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savethegrishaverse · 4 months

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Pankhuri Bhutani, the journalist who coined the term 'Third Army,' has graciously given us the chance to interview her. Read on for an insightful conversation, where we learn what she thinks about our campaign, what it was like interviewing the cast, what she thinks comes next for us, and more!

Here's a compilation of her interview in our newsletter issues, in order, with Questions in bold and Pankhuri's answers in text;

"It all came to me when I was reading the Shadow and Bone trilogy. There were mentions of First Army and Second Army. I was a bit confused at first trying to understand just which army included the Grishas and the Otkazat'syas. Then I perused through the Six of Crows duology as well and had a better idea.

Q&A with Pankhuri Bhutani: Third Army origin story - What inspired you to come up with a name for the fans campaigning to #SaveShadowAndBone and greenlight the #SixOfCrowsSpinoff?

One of the most memorable things about a fandom for me is the name bestowed upon them. While Shadow and Bone fans have been embodying different personas—some of them calling themselves “The Crows,” some “The Summoners,” reading the books, I genuinely believed the fandom needed an official name that amalgamated the diverse abilities of the fandom and unified their interests.

And that's when the idea of "Third Army" struck me. An army combined of both the lovers and fans of the original trilogy, as well as the iconic Six of Crows duology, alongside the King of Scars duology and all the chronicles affiliated with the Grishaverse, "Third Army" represents a union of all the fellow Grishaverse fans.

Somewhere along the lines, I did imagine the fandom fighting together as an army. And I was struck with the name "Third Army." I added it to the article I crafted for the billboard launch, and I guess the rest is history. "

Since you have followed the campaign from the beginning, what's your opinion on the different projects undertaken so far? And comparing it to other fan campaigns, is there anything you would have done differently?

To be blatantly honest, I'm not aware of a lot of other fandom campaigns. But I fairly think this is by far one of the strongest contenders out there in terms of a campaign initiated by fans with such monumental strength.

I don't think there would have been anything I would've done differently or quite distinct to what has been happening had I been involved in a wonderful fan campaign like this. But I will definitely request and wish to see more cosplays and other creative work! All of you are so immensely talented!

There have been a lot of talks about the show, and even though the future seems uncertain for now, the hard work and dedication of the fandom will probably never be forgotten.

What made you decide to go with Third Army as a name?

When going through the fandom and the petitions, a lot of people claimed themselves to be a Crow or a Darkling fan. But the fact that all these souls came together to fight for one goal made me believe there should be a united name that could be showcased and witnessed at the forefront of the campaign.

I knew "First Army" and "Second Army" being a part of the Grishaverse world, so I contemplated as to what or who might be the "Third Army" if that was ever a possibility and the first element that emerged into my mind was the fandom. The fandom is the Third Army.

What has been your favorite initiative by the campaign so far? Is there anything you'd like to see in the future?

That's a good question. The fundraiser for the billboard just showed how many people believed in the project to such an extent that they were actively ready to pitch in their own money for the launch.

I do not have a favorite initiative because I believe that even if one of the campaigns is initiated by someone with the best of their interests, it already goes into my favorite book. So, all of them?

I'm not aware of all the initiatives currently being partaken within this specific campaign but I absolutely love seeing people cosplay and talk about their favorite book characters.

The petition as well. I just checked and it has over 200,000 signatures. That's a lot!

What impact do you think having a name to unite fans has had on the campaign?

All of the popular fandoms have a highly recognizable name. Swifties, Arinators, Barbz, Army (BTS). We say the name, and the project/artist's face subconsciously appears in our mind.

You instantly know the artist and the project by the fandom's name. For instance, what comes to your mind when I say the words Potterheads, Half-Bloods/Demigods, Ringers, Thronies?

Potterheads for the fascinating world of Harry Potter, Half-Bloods/Demigods for the Percy Jackson fans, Ringers for lovers of The Lord of The Rings franchise, and so on. The name instantly affiliates a fandom with the project.

I know it's a very strange thing to say, but to me personally, a fandom also sometimes feels like a citizenship. As if you're an official member of the particular fictional world.

You have interviewed several Shadow and Bone cast members. Can you tell us a bit about what that was like? How did you prepare for those interviews, and are there any anecdotes you can share that didn't make it into the final published versions for brevity's sake?

I do believe fandom names are very impactful as it is showcased at the forefront of the project and affiliates the love and passion of all the souls who admire the work of the cast and the crew. And that's exactly what the Third Army has been doing so far!

It was a surreal experience.

There wasn't any question that I believe was left out from my interviews. Everything is out there just the way the initial interviews were conducted. It was an honor to have had a conversation with such phenomenal people. All of them were very kind and very insightful regarding their experience on the project.

I was given access to the screeners of the second season, and I based my questions on things I really wanted to ask the creatives about their performance.

At that time, there weren't any interviews out since the second season had not been launched yet, so I crafted the questions I believed I really wanted to know more about at that specific moment and hopefully ask some novel questions that weren't already thrown their way previously.

As a journalist, what's your opinion on the media’s reaction and coverage of our campaign and the cancellation?

It's actually quite a lot. Especially for a fandom initiative, I do believe a lot of phenomenal journalists and media platforms have conveyed a plethora of coverage pertaining to the unfortunate cancellation.

Everyone affiliated with this project, be it the cast, crew or even the fandom have showcased massive strength and opened up a potential turmoil for several decision-makers, further forcing them to take a second look. Just shows how impactful a united fandom can be.

As we speak, there are still many more such significant pieces coming to light.

Which part of the campaign do you think has had the biggest impact on visibility and public perception so far?

For me as an outsider, I definitely noticed the petition and the billboards that were launched in Los Angeles and London. Those were the two that come to my mind, but I've seen some posts about origami and fan-books too, which seems so kind!

I also notice so many beautiful fan cosplays, artwork, book posts and other impeccable creative endeavors that people and fans like to immerse themselves into using the world of Grishaverse. That's so cool!

Showrunner Eric Heisserer recently attended his studio meetings for Shadow and Bone wearing a Third Army badge. Coincidentally, our Discord server also has a permanent "Third Army" role for all the members. Also, Jessie Mei Li mentioned to fans at a recent convention that they absolutely loved the Third Army name! How do you feel knowing that the name you coined and bestowed upon the fandom has gotten such acknowledgements?

Oh, wow. That's so interesting. That's something I definitely didn't know! I was made aware of the Third Army badges being used during one of the conventions but not about the other lovely acknowledgements. That's a massive milestone for the term.

Very grateful for that, but I really do believe it should be the entire fandom getting the credit—not me. I'm just a journalist who came up with a name that I believed aligned more with the fandom of this amazing fantasy project.

I have personally witnessed the dedication and immense passion each and every fan has committed to the show and its hopeful renewal, so I think we should be celebrating such an established fanbase and the success of a massive campaign like this. Thank you to everyone who used the name! And all the best for your future! Hopefully, we get to hear some good news really soon! And thank you for having me!

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