ITV

Tag: Rakesh Paswan

  • ‘Afsar Bitiya’ premiering on 25 June at 7:30 PM

    ‘Afsar Bitiya’ premiering on 25 June at 7:30 PM

    MUMBAI: Nelson Mandela said ‘Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world,’ and educating girls not only improves gender equality, but also promotes the healthy development of families, communities and nations. Taking this thought forward, Zee Anmol launches ‘Afsar Bitiya’ premiering Saturday 25 June at 7:30 PM that will inspire audiences across the country. Set in Bhagalpur (Bihar), Afsar Bitiya highlights the importance of girl child education. It is the story of Krishna Raj, a young village girl and her dream to work hard and make a difference in society.

    Mitaali Nag plays the lead role of Krishna, an ambitious woman who is strong willed and self-sufficient. Coming from a lower middle class family, where no one had ever got a better job than a clerk, Krishna, through her hard work and dedication becomes a B.D.O. (Block Development Officer). The show traces the journey of this honest and determined girl from an extremely moderate background who deals with ever changing family situations after she becomes successful in her career.

    ‘Afsar Bitiya’ is produced by the popular television content writer Mr. Rakesh Paswan under the banner ‘Village Boy Productions’. Commenting on ‘Afsar Bitiya, Mr. Paswan said, “This subject is very close to my heart. The inspiration of the story is my own little sister who is a BDO in one of the districts in Jharkhand. Through the lead protagonist Krishna, I hope millions of girls living in small towns and villages of India will be inspired to pursue their dreams and not succumb to societal pressures. I also want to send a message to all the parents to give equal importance to their daughters to help them build a bright and glorious career for themselves.”

    Along with Mitali Nag, veteran actors Virendra Saxena and Shahbaz Khan and young heartthrobs Kinshuk Mahajan, Yash Sinha and Shivshakti Sachdev play pivotal roles in this show. Commenting on the launch of the show Mitaali Nag said, “I’m absolutely thrilled to be playing the lead role of Krishna in ‘Afsar Bitiya’ simply because of its strong social message! A Block Development Officer is a person who works towards community development and helps in uplifting the lives of the weaker sections of the society. I read a lot about the responsibilities of a B.D.O before taking up this project and it really inspired me. I will feel good if I’m able to inspire even one young Indian girl among teeming millions to become a B. D. O.”

    Krishna’s unexpected achievement bring a lot of happiness for her family, but is her happiness meant to stay forever? Will Krishna be able to keep her values after she becomes ‘Afsar Bitiya’?

  • ‘Afsar Bitiya’ premiering on 25 June at 7:30 PM

    ‘Afsar Bitiya’ premiering on 25 June at 7:30 PM

    MUMBAI: Nelson Mandela said ‘Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world,’ and educating girls not only improves gender equality, but also promotes the healthy development of families, communities and nations. Taking this thought forward, Zee Anmol launches ‘Afsar Bitiya’ premiering Saturday 25 June at 7:30 PM that will inspire audiences across the country. Set in Bhagalpur (Bihar), Afsar Bitiya highlights the importance of girl child education. It is the story of Krishna Raj, a young village girl and her dream to work hard and make a difference in society.

    Mitaali Nag plays the lead role of Krishna, an ambitious woman who is strong willed and self-sufficient. Coming from a lower middle class family, where no one had ever got a better job than a clerk, Krishna, through her hard work and dedication becomes a B.D.O. (Block Development Officer). The show traces the journey of this honest and determined girl from an extremely moderate background who deals with ever changing family situations after she becomes successful in her career.

    ‘Afsar Bitiya’ is produced by the popular television content writer Mr. Rakesh Paswan under the banner ‘Village Boy Productions’. Commenting on ‘Afsar Bitiya, Mr. Paswan said, “This subject is very close to my heart. The inspiration of the story is my own little sister who is a BDO in one of the districts in Jharkhand. Through the lead protagonist Krishna, I hope millions of girls living in small towns and villages of India will be inspired to pursue their dreams and not succumb to societal pressures. I also want to send a message to all the parents to give equal importance to their daughters to help them build a bright and glorious career for themselves.”

    Along with Mitali Nag, veteran actors Virendra Saxena and Shahbaz Khan and young heartthrobs Kinshuk Mahajan, Yash Sinha and Shivshakti Sachdev play pivotal roles in this show. Commenting on the launch of the show Mitaali Nag said, “I’m absolutely thrilled to be playing the lead role of Krishna in ‘Afsar Bitiya’ simply because of its strong social message! A Block Development Officer is a person who works towards community development and helps in uplifting the lives of the weaker sections of the society. I read a lot about the responsibilities of a B.D.O before taking up this project and it really inspired me. I will feel good if I’m able to inspire even one young Indian girl among teeming millions to become a B. D. O.”

    Krishna’s unexpected achievement bring a lot of happiness for her family, but is her happiness meant to stay forever? Will Krishna be able to keep her values after she becomes ‘Afsar Bitiya’?

  • Zee raises voice against new-age dowry via new show ‘Service Wali Bahu’

    Zee raises voice against new-age dowry via new show ‘Service Wali Bahu’

    MUMBAI: Zee TV, which has through its shows highlighted social issues like remarriage, girl child-trafficking, women empowerment, complexes that surround a girl’s dark complexion etc, is now ready with its latest offering. 

     

    The channel will be launching yet another story of hope and inspiration, a voice against new-age dowry. In a city like Mumbai, where a working woman thinks of herself as a financially independent individual, somebody else in another part of the country is looking at her as an exploitation opportunity.

     

    And that’s exactly what the channel’s latest early primetime offering brings to fore. Christened – Service Wali Bahu, the show is produced by Village Boy Productions’ Rakesh Paswan and is an attempt to curb this unhealthy approach towards marriage by creating awareness.

     

    Set in the small town of Jamshedpur, the story revolves around a career-oriented woman (Payal) who can support her in-laws with a steady income post marriage. She’s ambitious and yet has her family values intact. Having broadened her horizons through education and learning and managed to build meaningful career for herself, Payal has a distinct vision about her husband and his family with whom she will spend her entire life with.

     

    It explores an inspiring journey of ummeed, from being a self-driven, super achieving daughter who has always made her parents proud to falling into a trap of a new-age dowry system where her in-laws look to her as a steady source of family income.

     

    With the new series, the channel makes the dead slot of 6.30 pm alive. Earlier Zee TV aired Pavitra Rishta in this slot, which concluded its journey in October 2014. The channel has been airing repeats since then. The new series will premiere on 23 February and will air every Monday-Saturday at 6.30 pm.

     

    “We were constantly developing subjects for the 6.30 pm slot. We were looking for an exciting drama and a concept that can catch the viewers’ attention very quickly. While we were developing the concept, we were also meeting a lot of writers and producers. This is when Rakesh narrated to us a one liner, which just clicked for our 6:30 pm slot offering.  We did not have to explain anything to the viewers, the title played its own magic,” says Zee TV programming head Namit Sharma.

     

    Sharma feels that the story is relevant in today’s time and allows the channel for a beautiful socially relevant story telling. According to him the USP of the show is that it delivers a message and makes a statement about how a woman can balance work and home both, successfully despite problems.

     

    The makers and the channel started discussing the show almost four-five months back. “It is a turnaround show for me,” says Sharma.

     

    He further adds that unlike other shows where Zee works with multiple writers and collates thoughts, which takes a lot of time, in this show the channel has worked with Paswan as the only writer, which was an advantage.  “Rakesh’s strength is that he is a writer and his writing comes very naturally. The rest falls into place quickly. Here, we are writing it with a very clear focus about her journey, tribulations etc,” Sharma says.

     

    Paswan, who has worked with the channel before and delivered shows like Afsar Bitiya and Dulhan, believes that the new series questions mindset that looks to exploit a working woman for her ability to learn. “The differentiated concept of the show and its treatment is aimed at making the audience sit up and question the motivations with which people approach marriage,” says Paswan.

     

    The show has already got a title sponsor on-board in Wagh Bakri. “We are quite happy the way advertisers are responding to the series. Within four days of putting the promo on-air we got a title sponsor,” Sharma informs.

     

    The new series will be competing with original running show like Suhani Si Ek Ladki on Star Plus while other channels telecast repeats.