Sumeet and Shashi Mittal’s Sajan Ghar Jaana Hai created a lot of buzz when it was aired but the show soon fizzled out. However, their production house had emerged as a promising one thereafter. We spoke to Sumeet Mittal to know what went wrong with the show and his future projects… How did the thought of forming your own production house cross you when you were associated with the Rajshris? Actually both Shashi and I are freelance writers and we were associated not just with Rajshri but with a lot of other production houses like AK Films, Playtime Creations, Film Farm etc. In fact we are still very much with Rajshri’s Woh Rehnewali Mehlon Ki. I was the chief assistant director for Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi. I met Vivek Behl of Star Plus then and requested him to take me in as a director. He told me to get a good script and a concept. We thought over it and went to him with the script. He then told me to turn producer as well and Shashi and Sumeet Mittal happened. What went wrong with Sajan Ghar Jaana Hai? Even though it was surrounded by controversies of going off air, I will still say it was a good show. Viewers definitely noticed it. The show was pitted against Balika Vadhu and Jhansi ki Rani, which were doing well in that time slot. We initially gave good ratings and people had started appreciating the show. But I guess the viewers didn’t like the storyline thereafter and could not accept it. You mean the one where Barkha Bisht was introduced. Yes! The story though originally was planned in that manner but I guess the viewers couldn’t accept it and the TRPs didn’t rise as much as it was expected. The shows that you have been associated with mostly begin with a love story. Does that mean no ‘saas bahu’ sagas for you? Yes that’s right. Love is what we have focused on. I think that is something what the viewers want to see as well. Love in different forms not the regular chemistry and relationships. A saas bahu relationship, I guess, is inevitable. But yes, we focus more on love tracks. Barkha has worked with you before in Pyaar Ke Do Naam - Ek Radha Ek Shaam. Was it a conscious decision to replace Neha with her? Yes we were keen on casting Barkha for this role. She had worked with us earlier as well in Doli Saja Ke. She was good and we wanted someone who is as strong as the character and she fit the bill perfectly. As far as Neha is concerned no issues with her at all. It was not an overnight decision and the channel was always in the loop. Do you think the new star cast Kunal Bhati, Jhalak Desai were successful in living up to the expectations? Any particular reason for casting newcomers? I think Jhalak Desai was fabulous. She even fetched us an award. She was indeed good. Since newcomers are raw, you can mould them the way you want to. So they need to be given a chance. What’s next in line for you? There are a couple of things we are planning to do. They are at a basic stage so it is too early to talk about them. We have pitched a new show to Star Plus and awaiting their response.