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Hum Paanch Off the air
Hum Paanch has run its life and done
its entire run and therefore it’s coming to an end Satish Menon,
Deputy CEO, ZEE TV
Some of the actors are giving me lot of problems and not cooperating in
the same way as they did in the past Shobha Kapoor, producer
In its little more than five-year run
on Zee, Hum Paanch stood firmly on seven well-structured pillars. Appreciated
by millions and at times also criticised and ridiculed by a section of
viewers for crossing the limits of decency, Hum Paanch was never ignored.
But after a successful run for such a long period, Hum Paanch is coming
to an end in the last week of May, thanks to a combination of factors
which have forced the channel and the producer to down the shutters on
the show. One obvious reason being proffered by the channel is the sitcom’s
dwindling popularity and poor response from viewers.
But that’s definitely not the sole reason. In fact, its TRP in the
past one year, according to producer Shobha Kapoor, has varied between
six and ten and it was given an extension of 52 weeks before it completed
five years in March this year. So why is Hum Paanch suddenly becoming
a closed chapter?
"It has run its life and done its entire run," says Zee’s
deputy CEO Satish Menon, adding, "and therefore it’s coming
to an end." But that’s not the sole truth. The crux of the problem
lies in the tiff and serious differences between the produce and actors.
"Some of the actors are giving me lot of problems and not cooperating
in the same way as they did in the past," confesses Shobha Kapoor
who holds Rakhi Tandon responsible for spoiling the peaceful environment
and cordial rapport between her and the actors. "She is the one who
instigated other actors because she wanted Hum Paanch to close down."
Shobha says Rakhi’s behaviour started changing when her own production
Professor Pyarelal came on air on Zee last year. "She started giving
me problems and whenever I thought of dropping her from the cast, she
would say sorry and promise to co-operate," Shobha elaborates further.
On the other hand, Rakhi maintains that she cannot think even in her wildest
dream of troubling Shobha Kapoor because she is one person who has played
the most crucial role in her life and career. "Whatever I am today
it’s because of Shobhaji and Hum Paanch. I have had a blast doing
the show and I really feel sad that Hum Paanch is ending," says Rakhi
who further clarifies that she never gave any problem to Shobha Kapoor
except not attending three shooting schedules because she was out of India
and she had informed Shobha about her unavailability. "Moreover,
I am not all that powerful a person to close down a popular serial,"
she reasons.
It is obvious that neither the producer nor channel would have suddenly
decided to bring down curtains on Hum Paanch had there not been serious
differences between the producer and the cast of the sitcom. One of the
problems was the raise in price. Ashok Saraf and Shoma Anand had asked
for a hike and both say, Shobha refused to give them a raise in their
fee. But Shobha says she refused to give them a raise because this year
the channel didn’t increase her budget. "Whenever Zee raised
the budget I gave a raise to all the actors. But this year there was no
question of a raise because I didn’t get one," she clarifies.
Apart from the financial matter, what also miffed the cast of Hum Paanch
was the producer’s arrogance and taken for granted attitude. "Shobha
and Ektaa thought actors are a dispensable commodity and both were taking
the credit for the success of Hum Paanch," says an actress on the
condition of anonymity. But Shobha denies that she ever took anyone for
granted and gave everyone due credit and maintained a good professional
relationship.
Whatever may be the truth, Zee’s programming executive Tripti Sharma
says as far as the channel is concerned, "we decided to close down
Hum Paanch after monitoring its TRP for seven to eight weeks. Moreover,
the viewers’ responses was not positive enough to continue the show.
We are in no way concerned about the problems between the producer and
actors." While Hum Paanch will vanish from Zee’s prime time
(Tuesday, 8 pm), its daily repeat telecast in the afternoon at 1.30 pm
will continue till Zee takes a final decision on the matter.
AL Chougule