On September 11, 2023, discovery+ launched a new show, “I Should Have Stayed Home.” The series follows Siddhant Mewara and Shashank Jayakumar, renowned for their food and travel platform, The Big Forkers as they undertake a journey of a lifetime. In a daring move, the brothers opt for a volunteer adventure that promises to test their limits, push boundaries, and potentially reshape their self-perceptions. Navigating the challenging terrain and high altitudes of the Himalayan ranges, they must piece together clues to determine their path. Without phones, GPS, or money, they’ll rely on the kindness of strangers, their instincts, each other, and their trusty cars to complete this extraordinary journey. We talk to Mewara and Jayakumar to know firsthand their experience
1) Did you’ll undergo any training & preparation before taking this journey
Sid: We were advised to exercise and train. Uh, and work hard on it. Neither of us did anything.
Shashank: Not particularly, we’re not really the epitomes of a healthy living, so we don’t have a generally healthy lifestyle. But since we had a heads up of one month, probably upped a little bit on terms of, you know, catching up on swimming, which is been a while since we did it. So, I personally did a little bit of swimming and that’s about it.
2) How did the concept of this show come into place?
Sid: This was entirely created by Discovery. They contacted us, pitched the idea, and we agreed to it.
Shashank: So, I think that was more on Discovery’s side. We were in discussion with discovery for a food show and it so happened that this gentleman who were speaking to who is the head of Discovery fictional non branded content, Mr Sai Abishek. We were generally in discussion about food and he brought it up one day saying that there is one team member of mine, gentleman called Addy, who’s in Delhi, who had thought of this concept and he was trying to look for people who’ll host it. He had some very strange requirements. He didn’t want a film star. He didn’t want fit people like Bear Grylls, so we kind of just sat right there in the whole thing where we are not the known for our fitness but more for our wits and banter and that’s what he wanted.
3) You’ll are very different as personalities; how did you’ll navigate through difficulties?
Sid: Well, it’s just that we tolerated each other, and we’re also cousins. So, in the end, it’s our brotherly obstinance that made us do it. Yeah, we’re very different, but we had a common goal to get out of there alive and finish the mission, and that’s what we did.
Shashank: It’s always an interesting experience when both he and I are together because we have a lot of common interests, but our approach to those interests is very different and I think that also makes for interesting television. Someone just said the nonsense you’ll talk is interesting to other people, so put a camera and it’s a show, so that’s pretty much the approach.
4) Kindly share your most favourite moments from the journey
Sid: Well, there were many memorable moments, but one that stands out was when we were at the Phuktal monastery. One of my missions was to cook food for the monks, including the little ones. I was told that monks don’t eat anything spicy, so I prepared a simple dish. However, when I saw everyone serving themselves, I noticed that the little monks had their masala packets on the side. They were secretly adding a bit of masala, pickle, chutney, or chili to their food, hiding it from the senior monks. It was a very cute moment, and when I asked them about it, they simply said, “The senior monk doesn’t know; this is what we eat.”
Shashank: One of my most memorable moment is climbing up the Drang-Drung glacier. I think it’s a surreal experience. One because the location and the magnanimity of that glacier is something that I have I have witnessed in the past about 2-3 years back when I went riding bike riding in those regions, I’d never really thought I’d be able to climb on it. It is a privilege that we got to do that with Discovery Channel. They were the ones who helped and enabled this for us.
5) What was the most challenging aspect of the show?
Sid: Well, all that climbing and walking. Neither of us are built for walking, to be honest. We weren’t exactly thrilled about the idea of walking, and there was just so much of it—lots of walking and climbing. It was pretty miserable.
Shashank: Walking, I mean, I called this show jokingly by the end of it is man versus walking. We were walking a good 8-10 kilometers uphill every single day and that was tiring as hell. I go bike riding in those regions and there’s a reason I go bike riding where I sit on a bike and throttle, I don’t really walk into it, so that was the most challenging part for me.
6) You’ll are producers in ‘The Big Forkers’ and in this show, you’ll had to be guided by a director, how different was it?
Sid: It was very, very different. We constantly had to remind ourselves that we were the talent, not the director or the executive producer. There were times when we got too involved and had to remind ourselves to step back and let the director take charge. Yes, almost every day, I had to remind myself not to try to direct.
Shashank: It’s a very different experience, cause here we heard the term called talent and that is something we’ve never addressed ourselves as even on our own show. I think it was more challenging for Sid because he’s a little bit of a control freak in our own show. In our own also, I am the more chilled out guy, who lets things happen as they happen. Sid likes to have control on things, so I had to keep reminding him every few hours on the shoot while we were shooting over here that we aren’t the producers so let them do what they want. He would get into things like why this is taking so much time. We should not be doing this for so long, and I’d be like, yeah, relax, it is not our show.
7) Would you opt for such an adventure again? Possibly in a new season?
Sid: Absolutely, we’re eagerly waiting for the new season to get greenlit.
Shashank: Definitely, Like I said, overall, the experience was amazing. It was a privilege to do the things that we did in those regions. What’s also going to be exciting for viewers is they will live vicariously through us because there’s a lot of these things that, I mean, these regions that we go to anyway, very few people make it to these regions. And even if they do, they don’t do the things that we’ve been doing on the show. I am happy to be that person, people can live vicariously through.
8) Your advice/suggestion to audiences before watching the show?
Sid: Get a drink, sit down, relax, and just watch. It’s a lot of fun and a bold new show. It’s something that Discovery hasn’t done before, something as bold as this because of the kind of people and the kind of content we create. And, oh, don’t have little kids in the room.
Shashank: Grab a drink and watch the show for fun. It’s going to be lots of fun. I think gear up for lots of banter that happens between the two of us, best enjoyed over a beer.
‘I Should Have Stayed Home’ releasing 11th September 2023 on discovery+ and Discovery Channel (9PM on Discovery Channel)
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