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Prem Sonia

Bitten by the TV bug

Born and brought up in Spain, Prem Soni came to Mumbai five years ago to pursue higher studies. What changed the course of his life was the boom in television software. Some of his friend advised him to make a pilot and Prem made one which didn’t click with any channel. But the television bug had bitten him so hard that he didn’t go back to his studies. He joined Sanjay Khan as casting and production director for Jai Hanuman where, he says, "I learnt all the basics of production and programme packaging."

His job as casting director required him to meet lot of actors, most of them strugglers, and he used to give them a patient hearing. What fascinated Prem was their dream of making it big and to succeed. And in the process, Prem hit upon an idea for a "group comedy" that revolves around people who are not smart, brainy and manipulative and therefore forever struggling and chasing a dream of living a comfortable life. The result is Hum Hain Anari, Prem’s debut serial as writer, director and co-producer, which airs on Wednesdays, 8 pm.
Revolving around nine middle class people who live in one housing society, the nine characters are different in their thought processes. But they have one thing in common. They are all soft-hearted and are misfits in a materialistic world. Formatted as an episodic comedy, Prem says each situation in his serial connects all the characters who hope against hope.

Take, for instance, Phoolmati. Widowed at the age of 35, she comes to Mumbai from Bhopal and lives with her son Bakeinlal. Her only motto in life is to get her son married anyhow. But Bakeinlal is a failure in life and career and even at the age of 40, he is a chronic bachelor as no woman thinks him to be worthy of marriage. Haseena is a stage actress and also a struggler. Though age is not on her side, she dreams of being a top Bollywood star. Tricky Contractor is a tailor who wants to be a costume designer and nurses the dream of designing costumes for film actresses. Then there is Jugnu who is a personal secretary of a top film star. His ambition in life is to marry Haseena which has remained unfulfilled.

"These are the people we meet in our day-to-day life, dreaming big but never making it. But they don’t give up because there is lot of pleasure in the struggle and chasing dreams because the desire for success is bigger than success itself," explains Prem who has shot the sitcom in a building where he has taken a few flats on rent. "In terms of location, characterisation, situations and treatment, Hum Hai Anari is very realistic," he adds further. "But there are no tears and pathos. It’s fun and it celebrates struggle."

A.L.C.