Indie Spotlight: Indian Series ‘Casting Couch With Amey & Nipun’ Takes Cues From Galifianakis

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now. Read previous installments here.

The web series format has become an international phenomenon, and one country where it has taken hold is India. No series better exemplifies the influence American shows have on South Asian creators than Casting Couch With Amey & Nipun, a dry comedy that plays out like a semi-scripted version of the Zach Galifianakis web series Between Two Ferns.

The stars of Casting Couch are Amey Wagh and Nipun Dharmadhikari, a pair of actors who portray fictionalized versions of themselves. The premise for the show is simple: Wagh and Dharmadhikari bring in Indian celebrities to audition for a film, but the celebrities believe the proceedings to be a mere interview. What follows is Between Two Ferns-style awkwardness, with plenty of deadpan jokes aimed at all present characters.

Here’s the first episode, which features Bollywood actress Radhika Apte. Casting Couch is in Hindi with English subtitles:

Despite the obvious language gap and the presence of pop culture references that are lost on Americans like me, Casting Couch comes off as a witty comedy with well-developed (and hilariously pathetic) protagonists. It’s a fun watch for viewers from all parts of the world, and as a big Between Two Ferns fan, I’m glad to see Indian creators paying homage to one of the best web series America has to offer.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• Those Damn Canadians. This mockumentary about an egotistical actor just started its second season.
• Roommates. The lives of five co-habitating actors are documented (with comedy).
• Planeswalkers. The world of Magic: The Gathering is the setting for this fantasy series.

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