Fiction stories are all developed from real life experiences - Saurabh Arora, Creative Head

A young lad who walked in the city of dreams with just one objective- to become a director. Meet Saurabh Arora who trying to pave his way towards direction found a calling in production and is now enjoying his position as a Creative Head for Lost Boy Productions. After churning out successful seasons of MTV Webbed he is currently working on Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya on Zing. Tellychakkar.com got in conversation with the talented guy as he shared a lot more about his personal and professional journey. Tell us more about your journey in the industry? Well I moved to Mumbai from Delhi in 2010 after my graduation to try my luck into direction. Sadly I faced rejection from all corners. I was completely dejected and since I knew nobody in the industry it was turning out really difficult. My friends told me that surviving in Mumbai without a source is really difficult and I started believing in it, but thankfully I got an opportunity with DJs A Creative Unit and there has been no looking back from there. Carry on… I was working for their show Aise Karo Na Vida and soon got an opportunity with SOL’s Shaadi 3 Crore Ki where I got to work in the production team. Then I worked with Miditech, NDTV, Fox Life and Big Synergy. I really had a great time working for Kaun Banega Crorepati 6 in the research team. Although I had a great run with nonfiction I soon found myself back with a daily show- Sasural Simar Ka. During this time I met Vikas Gupta (producer and Programming Head, MTV India) who got me on board as the Creative Head for his production house. I worked for Webbed and now doing Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya. Since you wanted to work as a director, are you satisfied with your job? Of course I am. See initially it was only getting a job that mattered to me but slowly I started enjoying it. Being a mass communication student, I wanted to get into media. As for my direction dreams being a creative head I have AD’s under me, so I am at present in a higher position that I was vying for (smiles). How difficult it is to find new stories every week? See a job of a creative is to keep their eyes and ears open. We have so many people around us with different stories to tell. Also newspapers have so much of interesting happenings. We don’t usually take the whole story just some key words and then weave out a story around it. Fiction stories are all developed from real life experiences. You are also involved in casting for your shows, how difficult it is to find new faces? Although I have started casting only recently it is a difficult process for sure. But all these years I have made friends in the industry who scoop in to help get the right talent. Also when I go around in markets and malls and come across an attractive face I offer them a chance to audition and that does help. Your actor friends must be also pestering you for work? (Laughs) They all are talented and very viable. But I do take a proper professional call and get their auditioned done and approve them from channels. Also friends who need improvement in their acting are advised well by me. What is the most imp requirement to work in the creative dept? Sense of humour for sure! Also I have learnt that in the business being too much aggressive doesn’t help. You have to have lot of patience for things take their own time to work. So what is the most challenging part in your job? To find new stories every week. Getting content that people can relate to is an uphill task. What do you have to say about the current content on TV? I feel people are just selling things. It’s all money matters these days. New shows come every day and vanish in no time. There are no emotions. If something doesn’t work they ready up another selling object. Shows should have heart and soul to it. Who holds an important part in your career? Vikas Gupta for sure. The kind of freedom he gives to his team is very motivating. He is more like a brother to me now. I have done four shows with him and I hope to do as many shows for Lost Boy Productions. Although you are quite young, any tips for people who want to get into creative? I feel one should come with an open mind. Also creatives are not god but normal people, it’s just that they have the talent to make people believe and like stories that they write. So what are your plans ahead? I am currently getting to direct the anchor links of my show. Direction is what still holds the most important place in my life and I am trying to polish my skills so that I can get heads on into it. Anurag Kashyap is a director I really would love to work with.