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Sony
is finally ready to showcase its primetime
daily, Virrudh which boasts of best
talents from all the three mediums of the
acting genre - theatre, TV and films, all
weaved together to a rather off beat storyline.
And who's the happiest on this occasion?
Nation's favourite bahu and CEO, Ugraya
Entertainemnt Pvt Ltd, Smriti Irani,
who after a successful stint in television
production (Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa
Aasman) is all charged up about her
second offering, Virrudh.
In a candid chat with Seema
Pherwani, this actor-cum-producer-cum-politician
gets candid about her short journey as producer.
"For Virrudh,
Sony felt I suited the role"
Simply put, the show is about love, power,
trust and betrayal. I play Vasudha,
media baron Dhirendra Raisinghaniya's illegitimate
daughter. She dotes on her father, trusts
him, not knowing that he's the most corrupt
and shrewd businessman. She slowly becomes
the reflection of the man she idolizes.
Also she's in her 30s who decides not to
get married as it suits her purpose. She
loves her father and her boyfriend doesn't
want to rush into marriage and eventually
she is supposed to take her father's place.
"Winning
is not about power and money"
In a way, the show is a look at contemporary
society. One may amass power, money and
still be a loser at the end of it. I want
viewers to sit up and question themselves
- What makes me happy, is it money, power
or then relationships? Because, sometimes
we focus a lot on our goals to the extent
that we fail to realize what we've left
behind.
In the end, Vasudha loses all the relationships
and she doesn't even realise this. By the
time she realizes that her father is actually
not what she thought him to be, nature takes
it toll and she herself becomes like him.
"A contemporary
story of friction and angst"
Virrudh is a contemporary rich story while
Thoda Si …..was the story of a lower middle
class family. It's about amalgamation of
relationships, and the perception of how
families are in different parts of the country.
By keeping the language very simple, we've
tried to explore the undercurrents of relationship
in every family and bring out the friction
and angst.
"Inspired
by the Mahabharata"
I took a year to pen the story. When the
channel heard the story they felt that Vasudha
sounds like Abhimnayu from Mahabharat, who's
caught in a web of relationships. Whether
she can break the web or no is what the
story is about. All along the way, I knew
it won't be a flowery but a fiery story.
I waited for the right time and the right
star cast. When I was sure that this is
what I want is when I approached Sony.
"I am very
adamant as a writer"
My creative team and channel have given
me the confidence to go ahead with the script.
Channels do want something different; it
depends on the writers and the audiences'
acceptability. Kamlesh Pandey and I are
very adamant about our storyline.
Why Sony?
I don't think a producer should run around
with the same concept to three different
channels. This way, certain amount of disloyalty
comes into play and also there's a risk
of some elements getting picked up. I believe
in doing channel specific stuff. Also, every
story will not be a reflection of our last
project.
"I love multitasking"
I've enacted a variety of rules in my career.
Be it comedy, going black to grey, countdowns
and plays. I don't believe in limiting myself
to acting. Now, as a producer my greatest
kick is to see that my writing, my creation
gets accepted by a channel. I love multitasking
as it helps me keep my interests in my work
alive.
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Posted
on 12 March 2007 7:00 pm
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