Making soap from a blank sheet

Television

Making soap from a blank sheet

Kora Kagaz on STAR Plus is an unconditional hit. Viewers all over the country are agog about the future of the deserted wife Pooja played by Renuka Shahane. Is she attracted in “that way” to her brother-in-law Ravi (Salil Ankola)? Are they going to (giggle giggle) have a ‘scene’ together? “Oh, they have so many scenes together,” Asha Parekh smiles whenever she’s asked this question by avid watchers of the serial. The question on the nation’s mind is, will Pooja finally marry her brother-in-law? The producer-director of Kora Kagaz doesn’t quite answer that question. But she does answer a variety of other questions on her success as a serial maker and future plans on television.

Kora Kagaz recently completed one year of telecast. How has the experience been?
Wonderful. I really enjoy directing Kora Kagaz. I’m creating something new in every episode and it’s a very satisfying experience.

Tell us what you plan to do with the story.
(Laughs). That would be letting the cat out of the bag. One thing that I can tell you is that it won’t be easy for the characters played by Renuka Shahane and Salil Ankola to get together I know everyone wants them to get married. But I don’t think that’s easy.

As a women how do you respond to Pooja’s growing fondness for her brother-in-law?
I’d certainly like to see them together. But trust me, there are many hurdles in the way. There’ll be someone coming into Salil’s life in the serial. Speaking for myself I think any woman who has been deserted by her husband has the right to make a new life for herself. If a man can easily make a new life why not a woman? People come up to me and say Kora Kagaz resembles their own lives. That really moves me. When my actor SM Zaheer was flying from Lucknow a senior government officer told him that he and his wife had gone through the same situation shown in Kora Kagaz. The couple doesn’t miss a single episode of Kora Kagaz. There is a senior model Usha Jairajani who says her 84-year-old mother is glued to Kora Kagaz every week. Everyone from tiny tots to senior citizens are interested in Kora Kagaz.

It’s surprising that telly watchers in the country have taken to Kora Kagaz in such a big way although ninety per cent Indians are conservative at heart.
Yes, it’s surprising. But then the character of the brother-in-law has come out exactly the way I wanted him to. The relationship with his bhabhi is understated, not blatant. The relationship doesn’t have any romantic overtones. It will grow over a long period of time. Ravi and Pooja will say they love each other only once. Right now I don’t know when that would be.

Are you pleased with the kind of exposure given to Kora Kagaz on STAR Plus?
No, I’m very unhappy about the publicity. The promos are hardly aired. Every newspaper including the vernacular ones should carry telecast announcements of every episode. The channel isn’t giving us the publicity that Kora Kagaz deserves. The STAR personnel claim that the serial is one of their big sellers. But serials like Aur Phir Ek din and Pal Chhin are given far more publicity than Kora Kagaz. I can’t deny I am not happy about it. Anyway, God has been very kind. He has made my serial a big success regardless of the importance it gets on the channel. I have my stars and technicians to thank for it. And I’m sure my mother up there must be very proud of me. She always encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to do in my life.

How long will Kora Kagaz go on?
I can’t say. We’ve already shot upto 90 episodes. I feel we can go on for another 100 episodes.

In a long-running serial the cast and crew often gets restless and moves on. how do you plan to cope with such an eventuality?
Touchwood, so far I’ve had no such problems. Everyone in my team is completely involved with the serial. We’re like one big family. My leading lady Renuka Shahane is a thorough professional. She has spoilt me completely. I can’t imagine how I’d work with another actress in my next serial.

So you’re planning a new serial. Go on spill the beans.
It’s again about a family crisis. But this time it revolves around the life of a husband and a wife. It’s the story of a girl who falls in love and marries a man. Once they’re man and wife she realises the man she married is completely different - and indifferent after marriage. After they have a child, love flies out of the window.

So now you’re addicted to serial making, huh?
I’m having a ball. I am willing to set aside all my other professional duties if I have to. But I can’t leave Kora Kagaz. It’s my first love.

Many people including me think you should be making a feature film. You were supposed to direct Bhairavi for Plus Channel.
My God! (laughs) If Lady Luck winks, I’ll be making a film. But I don’t want to produce it. I want to make a nice love story with emotions. But please, no fights! No dhishum-dhishum with one hero taking on 20 goondas. It’s so ridiculous.

You’ve also made telefilms for Zee’s Rishtey slot. The latest Bargad Ki Chaon was almost like a compressed feature film.
It was always meant to be a telefilm. Earlier I made Shyamlee with Pallavi Joshi for Rishtey. That was appreciated. After Bargad Ki Chaon I now have another telefilm for Rishtey in the pipeline. That too will be on relationships but of a very different kind. Bargad Ki Chaon was a story that Brij Katyal wrote for me two years ago. I know Brij since a long time. I know from him the time he wrote a film called Sweetheart in which I starred with Shashi Kapoor.

Oh my God! And you played the title role?
(Laughs). It was a very sweet film directed by Suraj Prakash of Jab Jab Phool Khile. But it was never released. Before I produced the sitcom Daal Mein Kala I was supposed to start a soap called Milan with Sachin Khedekar and Renuka Shahane. That was to be written by Brij Katyal. Milan was a jinxed project. Each time we wanted to shoot it something or the other went wrong. First Renuka fell ill, then I fell ill. Then we couldn’t get the bungalow we wanted to shoot in.

May be you could make a serial about how and why you couldn’t make Milan?
No thanks. Instead of Milan I started Daal Mein Kala directed by Gyan Sahay.

Was that a satisfying experience?
Umm, it was okay. There’s nothing much to be said about it. Let’s not forget, I didn’t direct it. It didn’t shape up the way it was supposed to, I’d rather talk about Kora Kagaz.

Why didn’t you name the serial Kati Patang after your own famous film?
We did think of that title. But it’s very difficult to get the titles one wants. My next serial is entitled Kathputli. Do you like it? I originally wanted to call it Afsana.

Lots of writing talent like Brij Katyal is floating around in the television industry from one production house to another. Is that good or bad?
I have to admit that there’s a dearth of good screenplay and dialogue writers. I was lucky to get Salim Agha to do them in Kora Kagaz. He’s been devoting a lot of time to our serial. In fact Salim Agha has become a known person after Kora Kagaz. I’m sure he’ll continue to focus attention on our serial if for no reason then out of a sense of loyalty to Kora Kagaz.

Some of your friends and well-wishers say you haven’t directed Kora Kagaz at all?
I laugh at such loose talk. People who say this are only showing their own pettiness. Certain sections of the film industry can’t digest the fact that I’m directing a serial so successfully. I know some directors publicly say, “Achcha, woh direct karti hai kya?” Top directors from films and television say such things. Isn’t it shocking? On the other hand we’ve someone like BR Chopra who rang me up. It was so encouraging.

What did Mr Chopra have to say?
He rang up to say he liked Kora Kagaz very much. He watches it religiously with his wife every Tuesday.

Earlier, people watched his Mahabharat religiously.
That isn’t the point. The point is a lot of people in the industry have reacted positively to Kora Kagaz. Like Tahir Hussain. He complimented me on the serial. And my old director J. Om Prakash. Other nasty sorts feel how can they praise my efforts? I might get a bloated head. Some filmmakers thought I wouldn’t make a good director because I was a saleable star in my time. Try figuring that one out. I can’t. Maybe they think female stars can only smile into the camera.

Does being a woman make it more difficult to be a director?
Yes. But let me tell you I’ve no problem commanding respect and attention on the sets of Kora Kagaz. I’m a holy terror on the sets. They all respect me. My stars have no complaints. One of them, Anuj did get insecure about his role because it came in fits and starts. People don’t understand that every role in a soap takes its own time and develops in its own way. My principal player is Renuka. She’s the pivotal character. The others come and go according to the plot. Anuj got busy with his balm-manufacturing industry and his feature film Sar Aankhon Par. But I don’t think he’s keen on a career in acting. He has been replaced in Kora Kagaz by Sunil Barve. He had worked with me in my Gujarati serial.

Why aren’t you making telefilms for the STAR Bestsellers slot on STAR Plus?
Oh, they told me they want only young blood on that slot. I don’t qualify since I’m old blood (laughs). I’ve submitted a couple of stories to STAR Bestsellers. I like the way financial transactions are made at STAR Plus. The money comes quickly. That’s important for small producers like me and Neena Gupta. We aren’t like Manish Goswami who has five or six serials on the floor at the same time. We need a constant inflow of resources, which STAR provides. That much, I have to concede.