NEW DELHI: Writer Purnendu Shekhar said today that television channels often ask the writer to add sequences in serials that are proving popular with the masses.
Shekhar told indiantelevision.com that he agreed that some serials had outlived their existence, but said he was asked to continue adding episodes because the respective channel felt the show was fetching TRPs.
Writer of shows like ‘Balika Badhu’, Shekhar has now penned the series ‘Satrangi Sasural’ for Zee TV which is a story of a housewife who has to contend with seven mother-in-laws.
Producer Bhairavi Raichura, who is also an actor said that while there is no pack up at the end of the day as it happens for an actor, but seeing a serial on screen is like seeing a new born baby. But she admitted she preferred playing the actor.
Meanwhile speaking at the press meet, she denied that ‘Satrangi Sasural’ was a woman-oriented show as it involved many elements as it exists in every family.
Shekhar said the concept for the series had been given to him by the channel and he had then penned a story around it.
He admitted that a writer had to keep the social issues in mind and taking care of elders was a major issue in this series directed by Nandita Mehra.
He said he had learnt his basics in television from Zee since he had commenced his work as a writer for an earlier show with the channel. His shows include ‘Astitva – Ek Prem Kahani’ and ‘Saat Phere’.
He stressed that the present series was not a typical saas-bahu story and said he would make every attempt to ensure that this does not happen in the coming episodes.
Referring to the return of Farida Jalal on the small screen, he said she will be a surprise as she has always been taken as a character who brings some comedy on screen which will not happen this time.
‘Satrangi Sasural’ will showcase the life of a girl living in a Delhi-based household with seven mother-in-laws, each of them having their own individual personality traits, quirks and diverse characteristics. The show has locked in an impressive ensemble star cast to play the seven mother-in-laws on the small screen along with the main leads.
The series will see a slew of prominent, popular yesteryear actors making a comeback. Viewers will see veteran actor Farida Jalal return to the small screen as the stern and stoic matriarch – the grandmother of the groom who calls the shots and runs the show.
She gives shelter to six other women of the family who are either widows, left in a lurch by their husbands or just chose to walk away from troubled marriages. Prominent faces who have stepped in as the mother-in-laws include powerhouse performers like Bhavna Balsavar, Sadia Siddiqui, ReshamTipnis, Sheetal Thakkar, Sonali Sachdev and Samta Sagar.
Shekhar said, “You don’t need to be a biological mother to know what it feels like to be a mother. In that sense, the male lead of our show Vihaan has been raised by not one, but seven mothers. So our leading lady Aarushi is posed with a most unusual scenario where she must deal with seven mothers-in-law – a prospect bound to make any girl turn jittery and develop cold feet about marriage.”
The show explores the interesting dynamics between Aarushi and her seven mother-in-laws.
Produced by 24 Frames, ‘Satrangi Sasural’ has Ravish Desai as the male lead protagonist – Vihaan, opposite Mugdha Chaphekar who essays the role of Aarushi.
