For Neeraj Udhwani and Ishita Moitra, the writers of Netflix’s new series Single Papa, the idea for the show came during a trip to Goa at the airport. “We saw this visual of a macho guy holding a baby in his arms, and he was trying to find a diaper station.” While women’s restrooms usually have diaper-changing facilities, men’s restrooms often do not. Some public institutions, like airports, offer family rooms where either parent can feed or change a baby’s diaper. But this one incident got the writers thinking about how, institutionally, raising and nursing a baby is still considered a woman’s responsibility rather than a man’s.
Neeraj and Ishita on giving a humourous touch to Single Papa
While Neeraj and Ishita, who are also a married couple, had a structural idea for the story, not being parents themselves meant they weren’t emotionally driven to pen it down at the time. However, after welcoming their daughter years later, they felt a stronger urge than ever to tell this story.
Neeraj, who has previously penned scripts for films like Mere Dad Ki Maruti and Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji, believes humour is the best way to approach difficult topics. Ishita, who collaborated with Neeraj on Mere Dad Ki Maruti and is also known for writing Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, echoed the sentiment. “Since it was about adoption and a father’s love for a child, the emotional aspects came in naturally. Comedy-drama is also a very unique approach, you know. You don’t see so much of it in the OTT space. So we also thought that this could make it a little different from other shows that are on air or that have been on. So these are all conscious decisions that we took while writing,” shared Neeraj talking to mid-day.
Casting Dayanand Shetty as Manny
Single Papa brings together an interesting mix of actors including Kunal Kemmu, Manoj Pahwa, Ayesha Raza, Prajakta Koli, and Neha Dhupia. However, one of the biggest surprise elements was the casting of Dayanand Shetty, popularly known as CID’s beloved Daya, as a manny (male nanny). The actor, who spent years on screen breaking down doors and flexing his strength, is seen here in a soft, gentle avatar, where his skills lie in tiptoeing around sleeping babies rather than smashing doors.
So whose idea was this unexpected casting choice? Neeraj credits the entire Single Papa team, including co-director Hitesh Kevalia, showrunner Shashank Khaitan, and producer Samar Khan. “Manny’s character was always written from the beginning. So we knew that we had to do something different and unique here. The role was always written as a very strong-built, muscular, macho man, but someone who is a softie at heart. So it would be fun to see someone who has an action image, someone who breaks bones, changing diapers,” Neeraj shared.
He further added, “And then as soon as the casting process began, I think instinctively all of us including Netflix thought that if we approach someone like Daya, it could be casting against the grain. It’s like seeing someone do something differently. If this show was made in the 70s or 80s, we would have cast Dharmendra. So it’s something like that- a strong man doing something that’s very gentle and sweet.”
Ishita sums it up simply, “He represents the kind of masculinity that we believe in. He’s always strong and gentle.”
Getting the right cast
While some projects are written with certain actors in mind, the script of Single Papa was developed in parts, and only much later did they start imagining actors who would suit the characters. Fortunately, for them all their first choices were finalised for the final output. “We developed it over a long period of time. Somewhere along the way, we knew we wanted someone like Kunal and someone like Dayanand for Manny, but that came a little later in the process. Initially, we focused on the core story of a single father adopting a baby and his family. The nuances, the insights into parenthood, came in later. Once we had a solid dialogue draft in place, all of us naturally began putting faces to the characters,” shares Ishita.
