When a super cop like Kiran Bedi opts for a TV show it is imperative that she makes it to the headlines. Bedi has often been seen on various talk shows holding forth on important issues. Once again Bedi comes on to the small screen but in a new avatar. She will be seen adjudicating Aap ki kachehri on Star Plus. Aap ki kachehri is an open forum where two parties go public and attempt to resolve their differences. Bedi will act as a mediator and will help them get an out of court settlement.

Tellychakkar spoke to the ex-cop Kiran Bedi on the show and issues that bother her. Excerpts from her interview:

What prompted you to do a television show?

Star Plus came up with the concept and asked me to adjudicate on the show. I looked at the program and its content and decided to take it up. It is an interesting concept where concerned parties send their queries and issues and I give them a solution after going through the case. The focus is on social issues and hence close to me heart.

What kind of issues are you going to tackle?

There will be various issues ranging from property issues, business matters, man-wife relationships, alcoholic husbands and wife-beaters, mother-in-law harassing her daughter-in-law, etc. There will be all sorts of issues and problems coming to us and we will work on them and try to come to a solution.

What is your view on the current efforts on out of court settlement?

I strongly feel that there is a drought of an alternate redressal system. We are left with just one choice to press three digits (100) and call the police. They are the first and last resort to any suffering party. No party is above the police in the court of law. There are no traditional redressal systems around any more. We have lost the Panchayats and other systems which will be evident in AKK.

The basic redressal system in any house where a wife is beaten is a mother-in-law. How can a woman be beaten in a house when there is a mother-in-law present and why can’t she put a stop to it? It is the youth who is looked upon by the elders and they depend on them when they pass their prime but what if they are alcoholic? Then they become a threat than being a help.

There is an alcoholic son-in-law beating his wife and children then why can’t his mother bring an end to all those miseries? Why can’t they sort it out for themselves? Where are the social norms missing and Village Panchayats and R.W.F? A government body is just interested in money collection. What about the harmony in the society? The system needs to be revived and we need alternate dispute redressal systems.

There are many other shows working on the same lines so how different your show will be?

I am not into comparisons. Our genre and focus will be different from others and that aspect would make AKK unique.

How much of research has been done for the show?

Well, there has been a very intense research for the show and the issues. AKK is Siddarth Basu’s brain-child who is known to be a perfectionist and he has looked and worked at all the possible aspects of the show. The show has a very strong research team.

How much were you involved in the research?

I am not involved in the research phase. I am offered the final product and details. But the show is very well researched from all the angles including the law.

What if after arriving at a settlement issues crop up all over again?

Doesn’t life move on? When we are down in life don’t we seed ourselves again, nurture and care and grow up with full strength all over again. One has to accept the challenges that life has to offer and go back all over again learning from their past experiences and applying them in the present for a better future.

What about the follow-up in those cases?

I have a website called saveforindia.com where people post their queries and I try to offer them solutions. I started this website a week after moving out of service. My support system is always open to such matters as for the last 35 years I have been doing this. I take it as my duty. I receive offers from people who want to become representatives of my system in their regions or cities which is really encouraging. AKK is one such attempt in the direction.

What measures would you suggest for the grave issues that afflict our society?

One needs to reform the system and incorporate better laws and thus a better system. There should be local dispute redressal within the neighbours and within the community. This will help the civil society become more self-empowered.

Any unfulfilled dreams?

I would like to improve the police system in India.