s
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Viva
Vinta
To you goes the
credit or discredit for giving Indian television its first bonafide soap
event Tara. Do you accept that?
I don’t take the credit completely. The credit goes to the time when
I co-produced and wrote Tara. The time was right for something like Tara.
In fact, the inception of Zee Telefilms and Tara was almost simultaneous.
At that time a lot of people were eager to try new ideas on television.
But where were all these eager-beavers
before Tara?
I guess there were valid reasons for their staying away from something
like Tara. For one Doordarshan had no slot for something like Tara where
women were savvy and sassy.
| Cinema and television are two seperate media. And I’d love to be part of both. I’m writing a script for a film which I want to direct. It’s called One More Life. Yes, it’s a woman-oriented subject. For some baffling reason I can’t help thinking from a woman’s point of view |
But Doordarshan had Khandaan long before Tara. That had some very strong
women characters.
It did. But none of these characters were single girls trying to make
their way through the concrete jungle. All said and done Khandaan was
still a family saga, located in a corporate setting. I’d agree with
you if you say that with Tara television programming in India lost its
sexual inhibitions. An attitudinal change came over people in general.
Tara wasn’t meant to shock people by breaking moral codes. It was
just something that Indians identified with.
| She’s up there, with the other television
tycoons, vying for the top spot. Meet Vinta Nanda. As part of the
software company Tracinema, Nanda wrote such pioneering satellite serials as Tara and Umeed. Now Vinta, who’s currently directing Aur Phir Ek Din on STAR Plus and producing Agni Chakra and Raahein on Zee has broken away from her mentor Raman Kumar to form her own software company Quest Entertainment Division. The intrepid female entrepreneur takes on the television industry (and how!) |
But only in the cities. What about viewers in smaller sectors?
No, you’d be surprised to know this, but once we were in Varanasi
for a function. Suddenly we were confronted by women from some feminist
organisations. They grilled my director Raman Kumar and me about Tara
and its motivations. I think Tara struck a chord in each and every section
of the viewership. Essentially, the curtains were pulled away to reveal
the real urban woman. Hitherto taboo subjects like unwed motherhood and
problems faced by working women were discussed.
So what went wrong with Tara?
Actually, we all become victims of our success. When a programme hits
the charts we cannot end it even if we want to, because the charts don’t
want us to end it. Every movie ends at a certain point. The same isn’t
true of soaps. For Raman and me, Tara ended after the 150th episode. But
the charts wouldn’t let us off.
Are you saying that the ratings showed no decline even after the discernible
drop in quality?
Not at all. The ratings were high until the 360th episode. We could have
gone on indefinitely. We were making a lot of money out of Tara. Like
Closeup Antakshari, Tara had become a habit for viewers. People may like
or dislike it. But they watched it nevertheless. We had to finally shut
down Tara because of a change in management at Zee. The new order didn’t
seem to like Raman or me, specially Raman with whom they had a problem
(laughs). So they shut down all our serials.
So suddenly you were disowned by Zee?
Completely. We had something like four-and-a-half hours of drama on Zee
each week. All of a sudden everything was yanked off the air. It was a
huge crisis for our company. We had around three hundred people working
for us at that time.
After such a major set back how did you manage to bounce back?
I guess it was mainly because we had a reputation as quality producers.
A time has finally come on television when programming goes beyond who
likes whom in the business.
But there’s a still a lot of politics on in the channels.
But the politics is exposed in no time at all. It’s not the strings
that you pull but the marketing and ratings which call the shots for software
manufacturers. The entire television business is market-driven. So it’s
the people who deliver hit serials to the channels who survive.
But excuse me, a personal rapport with the top brass still makes a major
difference. I know of software makers who are on air with low-ratings
serials only because someone up there likes them.
I wouldn’t be so naive as to assume that we’re on air only because
we’re very good at our work. Goodwill definitely counts. As for the
PR, we definitely have to share a good rapport with the people who are
in decision-making chairs. We have Subhashji (Chandra) at Zee who has
a lot of faith in me.
Do you feel the television industry has reached a saturation point?
I think the industry is evolving. Market forces are dictating the quality
of serials. I think everyone in the business needs to be cautious. The
market is becoming increasingly competitive. The channels and the advertising
agencies which are backing individuals have to have confidence in those
making the serials. Speaking for myself I’d give a lot of credits
to Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Bhatt for pulling me out of the crisis I was
in after Zee disowned me. Mahesh called me to write Kabhi Kabhi. It kept
me alive. It helped me to survive.
Why was Kabhi Kabhi pulled out?
I don’t know. It wasn’t really my production. So I don’t
know what went wrong. I think it had basically to do with STAR Plus’
new policies. They were looking for new serials. The Kabhi Kabhi producers
Plus Channel were given Ajeeb Dastaan instead. Subsequently, Soni Razdan’s
Aur Phir Ek Din which I’m directing, came on STAR Plus. So there
was no problem as such. But it was really sad that Kabhi Kabhi had to
be dropped. We left it at a point when the story was just gaining momentum.
Do you see that happening to your Raahein?
I hope not. I haven’t planned it that way. Shefali Chhaya is incredible.
It’s beautiful to work with her. She’s so responsive to her
character. She believes her character completely. When we planned the
serial we planned it with her. She was involved in it from the start.
Didn’t it hurt your ego to return to Zee with Raahein and Agni Chakra
after you were unceremoniously dropped from the channel?
Oh yes, they hurt us, and virtually brought us to the streets. But it
wasn’t the channel. It was a particular group of people who didn’t
have the vision that television demanded. The earlier management came
to a sticky end. Now we’re dealing with a completely new set of people.
Deep down inside, I always knew that the people who treated us so shabbily
would come to a nasty end. Incompetence is bound to be exposed in a competitive
profession like television programming. I’d say the competition on
the channel today is far more healthy for an idealistic like me. A certain
amount of idealism is required for creative functioning.
What do you feel about the competition?
There are really good serials on the channels. I like Amaanat on Zee.
Yes, I still like that. I definitely like Baseraa. It touches the heart.
I also like the two campus serials Hip Hip Hurray and Just Mohabbat on
Zee and Sony. I like Kora Kagaz and Saans very much. I’m completely
hooked on Saans. I have to see every episode. I think Neena Gupta has
really mnade the serial sensitively.
| Raman is married. The beautiful part of our relationship is that he is still married and has a home with his wife. Our personal relationship has ended |
But hasn’t it lost momentum?
I don’t know. Even a small promo of Saans holds my attention. All
the characters have come close to my heart. They’re part of life.
I’m living with them each week. To me all the television characters
are like my neighbours. I’m concerned about what’s happening
in their lives.
Don’t you have plans of directing a feature film?
Well Raman (Kumar) has made several feature films. Now he’s making
Din Police Ka with Naseeruddin Shah and Dimple Kapadia.
That’s him. What about you?
I’m coming to that. I’ve assisted Raman is most of his projects,
so I now what filmmaking entails. I think television programming is a
whole world of its own. Cinema and television are two seperate media.
And I’d love to be part of both. I’m writing a script for a
film which I want to direct. It’s called One More Life. Yes, it’s
a woman-oriented subject. For some baffling reason I can’t help thinking
from a woman’s point of view (laughs). But at the same time I feel
everything I write or do on television is very sympathetic men as well.
Have you ever seen any serial of mine where men are horrors? In fact,
some women are far more nasty in my serials than the man. Look at Govind
in Raahein. Look at how women, Lilette Dubey, Shefali Chaya, Achint Kaur
and Grusha Kapoor are all driving him up the wall.
What do you feel about the acting talent on television?
I think a lot of them are fabulous. Because they are doing so many serials
their acting skills are becoming sharpened every day. They’re practising
their abilities all the time. Fortunately, there’s no star tantrum
on television. The medium kills you as quickly as it gives you life. But
some one like Shekhar Suman is a very big star. And he’s here to
stay. None of them misbehaves with me.
What do you mean by saying the medium kills a star?
I mean there’s the risk of over-exposure. I think the television
medium demands that the stars take sabbaticals from the medium.
Why did satellite television’s first major star Navneet Nishan
fade away after your Tara?
I don’t think Navneet faded away. She just became fat (laughs).
She was so talented. She could’ve carried on uninterrupted. Her weight
was her undoing. That was very sad. She should have taken more care of
herself. We shot a pilot for a soap with her. Then we also shot a sitcom
with her. Once Navneet left Tara the serials got killed. Tara was the
only serial which reached the heights of our mythologicals.
In what sense?
The character Tara became as popular as Rama and Sita in Ramayan or Krishna
in Mahabharat. The moment filth began to be written about Navneet in the
magazines it kind of distorted the whole equilibrium of my serial.
When she altercated with Alok Nath during Tara you opted for her, didn’t
you?
There was no choice. She played the title role. It was unfortunate that
Alok had to leave. His departure effected the serial. I feel the serial
started slipping after Alok Nath left Tara.
Now of course no one would dare misbehave with you.
But Alok Nath and Navneet Nishan didn’t misbehave with us. They misbehaved
with each other (laughs). That told on the work. It always does.
Your crime-watch serial Agni Chakra is going great guns. And knives and
bombs. What makes it tick?
The idea of making Agni Chakra came to me when I attended a seminar
held by Shailaja Bajpai and UNICEF in Delhi one year ago. They were discussing
how violence on television is affecting violence in society and how children
are affected by the violence. My argument was, television does affect
society. But a lot of creative aspects also emerge from television and
spill into real life. Television is the newest and easiest target for
social criticism. The seminar had a big impact on me. I wanted to do something
that would play a constructive role in society. I wanted to show crime
to curtail crime.
Does the programme have an actual effect?
Definitely. We’re getting a tremendous response. We’ve an extensive
research cell. It travels all over the country to get real-life crime
stories. We try to get stories which show how crime could be prevented.
If that feeling comes across then Agni Chakra has succeeded. We’ve
movements against diseases like AIDS which are taking away innocent lives,
when far more innocent lives are affected by crime. Why is there no movement
against crime? Agni Chakra is an effort in that direction.
The crime recreation in Agni Chakra is very authentic.
We have a casting cell as well. It brings us actors from stage who resemble
real criminals and victims. You can’t begin to imagine the number
of good actors who exist in Mumbai. Television is giving so much opportunity
to under-used actors.
So you feel Agni Chrakra is making a difference?
The very fact that you’re talking to me proves it.
Your rise from the post-Tara crisis has been pretty phenomenal.
Yes, the gap of three years gave us the impetus motivation and the time
to come back with a new look and new production-values.
Would you shed some light on your relationship with Raman Kumar?
He was my partner since we started Tracinema. We both worked together
on each and every project as long as the company existed. Personally,
we shared a relationship for a long time.
Are there spouses on the scene?
Raman is married. The beautiful part of our relationship is that he is
still married and has a home with his wife. Our personal relationship
has ended. We’ve moved beyond it. I’ve always been open about
it. I feel the more you try to hide a relationship the more speculative
it becomes. It’s better to be honest about these things. In any case
I never thought I did anything wrong. It was easy to come to terms with
my relationship. At some point we realised there were many other lives
attached to us. They were getting effected by our relationsip. I guess
somewhere we grew out of the relationship.
So you plan to remain happy and single?
It looks like it. Happy and single (laughs). Whether single or married
you’ve to look for happiness within yourself.
Your forthcoming serials?
Right now I’m completely consumed by the direction of Aur Phir Ek
Din. But I have a serial on the anvil. It’s going to have a completely
new cast. Most probably Ishan Arya and Sulbha Arya’s son Sagar Arya
and Lilette Dubey’s daughter Neha Bubey. Both are from theatre. It’s
the story of two career people married to each other trying to come to
terms with their marriage. It’s the story of the urban class. Just
like all my serials.
Subhash
K Jha