ITV

Tag: Tujhse Hai Raabta

  • Without grandeur, audiences will focus on the storyline: Full House Films’ Amir Jaffer

    Without grandeur, audiences will focus on the storyline: Full House Films’ Amir Jaffer

    MUMBAI: It has been close to one month since the state government allowed film and television shooting in Maharashtra. This was a sigh of relief to several new shows that were left in the lurch due to the lockdown including Zee TV’s Qurbaan Hua, which had just started on 25 February. 

    In a special chat with indiantelevision.com, Full House Films founder and Tujhse Hai Raabta, Qurbaan Hua producer Amir Jaffer says, “We are implementing the guidelines laid by the state government and TV channels. We have insured everybody on the set against Covid2019. Everybody is working with face masks and face shields. Apart from that, make up artists and camerapersons are using PPE kits. As a smaller number of people are allowed on the set, we are planning our shooting on that basis. To showcase a greater number of people in the scene we are using separate footages and cuts of people.”

    To maintain social distancing and safety Jaffer is ensuring cast and crew members are carrying their own meal while only tea is served on the set. Food cost is being incurred by the production house itself. The studio is currently working with 60 members and no junior artists are called on the set.

    For Jaffer the biggest concern is to safeguard the health of cast and crew. As a practice, the studio is recording the temperature of cast and crew when they arrive and after the pack up.

    He also mentions that outdoor shoots are not happening currently, as it will require permission from district collectors and state authorities. The scenes are being shot with different camera angles. Family gathering, weddings and crowd scenes are not happening at all.

    Jaffer thinks that the look of the show will be compromised because there will be no grandeur. Special episodes of parties, weddings and dancing used to garner more traction which is not possible now. The stories are designed only considering the main actors. However, it will allow audiences to concentrate more on the storyline.  

    He also points out that there is no lag in the output of shows. Time-consuming scenes are avoided to meet the deadline. “We are also incorporating pandemic situations in our scripts. We also did a lockdown show with our actors. Everybody did the shooting by themselves in their own home.”

    Meanwhile, Jaffer has reopened his office with just four to five people.  Instead of calling people at the office for auditions, the casting is happening online.

    The working hour shift remains the same. Considering the curfew rule in Maharashtra, shift timings are 7 am to 7 pm so that cast and crew members can reach home before 9 pm. A 12-hour shift for the production unit and actors are called on the set only when required.

  • Hindi GEC shows highlight Covid2019 precautionary measures

    Hindi GEC shows highlight Covid2019 precautionary measures

    MUMBAI: Turn on your TV sets and you will see that most shows have resumed shooting. But what’s different now? Unlike before, leading characters in shows are seen wearing masks, face shields, gloves and using sanitisers. As a responsible community, GEC shows are also passing on information to viewers about Covid2019 precautions. 

    While speaking to Indiantelevision.com, TV producers shared because the shows are watched by millions of people, channels had requested them to include safety measures being promoted within shows.

    Shoonya Square Productions founder Ved Raj, who is the maker of the show Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega, highlights that the production house will continue to have episodes where safety protocols will be showcased. However, it will not be so frequent and informative but will reflect in the story. He also points out that the studio will not be shooting from the pandemic point of view, but will try to incorporate the current situation in their stories.

    He said, “From the Covid2019 lens we are showing characters wearing masks and gloves when they are going outside their homes. They are sanitising their hands after entering the house. But the plotline of the story remains the same.”

    However, upcoming episode scripts that were written before the pandemic had to be re-written considering the Covid2019 situation. In this show’s case, the protagonist will not give birth at the hospital but will do so at home. The production house can’t shoot in a different studio with more junior artists.

    Raj also shares, “Earlier our shows included a lot of party scenes and festivals but now I am avoiding that. It is challenging but still, it is better than nothing.”

    A video clip from Star Plus’ popular show Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai is already going viral on social media where the main characters, Shivangi Joshi and Alka Kaushal, are interacting while wearing masks. In the same Mohsin Khan was seen asking Shivangi Joshi to use the sanitiser before helping her wear gloves and face shield.

    Full House Media Production director Sonali Jaffer, who is the producer of the show Tujhse Hai Raabta, thinks that it is the responsibility of the channel and the production houses to showcase the importance of taking precautions. “We are doing this positive messaging through our shows because it is the reality. Until and unless the government tells us to stop wearing masks, we will continue to show safety protocols in our episodes,” she says.

    Sonali adds that even when the pandemic is over, the studio will incorporate positive things that had happened during this timeframe in their shows such as the people who bravely fought with the disease, donated their plasma to help other Covid2019 patients etc.

    As far as challenges are concerned while shooting the episode, Sonali points out that no producer or a writer likes to do a cheat shot. But now, no extra scenes are filmed, important conversations are happening from the point of view of one character only. Double shots of different locations are avoided.

    Shakti Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki writer Sharad Tripathi says that to a certain extent the makers of the show will introduce pandemic scenes and protocol measures in their show. He also adds that they will be using different footages and cuts of actors wearing masks and gloves wherever possible to create awareness.

    “There is a mass following of the show, so I think it is important for us to tell people about what should be done. In the coming days also, what the government will say, we will try to portray it through our scenes and dialogues,” he further added.

    Ekta Kapoor’s show Yeh Hai Chahatein shows the characters discussing how house-helps should go on leaves. Then the entire family was seen contributing to the household chores. In one of the latest episodes, the main lead played by Aishwarya Sakhuja was seen talking about online classes, and how it would help students to continue their studies with the help of technology.

    SAB TV’s show Tera Kya Hoga Alia started the episode with showing Alia, played by Anusha Arora, and Rabiya, played by Namrata Pathak, on an early morning jog. The two were seen talking about the importance of maintaining social distancing and wearing a mask when outdoors.

    In Sony Entertainment Television’s show Mere Dad Ki Dulhan in its new promo showcased the main leads Shweta Tiwari and Varun Badola wearing masks while they were outdoors.

    Since all producers and writers are facing similar challenges, audiences will get to see reality reflected in all the shows.

  • Zee TV to show fresh episodes of primetime shows from 13 July

    Zee TV to show fresh episodes of primetime shows from 13 July

    MUMBAI: With the lockdown gradually lifting and people across the country stepping out into the new normal, Zee TV is gearing up to resume shoots in line with government directives and bring all-new episodes of its popular shows back into the lives of its loyalists starting 13 July.

    The latest season of Zee TV’s widely followed non-fiction franchise Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs that had connected strongly with audiences with its remarkable talent including Zaid, Sai, Saksham, Aryananda and Madhav as also the easy-going camaraderie between host Maniesh Paul and the judges will be back with fresh episodes starting 18 July.

    Picking up the narratives unfolding across shows before lockdown, Zee TV's popular primetime dramas like Kumkum Bhagya, Kundali Bhagya, Tujhse Hai Raabta and Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega will return  with their protagonists keeping people engaged with unprecedented twists and turns in the fresh episodes.