A director of a television show is no less than an army man on the war front with control of all weapons on his responsible shoulder for one wrong fire can blow off a lot. Hence, we couldn’t help but ask some responsibility related questions to Shashank Bharadwaj, the director of Channel V’s popular show Paanch: 5 Wrongs Make A Right. Read on for an enriching conversation that Tellychakkar.com got in with the man who has made many stories come alive on the small screen. When and how did your journey in the entertainment industry begin? It started nine years ago with me assisting director Ashish Khurana. I was first hired as an apprentice there but in six months I was heading the shoot on days when Ashish Sir wouldn’t be on sets. I grasped pretty fast being an outsider then. Which means you had no strings attached in the industry? That’s true but I knew that I wanted to be a part of the industry while I was studying in Indore but I had no idea about its functioning. In spite of that I completed my studies and came down to Mumbai to stay with my elder brother who had been in the city for a long time. My research work begun only on reaching Mumbai. This was also when one of my brother’s friend introduced me to Ashish Sir and I went on to assist him. When did you become a director? I assisted him on shows like Aaye Na Judai, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeqat amongst others and went on to bag my solo project in Fox Entertainment’s Sangam in 2008. There hasn’t been a looking back for you since. Isn’t it? I have been very lucky with the projects that I’ve been offered, be it 12/24 Karol Bagh, Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha or my current project Paanch. How much has the industry changed from the time you joined it and how did you adapt to these changes? Eight years ago things were very different, even the shooting pattern was different. Today everything has changed though the basics are still the same. How much of your energy gets consumed in getting the right scenes out of the actors? It’s not an easy job to make things on paper visually appealing but then patience plays an important part here. There are times when you have too many re-takes for you’re not getting the desired results. On certain occasions you even have to go out and enact the scenes for the actors to get them right but such moments are rare. Which actors have you had the easiest time shooting with? Kunal Karan Kapoor and Akanksha Singh are wonderful actors and it was a treat working with them in Na Bole…We had this tuning and they exactly knew what I wanted in every scene. When do you plan to explore the 70 mm? There is still time for that as I am currently working on a script for the same. What kind of shows will you be looking out for next? I bagged a show like Paanch after working on Savdhan India for a year so, I am ready for surprises.