ITV

Tag: Girish Mallik

  • K Sera Sera may set up TV production house

    K Sera Sera may set up TV production house

    MUMBAI: Production company K Sera Sera is training its guns on the bigs boys of the production business Balaji Telefilms and UTV.

    The aim is to be among the top three production houses in India in the movies and television business by the year 2004-2005, K Sera Sera’s New York-based president Ash Pamani says.

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com after the annual meeting of the board of directors today, where the company’s results were declared, Pamani said, “We have had a terrific year. Owing to the fabulous synergy that we have with our creative partners Varma Corp, we are hoping for a great year ahead. While this year we recorded Rs 240 million turnover for the financial year 2003-2004, we are aiming at Rs 750 million for next fiscal. As of 31 March 2004, there has been no pending investor grievance or debt.”

    “With more professionalism setting into the Indian entertainment industry, we firmly believe that this industry would only become more structured and grow in the years to come. Our current financial performance reaffirms the same,” Pamani said.

    If last year the stress was on films, this year it is television software. Although plans aren’t finalised yet, establishing a television production house in on the cards, says Pamani. The company has entering into creative partnership for making TV serials with Girish Mallik promoted Clapstem Productions for the production of two serials, which will roll out on Sahara in June ’04. For the year 2004-2005, the production company has plans for four serials thus far, one daily and three weeklies. While Clapstem is producing one weekly and a daily for Sahara, the next one is assigned to Ravi Rai productions. Starring Aman Varma, the weekly is currently being pitched to Sony.

    Event management is another area the company is examining getting into. It isn’t quite keen on taking it up this year though, says Pamani. The company has, however, already entered in joint ventures with leading stars of its forthcoming movies Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and Ajay Devgan. The stars will get a select percentage of profit margins.

    That apart, 75 per cent of the distribution set up, which the company is working on in association with the PVR theatre chain, is already established. “We will complete the remaining 25 per cent in this year. As for overseas distribution, we have already started New York operations. We will be looking at the London and the Hong Kong market too,” offered Pamani. “In addition to the distribution platform, we are also looking at extensive marketing of the movies,” he added.

    K Sera Sera, in a tie-up with Varma Corporation released three movies in the financial year 2003-2004. Darna Mana Hai, a multi-starrer suspense thriller, was the debut production, which was released in July 2003. According to Pamani, the company grossed profitable business in all the territories in India. The second production from the company a thriller Ek Hasina Thi, starring Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan was released in January 2004. Its latest release, Ab Tak Chappan, was out on 27 February 2004.

    K Sera Sera will be releasing seven-eight more films from its stable in the next financial year 2004-2005. The company has chalked out detailed plans and is plans to produce 10 films in a period of two and half years, in association with Sahara India Pariwar and Varma Corp in a Rs 350 million joint venture. 
    Production company K Sera Sera has announced an impressive annual performance. After the annual meeting of the board of directors, held on 4 May 2004, the company announced that for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 April 2004, the turnover of the K Sera Sera production Ltd stood at Rs 240 million.

    K SERA SERA CLOCKS NET PROFIT RS 35.7MN

    K Sera Sera has announced an impressive annual performance. After the annual meeting of the board of directors, held on 4 May 2004, the company announced that for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 April 2004, the turnover of the K Sera Sera production Ltd stood at Rs 240 million. 

    For the same period the company reported a profit of Rs 57.6 million and after tax of Rs 35.7 million. The company has also declared dividend of Rs 1 that is 10 per cent.

    Said Pamani, “We have had a terrific year. Owing to the fabulous synergy that we have with our creative partners Varma Corp, we are hoping for a great year ahead. While this year we recorded Rs 240 million turnover for the financial year 2003-2004, we are aiming at Rs 750 million for next fiscal. As of 31 March 2004, there has been no pending investor grievance or debt.”

  • Sahara gets comedy to pep up 8 pm band

    Sahara gets comedy to pep up 8 pm band

    MUMBAI: Sahara Manoranjan may still be staggering along as far as consolidating its position in the Hindi entertainment stakes is concerned, but all that could well change soon.

    Sahara is all set to unleash a slew of new launches in the next quarter April-June with an emphasis on comedy.

    While talks are still on for a multi-serial offering from new entrant into the television production business K Sera Sera, what is definitely in the pipeline are two sitcoms. Within a fortnight, K Sera Sera will begin shooting for two shows – one a weekly and one a daily – Aao Behan Chugli Karein (ABCK) and Kuch Kuch Kabhie Kabhie (K4). These two are expected to be the first of a number of new shows to be built around the 8 pm band that will focus on comedy.

    With a prime-time face lift its top priority, the channel is all set to start rolling out other programmes to buttress the segment as well. The change will be jumpstarted by the much talked about Sahib Biwi Gulam in the last week of April, probably on 28 April. Following the Bimal Mitra creation, the channel will air thriller specialist B P Singh’s Raat Hone Ko Hai and Cinevistaas’ Saathiya – Pyar Ka Naya Ehsaas.

    While the new programme list seems to be a good mix of all genre, the channel’s focus is on comedy next. According to Sahara’s programming vice president Triptii Sharma, “We already have a heady mix of programmes slotted for the year ahead, but we are also very keen on building up 8 pm comedy band. Both ABCK and K4 are the first of many that we plan to launch this year.” 

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com K Sera Sera managing director Parag Sanghavi offered, “Right now we are co-producing three serials with Girish Mallik’s Clapstem production house. The first one to roll out will be a weekly sitcom ABCK. We start shooting for that from the first week of April. The shooting schedule for the next daily sitcom- K4, scheduled to launch in first week of June, will begin in the second week of April.”

    Elaborating on other projects that were being worked on with Sahara, Sanghvi said, “We have been commissioned to make 10 telemovies, of which two films are ready for release. We are also in the process of signing a 10-serial contract.”

    Says Clapstem founder Girish Mallik about ABCK, “It is a humourous look at upper class and upper middle class women.” Boasting of an all-women star cast including Kamini Khanna, Anita Kanwal, Shruti Ulfat Bhavna Balsaveer, Loveleen Mishra, and Himani Shivpuri, the serial revolves around the lives of six ‘kitty’ friends. Although a similar subject is already on Zee (Manish Goswami’s Kittie Party- which is about eight friends), Mallik insists that there cannot be comparisons made between the two.

    “For starters, just have a look at the name! It is a humourous look at the lives of these six avid gossipmongers, who incidentally go around claiming that gossiping isn’t for them. Ranging from the innocent gossiper to some one whose sole aim is to hear and spread gossip, we have them all. It is what we call ‘black-gown’ humour.”
    The producer-director of Sahara’s soon to be off air patriotic show Mission Fateh, Mallik aims to take on the soap and drama staple of Hindi entertainment television head-on. “Indian audiences are mature enough to look beyond soapy-soppy sagas. After all we have had Tara, Rishtey and Banegi apni baat in the recent past.”

    While ABCK tackles the upper-crust problems with humour, K4 puts fun back into the term dysfunctional. Having roped in three newcomers, the daily is based on fictional tale of three school friends. Armed with skewed ideas about romance and men, the trio have their quirky share of romance. The main protagonist Leena has a 9-9 relationship with a married man twice her age, Pooja is in love with two men and Vartika is all set to marry the only guy who is ready and available since she hasn’t managed to find Mr Right. In due course, all three realise their follies. There isn’t an iota of vulgarity or melodrama in the serial, insists Mallik.

    Interesting as these concepts sound, when queried about the shows’ commercial prospects, Mallik offered, “Although either of them might not top the charts owing to the channel’s current position, looking at the direction in which Sahara is moving, that could soon change.” Mallik even added that both Sony and Zee were keen on K4, but Sahara was the one that booked the concept even before the pilot was shot.

    Will the good times roll for Sahara…? If it can translate these good concepts into watchable fare, they just might.

  • “Production values nowadays mean yellow bathrooms and blue curtains” : Girish Mallik

    “Production values nowadays mean yellow bathrooms and blue curtains” : Girish Mallik

    Understandably, he is quite excited these days. With his mega-scale war epic Mission Fateh launching on Sahara Manoranjan a few weeks ago, the man is on a natural high and raring to go. The serial has earned a few rave reviews but for the conceptualiser cum director Girish Mallik, it is just the beginning of a long journey.

    Mallik the director may take a while to register, but the actor is a well known face. After almost a decade in front of the camera, he decided to call the shots, literally. He took up direction six years ago, and now has quite a few shows to his credit.

    He met up with indiantelevision.com’s Trupti Ghag at Clapstem Productions where he arranged for a sneak preview of the forthcoming episodes of his serial and spoke about his pet passion … direction.

    Excerpts:

    If I am not mistaken, you are commerce graduate, then how did the transition to the small screen happen?
    Marketing and sales graduate with a postgraduate degree in tourism and travel, to be precise. But I have always been inclined towards the performing arts. I am a trained ‘Chau’ dancer. As a matter-of-fact, before joining the media, I used to perform internationally. I still remember my performance in Japan with a crowd of 20,000 cheering me.

    The anticlimax was when, after coming to India I performed in an indoor hall, in front of a crowd barely consisting of 200-300 uninterested people. I retired from the scene. It was then that I started working with theatre as a hobby and later moved to television.

    If it was all smooth sailing as an actor, why did you decide to shift to directing?
    Honestly, after a few years in the industry, life was getting monotonous. The system that I was used to wasn’t there any more. Now you have pretty faces mouthing a few words and shedding a few tears. Rehearsal is such a passé term and as for homework… you might as well forget about it. The production values mean yellow bathrooms and blue curtains. I had to get up and do something.
    “There are certain actors that can surprise, I do not disturb them”

    When was it that you first decide to go behind the camera?
    By that I time, I had already done my share of work in front of the camera. I was a known face thanks to Banegi Apni Baat, Tara and Shanti. Although I really had no expertise, Zee allotted me episodes of Rishtey. I set up Clapstem Production and before you know it, I had directed the maximum number of the Rishtey episodes (grins).

    Being an actor, has it helped in any way now that you are on the other side of the camera?
    Undoubtedly! I understand an actor’s psyche. I know that every actor has his own way of emoting. I explain the basic premise of the character and hand over the screenplay to him, how he chooses to enact a certain scene is his lookout. I just make sure that the actor is comfortable.

    There are certain actors that can surprise, I do not disturb them.

    Tell me something about your latest project ‘Mission Fateh’. I am told that you conceptualised the show. How did that come about?
    The idea had been germinating in my head for ages. I decided to go ahead with it two years ago. Initially, I had planned to approach all the leading channels, but it seemed so much like Sahara’s project that I pursued them. It did not take me long to convince them.

    But that wasn’t the main hurdle. I had to compile the matter, which wasn’t an easy task.

    Why was that so, did you face any problems from the army?
    Not any specific problem as such, but the army harbours a distrust for the media. Their major grouse is that the screens reduce military officers to caricatures. The officers depicted so far on the screen seem almost robotic… speaking in a certain way, walking in a certain manner.

    It was difficult initially to get through the shell but our scriptwriter Brig. (Retd) M M Bhanot and the entire research team managed to break the shell. Now we have the army helping us out voluntarily.

    You earlier mentioned that the project was designed to be a Sahara project, why is it so?
    It is! No other channel would have been able to do justice to the show. The channel understood the show’s demands. Be it financial or creative support, Sahara has never denied us anything.

    There was a time when I took a 60-member crew to a remote location to shoot but for 10 days but we were stuck in the hotel because of the hostile climate. While I was getting upset about it, everybody at the channel was so understanding that they asked me not get to perturbed and just concentrate on what to do next.

    So now you are a Sahara loyalist, eh!
    (Laughs) Everybody seems to be saying so, but honestly speaking I am on very good terms with other channels as well. I had a special chair reserved for me at the Zee office,all the executive producers, producers and channel authorities know me very well. Similar is the case with other channels.
    “I am a very accommodating person but I cannot compromise on my vision”

    What are the things that you cannot compromise on as a director?
    Well, I am a very accommodating person but I cannot compromise on my vision. If I have decided that a show has to look a certain way, then there are no two ways about it. I absolutely cannot tolerate the word ‘impossible’. If there is a problem somewhere, I make sure it is solved.

    I am a very greedy director. Sahara managing worker’s son Sushanto Roy, who played Vijayant Thapar on the screen, after shooting for a month refused to be conned into act henceforth. He said that if I continued to be as demanding, there will be a time when somebody calls in the human rights commission (laughs).

    What are the other projects you have in pipeline?
    For starters, there is a music video that I am directing exclusively for Sahara, in which Subrata Roy’s wife will showcase her singing. Binod Pradhan of Devdas fame has done the camera work; the video is larger than life. Then there are two comedies Life mein thoda sa freedom mangta hai and Aao behen chugli karein. While these two are in the scripting stages, there is a serious drama Agneepath that explores the father and son relationship. There are a few movies in the pipeline as well that I am keen on doing. And yes, they are all for Sahara (grins).
    Seems like you have your hands full. Does that mean we won’t be seeing you on the screen anymore?
    An actor never dies. Maybe some time later.

    Of late, there have been cases where serials have been taken off air abruptly either because of the TRPs or political pressure. How do you ensure that your works don’t come under the axe?
    As for Mission Fateh, all the episodes are scrutinised by the army and the censor board. Sahara does not like to stir up unnecessary controversies and neither do I. In my show, I have put across both Jehadis’ as well as ULFA militants’ point of view but in no way have I tried to glorify their misdeeds. As for TRPs, I do not have a meter at my home, do you!

    Seriously, I try watching the so called popular serials. Tried to be interested and objective, but beyond a point I saw the line blurring and creativity going from being minimal to nonexistent. And it is not the case that there is no creativity. We have the most brilliant writers, directors in the present scenario.

    What has been your most memorable project so far?
    It is rather difficult. I can’t pinpoint any particular episode.

    Well Vijayant Thapar was great. Puneet Datta’s episode that was shot entirely through the father’s eye, I took loads of creative liberties with it though, it was excellent.

    If you take somebody under your wing, what is the quality that you look for in him/her?
    A wannabe director has to be forever on his toes. No ego hassles whatsoever.