Bringing together the much-loved screen pair of Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed is Barzakh, a six-episode series that blends magic realism and supernatural fantasy within a family reunion setting.

Created by Asim Abbasi (Churails, Cake), Barzakh is co-produced by Shailja Kejriwal and Waqas Hassan and expands Zee Zindagi’s endeavour to foster strong creative collaborations between subcontinental talents.

Shot in the picturesque Hunza Valley in Pakistan, Barzakh follows the poignant journey of a 76-year-old reclusive man who invites his estranged children and grandchildren to his remote valley resort to ‘celebrate’ an unconventional event — his wedding with the ghost of his first true love.

Barzakh bravely explores themes of mental health, postpartum depression, generational trauma and gender inclusivity through a gripping narrative that challenges societal conventions. It also delves into the profound role of folklore in the complex tapestry of human existence, prompting viewers to contemplate life’s nuances.

Before the premiere of the series on July 19 on Zindagi’s YouTube channel and Zee5, The Telegraph engaged in a freewheeling chat with Shailja Kejriwal and Asim Abbasi on the world of Barzakh.

Asim, you have said that the idea of Barzakh came to you during the pandemic. What triggered it?

Asim Abbasi: We were coming off the high of Churails and wanted to do something which was very different from it. Shailja was thinking we will do something intimate but I added epic to it! The starting point was just about exploring families. I have always explored families from a female point of view and there is, of course, a strong undercurrent of a feminist viewpoint even in Barzakh. But in my earlier work, I had not explored what it means to be a father, to be a son, to be a grandson and how these relationships are formed.

Though my father was always there, I feel that most fathers, in general, are never as present as mothers are. I wanted to explore how that impacts children.

Also, my father had passed away and I am the father of a son and I wanted to explore that dynamic, but not just in a sort of a small family drama reunion kind of way. I wanted to expand the idea and set it in a new world. That is when the Hunza Valley came into the picture and we created a world around a fictional land. The folklore associated with that area made its way into the story and that enabled us to touch upon themes of mystique and magic realism. We also looked into ancient Hinduism, Paganism and Zoroastrianism and how every religion or every school of thought was interlinked in its notions of the past and how it trickles into the present, and its notions of life and of death.

Shailja, what got you interested in the idea?

Shailja: Families are complicated. There is the Sooraj Barjatya family... and then there is the other kind of family! Like most others, I am a product of the ‘other’ family where there are interesting complexities and it is these complexities that also make things fun. Everybody being straight and simple can be really boring. I found the idea to be universal.

In Hinduism, we have the concept of shraddh after the passing away of a person. We pray to our ancestors and we keep them close to us in every aspect of our lives. That is also seen in Shamanic culture... the idea of people who have left us still being among us. I thought that was a very interesting new element that Asim put in... the idea of bringing the living and the dead together.

Asim, Barzakh marks a tonal shift for you. How did you approach this complex intergenerational story with multiple themes and layers while writing as well as filming?

Asim: I wanted to go from the hyperreal world of Churails to a milieu seeped in magic realism. In Barzakh, we have longer takes... we have scenes playing out without intercutting or forced editing. I always want the tone of my work to be authentic to what that specific story wants.

What was the most exciting and the most challenging part of the process of making Barzakh?

Asim: For all of us, Barzakh was a huge undertaking because not only is the story complex, not only does it have a lot of VFX elements... but also the fact that the cast and crew had to shift to the Hunza Valley for three-four months. The terrain is mountainous, beautiful and relaxing but mountains also have a certain melancholy attached to them.

I was there from summer and I saw the seasons change very viscerally. The story of the series takes place only over four days and we had to ensure that the weather couldn’t change much on screen. We had to schedule in a way that all the interior shots were done at one time and then we waited for fall to arrive to shoot the outdoor scenes. As soon as fall came, we had to change the schedule because we had a limited amount of time to shoot all the exteriors before the leaves would start to fall off. It was a complex shoot to manage but then it all worked out well.

Shailja: For me, the challenge was more internal. I had to figure out things like how does one place a show like this, where does it fit in, will the audiences like it, does it fit into the parameters of audience research... which actually Barzakh doesn’t (laughs). Then I asked myself whether I am making a personal choice or a business choice.

That became an internal struggle for me. But now to see that conviction pay off and to have the show come to fruition in the way it has, has been the biggest high. We have put in our best and now let us give the audiences something different from what they have been fed all this while. Let’s give them an alternative. For a lot of content now, there is a saying that leave your brains at home... for Barzakh, I am saying: ‘Please bring your brains!’

‘Barzakh’ means ‘obstacle’ but also stands for what separates life from the stage thereafter. It is a beautiful word with layered meanings. Is this the title you always wanted to go with?

Asim: That was always the title. For a few weeks, we may have had some other working title, but from the moment it materialised in my head, Barzakh is what I wanted.

You are right. It is a word that encapsulates everything that we have in the show — on a supernatural level, on a personal level... it is about being in a state of flux, in limbo where you have kind of accepted the past but not moved on to the future.

You have a strong ensemble cast and bringing together Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed has been a huge casting coup. But are you wary of the fact that audiences could expect Barzakh to be another Zindagi Gulzar Hai?

Asim: Getting Fawad and Sanam on board was the easy bit. Everyone is craving to do good work, everyone wants to put their artistry to use and challenge themselves. The two of them said ‘yes’ pretty much straight away.

I love all parts of filmmaking but one of the most important things to me is working with actors, both on shoot and in prep. Having that time with them and to rehearse and just get their opinions and build that trust... the boundaries between me as director and them as actors became porous and we were in sync and rhythm.

Fawad and Sanam were respectful of my choices but also vocal about where they wanted to take their characters. We had debates and conversations and that is what a healthy collaboration should feel like. I think they were also really enriched by this process. Television moves really fast and they otherwise don’t get the time or space to discuss things with the director or their co-actors.

As far as the audience expecting another Zindagi Gulzar Hai, I feel that I have nothing to be apprehensive about. I have two great actors who have delivered phenomenal performances and I have given my best to Barzakh. It is the most personal story I have told, even though it is on a much bigger scale than my previous work. It is personal and intimate and I have been honest and authentic in what I am telling. Beyond that is in the hands of the audience. I can’t control what the audience expects but I hope they will be open to seeing Fawad and Sanam in a new avatar, to seeing them play different characters.

Shailja: As an audience, we put the pressure on Shah Rukh Khan to be Rahul or Raj. People always fall in love with a character and then they want to see that actor repeating that character over and over again. Then, they will say: ‘He is doing the same thing over and over again!’ It also depends on the actor to be brave enough to break that mould. As an artiste, you have to explore different facets of your craft and that is what everybody involved in this show did, including Fawad and Sanam. They are artistes first and then stars and they are cognisant of this fact.

Barzakh was the only South Asian selection at the prestigious Series Mania festival in France last year. What did that mean to you?

Shailja: It is always nice to be validated. It was lovely to have such a huge platform like Series Mania where only 12 shows were invited from all over the world and for us to be one of those 12 and the only one from South Asia was a huge validation. At that time, we hadn’t even finished making the show. They only wanted two episodes, so we quickly finished that for them. The fact that they really liked it and the festival director spoke so highly of the show and had such interesting and in-depth questions about it, made us feel very good.

Asim: As storytellers, we want the world to connect with something that we have created which is authentically ours. We hope that at least someone out there will say: ‘Oh my God! I get this, I feel this! I am in the same boat too.’ Playing Barzakh in Series Mania was a validating experience and to form that connection for someone to look at it with those eyes, ask deep, meaningful questions and start a conversation around it. I hope viewers connect with Barzakh.

Shailja, you have said that the idea of Zee Zindagi has been to make a safe space for creative people to explore and express fearlessly. Given the times we live in, how much of a challenge has that been?

Shailja: If you do something with conviction and not wear it on your sleeve or tom-tom about it, then that helps. My attempt has been to have a slate which has different kinds of things in it. Some content is for a mainstream audience while some things personally excite me and the maker in question. Somewhere, we have been able to strike a balance between both. And I think that is the reason why it has been okay. If I were to say: ‘I am going to make everything, I don’t care about how people are going to react’ you can’t do that because we have to balance the creative side as well as the business side. It is a slow process but I think we have made some ground there. I am quite happy and proud about it.