Niraj Kumar Mishra is a well known Creative Director in the TV industry. He has been associated with shows like Adaalat, Kaun Banega Crorepati and Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. Currently he works with Shakuntalam Telefilms (as a Creative Director) and is actively involved in their current show Kaali on Star Plus and is also working on Shakuntalam’s next for Life OK. We had a chat with him for our behind the lens section. Read on... Please tell us something about yourself… I am in this industry for the last 12 years now; I started off my career as the Research Coordinator of Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 1 on Sony TV which became a landmark on television. I have also worked on 26 episodes of Adaalat on Sony TV. I had even worked as the Executive Producer of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah on SAB TV. Now I am creatively involved with Kaali. I have also written and directed a short film titled Gandhi-The Silent Gun. How has your journey been so far? Very interesting as I got to imbibe a lot from every show of mine. I have worked as a researcher, a producer and now as a director. The virtual life on screen slowly becomes our second life. I think my next destination will be films. How important is creativity for a show to be successful? Firstly nobody can deny that content is the king for any show, no matter what, everybody has to work according to the content’s demand. Creative Directors are like machines, they don't have enough time to put in some of their own out-of-the-box efforts. There is stipulated time given to us for producing shows and we have to work within that limitation. Execution has no liberty in TV shows but on other hand creativity is very important for any show. We need to reach beyond the expectation of viewers, then only will they stick to our show. Is creativity dead on television? No not at all, however it's just a very few who explore towards the dimension of creativity. This is all like a business if the budget is less then things work out according to it, and if the producer gives you a green signal to explore your talent then the show comes out fulfilling in each and every dimension. The whole logistics system of television limits the script to a very great extent. There are many factors which affect the script and creativity is one of them which get affected right away. How is creativity different for television and films? In films everything is larger than life and you need to explore the content and concept in order to make it look big. However in television you have certain barriers and time is the biggest barrier of any show. Television works on a daily basis and it needs to be completed within a certain time. From scripting to the final product on screen, everything needs to be managed in a parallel way in order to maintain the sequence. So creativity becomes difficult for television. Which genre you prefer the most? For me I have no particular genre as I work on a very different style of shows like my first show was on quiz. Then I have worked on thriller concepts like Adaalat and even comedies like Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah. There is no limit of human talent, they have unlimited capacities. There is no boundary in this occupation as you can explore yourself to any dimensions. I have just one dream- that to make a show on historical facts. How has industry changed so far? The process of change is very slow. I remember when I entered this industry, mythological shows were the trend. Then gradually saas-bahu saga entered which is still going on. Even today there is no change in this trend of saas-bahu daily soaps. The same old format is being followed, there is technically no change at all. There were certain shows which tried to explore different avenues but they disappeared very soon. How does acting help to create creativity on screen? Firstly, acting is the most important aspect of any show to succeed but in today's scenario television acting has been taken over by looks. According to my personal experience there are a very few good TV actors. Only in television those whom we call actors nowadays are just good looking chocolate faced boys. Execution and performance are very important, without which the essence of the story is lost. Acting gives life to the characters which are just on paper. So if they don't create their spark on screen then the show is clean bowled on a very first ball. What advice would you like to give to new aspiring directors? New enthusiastic directors should follow their passion with full courage and loyalty. Set challenges for yourself, take responsibility and always try to set changes in the place you work. What are your future plans? I want to try and make a psychological/paranormal thriller on screen and set new avenues for my career.