With a name that means “acting” and a surname inherited from his parents—legendary onscreen couple Ramesh and Seema Deo—acclaimed filmmaker Abhinay Deo was born to cinema. After giving us cult films like Delhi Belly and Blackmail, he is all set to unveil Zee 5 series, Brown.Architect-turned-filmmaker talks about why crime is the go-to genre for filmmakers, why clichés are not such a bad thing and how he intends to stem the rut on OTT.Indeed, we have surfeit of crime dramas on streaming platforms. Indeed, many of them are women cop led dramas. On both counts, he has a credible explanation to go with the crime thriller-based on Abheek Barua’s novel, City of Death. He observes, “Crime is all around us. Pick up any newspaper, look in any direction and you see crime. Hence, it becomes the most consumed genre in cinema too.”As for yet another show headlined by a policewoman, he quips, “Ultimately inspiration for all stories comes from Mahabharata or Ramayana and similarities are bound to exist.” He is not unduly perturbed that his lead character’s name Rita Brown shares the same first name with Daldal’s Rita Ferreira. Quoting Shakespeare, ‘what’s in a name,’ he also reveals how when he started making Brown some four years ago Daldal was nowhere in contention. Besides, he feels, “In a crime thriller beyond the obvious whodunit, the onus rests on treatment, whether it’s dense, layered and unpeels like an onion. Brown is not just another crime story. It is about human nature, its decay and will leave you asking many questions about society and one’s own self too.”With Karisma Kapoor stepping into the shoes of Rita Brown, why did he feel the need for stars in the space where a star is born every day? And he lets out a trade secret, “See, when you are already experimenting with the format you need to give viewers a degree of familiarity which comes with stars they have already seen.” Karisma is not only a bona fide star but also, he adds, “A powerhouse performer, gets into the skin of her character in a flash and has done to Brown what she brought to her iconic films like Zubeidaa.”As for our boy from Himachal Pradesh, the star of Undekhi, Surya Sharma, Abhinav reveals, “Surya has a very intense part.” Apart from an ensemble cast, including gifted actors like Jisshu Sengupta, veterans like Helen and Soni Razdan, Kolkata too emerges as a character.On the danger of glorification of violence in a crime drama, indeed he is conscious that violence should not be fantasised. But, he insists, “You can’t give gore a complete miss, only ensure that it does not make viewers cringe.” Besides, the presumption that violence onscreen triggers violence in real life, according to him, is a rather far-fetched thought. He quips, “It’s just like assuming that a comedy leaves you with feel-good factor long after.” He is not besotted by crime, rather is genre agnostic and toying with making a love story.From the lives of his illustrious parents, he can draw zillion lessons. But the one which has stayed with him is, “It’s okay to be flawed and to fail. All that matters is the intent.”Watch, how his deep deliberation transforms crime into soul-searching. Since his mantra always has been to do what ‘one must, rather than one should’ expect no less than a revelation.Brown streams on June 5 on Zee5.