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The sci-fi series Jl 50 received has been received well by critics and Ott viewers but director Shailender Vyas feels the show was designed for big-screen.

"It was a heartbreaking decision for me and the team to take as we have an emotional connection to the show," Vyas said about dropping the show on Ott, reasoning that they took the decision owing to the ongoing pandemic that had shut down cinema halls: "For me and the team, it was important to release and reach our audience."

The series featuring Abhay Deol, Pankaj Kapur and Piyush Mishra revolves around a plane that had vanished decades ago after take-off, and suddenly crash-lands in a remote village of present day West Bengal.

"When I started writing Jl 50, my focus was to represent to my audience the strong connection India always had with science. Moreover, every time I would discuss time travel, thereaction...

Actress Ritika Anand, who features in and has produced the four-episode web series, Jl 50, says that although she was always keen to cast Abhay Deol as protagonist of the show, she and writer-director Shailender Vyas were initially apprehensive about approaching him. She added she feels fortunate to have a cast that includes Pankaj Kapur and Piyush Mishra along with Abhay.

Talking about the casting of Abhay in as Shantanu Ritika in the sci-fi thriller, she said: "Abhay was the first choice and an intimidating one too. We had heard so much about how he only gives a nod to excellent scripts. We had confidence in the script but we weren't sure how he'd take the time travel angle of the story. However, upon Shailender and Piyush ji's suggestion, we sent Abhay the script and after a few anxious nights, we heard that he loved the premise of the story and the script of the film.