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Kanchan Adhikari: Setting high goals
She is
the wife of Markand Adhikari who launched Sabe TV alongwith
his brother Gautam Adhikari. Kanchan started her career as
a newsreader on  Doordarshan,
and then got into acting by doing a few plays with the likes
of Dinesh Thakur and went on to become a familiar face on
television. She even won the State award for being one of
the best actresses. Then she got married to Markand and lived
in annomity only to make a comeback as a director.
She directed Damini, the first Marathi daily soap in ’95
which completed more than 500 episodes. Currently, she is
directing a serial called Sambandh on Sabe TV, which revolves
around the life of an actress coming from a broken home and
her affair with an architect. The problems they face and the
dificulties that exist in an on-off relationship make the
serial which stars Ayub Khan, Mrinal Kulkarni and Bhagyashree
interesting.
“I conceptualized this story with the idea of portraying
the problems which arise in the life of success-seeking, career-minded
people. It is a lot of hard work. First of all, I had to see
that all the actors were well suited for their roles. I do
not believe in the idea of promoting friends. Some people
get into television and make their friends and old associates
act for them. I think this is wrong, we should recognise talent
in new people and give a role to an actor who will be able
to carry the particular character which he or she is portraying,”
says Kanchan with a lot of confidence.
On being asked whether she would like to work for any other
channel, she replies, “If there’s any other television
channel that I would like to work for, it would only be Doordarshan.”
Kanchan is a workaholic and believes in doing one thing at
a time. “When I am on the sets, I give 100 per cent attention
to my work and even when I am not directing, I keep toying
with ideas and plans to develop my script.”
Direction has been much more than just a hobby for Kanchan,
who is very serious about her work. “It takes time to
build a concept and then to improve on it with the help of
the writer is another part of the job. Presently I am talking
with a couple of writers to decide on a subject for a Hindi
soap.”
What is her role in Sabe TV? “I do not play any particular
role in the management or operation of the channel. Whenever
Markand requires any help I am always by his side. Otherwise,
I do not interfere with the programming heads and their work.
They can handle it best on their own,” she quips.
With so much family support and a background in media, Kanchan
also wants to try her hands at movie making. “I am planning
a Hindi film. Though the ideas are not concrete as yet, it
is surely on my cards.”
Talking about the experience behind the camera, she says,
“I think direction is a task which requires an allrounder.
One has to take care of many things at one time. Right from
developing a story to editing it I have to be there all the
time. Though it is not an easy job, one feels good at the
end of the day.”
Lopamudra Bhattacharya
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