“Single Papa,” co-created by Ishita Moitra and Neeraj Udhwani, is a heartwarming Netflix series that challenges traditional notions of family and parenting. Through a single father’s adoption journey, it explores gender-neutral caregiving, urban family dynamics, and institutional bias, showing that emotional honesty and warmth can be a quiet act of resistance.
In an entertainment landscape often dominated by cynicism and spectacle, Single Papa arrives as a quietly radical show, one that chooses warmth, humour, and emotional honesty over noise. Co-created, co-written, and co-produced by Ishita Moitra and Neeraj Udhwani, the Netflix series challenges deeply ingrained ideas around parenting, caregiving, and what truly constitutes a family. Through the journey of a single papa navigating adoption and fatherhood, the creators explore institutional bias, evolving urban family structures, and the simple yet profound truth that care has no gender. In an exclusive interview with The Free Press Journal, Moitra and Udhwani reflect on collaboration, creative intent, and why telling stories with sunshine can be a form of resistance.
Q. Single Papa tackles single parenthood with warmth and humour. What personal or observational truths shaped the core of this story?
Parenthood is an experience unlike any other, exhilarating, exciting, and at times, overwhelming. This holds true for both fathers and mothers. The love a father feels is no less than that of a mother, yet society often assumes that caregiving comes more naturally to women. This inherent bias is what we sought to highlight through Gaurav’s journey, a man who wishes to adopt a child as a single papa. The institutional prejudices he encounters along the way form the core of the story we wanted to explore.
Q. As co-creators and co-writers, how did you divide the creative responsibilities while ensuring a consistent voice across episodes?
Ishita and I have worked on several projects together in the past, most notably Mere Dad Ki Maruti. As a result, we were familiar with each other’s writing styles. This show, too, was conceived together from the very beginning. We crafted every scene and wrote each episode, constantly discussing and building upon one another’s ideas. Because of this collaborative process, there was no need to divide writing responsibilities; we wrote it together throughout.
Q. Writing for streaming often demands a different rhythm. Which storytelling choices were most influenced by the Netflix format?
The only thing we kept in mind was that the show should be something viewers aged 8 to 80 could sit down and watch together. Netflix and the entire creative team were clear that we were creating a family-friendly show. It blends humour with generous doses of emotion and stands apart from most of the content currently on air.
Q. Neeraj, how did stepping in as director for a few episodes change your perspective on scenes you had already written?
The shooting style and the pitch of the performances were established by Shashank in the pilot. Hitesh, the co-director, and I followed the same approach. When you direct material you have written, the primary objective is to ensure that the humour translates seamlessly from the page to the screen. For the comedy to work, actors need to deliver the lines with the exact tempo and timing they were written with. That was essentially what we had to ensure. Fortunately, all three directors have extensive experience in directing comedy, which made the process much easier.
Q. Kunal Kemmu brings a distinct balance of vulnerability and humour. Was the role written with him in mind, or did his casting reshape the character?
We were extremely fortunate that our dream cast became the actual cast of Single Papa. Kunal was always our first choice to play Gaurav Gehlot, not only because he is a fantastic actor, equally adept at handling both comedy and drama, but also because he is a deeply involved father. He brought a thoughtful and well-informed perspective to the role, which significantly elevated the character.
Q. Parenthood narratives can easily slip into cliches. What conscious decisions did you take to keep Single Papa grounded and contemporary?
The notion that maa ki mamta is inherently superior to baap ki baapta, that only a woman can nurture or be an effective caregiver, while a father’s role is largely limited to being a provider, is one of the biggest cliches around parenting. The premise of our show directly challenges this belief. Father is not glorified as “extraordinary” for simply doing what parents are meant to do; breaking that expectation is, in itself, the stereotype we wanted to dismantle. In our show, caregiving is portrayed as a shared human responsibility, not as work reserved solely for women.
Q. How important was it for you to reflect on changing urban family structures in India through this series?
Our lens was always one of inclusivity. We wanted to explore what a family is and what it can become going forward. Does it have to follow a gendered template? Must ties of blood always be paramount, or can family also include those we choose?
In our show, family extends beyond conventional definitions. It includes Amul, the adopted baby; Parbat Singh, a manny; Pawan, the best friend who is essentially family; and Aparna, the ex-wife who remains on the periphery of that family circle.
In today’s India, where family structures are increasingly diverse, single parents, co-parenting arrangements, nuclear families, and blended families, Single Papa reflects a contemporary reality that has not been widely represented on screen.
Q. Looking ahead, what kind of stories or themes are you most keen to explore together next?
Our production house is called June August Films. Apart from June and August being our birth months, we chose the name because they are summer months. In an era saturated with darkness and outrage, we want to tell stories filled with sunshine. Sometimes, choosing warmth over cynicism is itself a form of resistance. To paraphrase Leonard Cohen, it’s not just about examining the cracks, but also about understanding how the light finds its way through them.
