Vishal Bhardwaj Says He Took Inspiration For Charlie Chopra From Fleabag

Vishal Bhardwaj’s latest series, Charlie Chopra and the Mystery of Solang Valley, has been getting thunderous responses from both audiences and critics. The show’s writing, atmosphere and outstanding performances, particularly by lead actress Wamiqa Gabbi, have garnered significant attention. While the series is based on Agatha Christie’s novel The Sittaford Mystery, it also shares a unique connection with Phoebe Waller Bridge’s beloved comedy series, Fleabag. Vishal Bhardwaj, an admirer of the Amazon Prime show, revealed he drew inspiration from the show for his latest series. He also applauds the way Phoebe broke the fourth wall, which he believes no other show has done in the same manner.

In a conversation with Humans of Cinema, the filmmaker said, “I love fleabag. Mujhe lagta hai aaj tak ka sabse badhiya fourth wall break kiya hai, woh Fleabag mein kiya hai. Pheobe ne jo kiya hai, its extraordinary aur kya performance hai. I think waisa fourth wall aaj tak break nahi hua hai. Aur phir toh main fan ho gaya and that writing, woh khud writer hai, aur usne kya writing ki hai, aur kya uska humour hai Fleabag ke andar. (I think the best fourth wall break ever done till now has been in Fleabag. What Phoebe has done is extraordinary and what a performance. I think such a fourth wall break has not happened till now. And then I became a fan. She is the writer herself and what writing she has done and what humour is there in the series).”

“Uske baad killings eve karke ek show hai, which she (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) has written, aap usme dekhiye usko kya writing hai. She is phenomenal writer. Main actually Charlie Chopra likh chuka tha, uske baad maine woh (fleabag) dekha and main darr gaya woh dekh ke ki isse badhiya toh ab kya hoga. (After that, there’s a show called Killing Eve, which Phoebe has written, you should see the writing in that. She is a phenomenal writer. I had actually written Charlie Chopra and after that, I watched Fleabag and I got scared seeing),” Vishal Bhardwaj shared.

It’s not just Vishal Bhardwaj who was inspired by Phoebe Waller Bridge’s performance, Wamiqa Gabbi, the actress portraying the titular character Charlie Chopra, also took inspiration from Waller’s Fleabag character.

Wamiqa said, “In our series, my character breaks the fourth wall to create an atmospheric connection with the audience directly. The last time I do remember seeing and being greatly inspired where a similar approach used but in a different genre was Fleabag where Pheobe’s character would stare into the camera to connect with the audience during awkward situations. I did use this as a reference point for myself.”

Apart from Wamiqa Gabbi, Charlie Chopra and the Mystery of Solang Valley, features talented actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Neena Gupta, Lara Dutta, Gulshan Grover, Vivaan Shah, Imaad Shah and more.