Bollywood content can be quite conservative or glorified in its intimacy. We’re hardly ever seen as leads, let alone as sexy. I wanted to tell something more truthful. We swim in the water in our underwear, we have sex before marriage. That’s not everybody’s story. Yes, many people are conservative globally, but I wanted to subvert this perception, because it’s not what I want to see of myself.
“There’s definitely race politics that come into it, especially as we spend more time in Australia. But what I’m so excited about is that they both have really different experiences of that. I really wanted to say there’s not one blanket experience of racism. Even in my own family, I’ve seen mum triumph. I’ve seen dad suffer. I’ve seen the opposite. It changes.”
Supporting Indian characters were cast in India while further Aussie cast include Kate Box (Deadloch, Erotic Stories), Taj Aldeeb (The Fall), Roy Joseph (Five Bedrooms, Strife) and Luke Arnold (Scrublands, True Colours).
For any imperfections of her time shaking up Neighbours, Gupta remains grateful those in power gave her a chance.
“It’s given me this kind of optimism and bravery when it comes to what you pitch in the industry. And sure, there have been many times I’ve been disappointed, but then the few times like with Four Years Later, you get to make the thing you want to make, and it just feels like a miracle.”
Four Years Later screens in double episodes 9:20pm Wednesday on SBS (all episodes On Demand).
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