Buddha is a 10 years journey for me, and for Mr. B.K. Modi it is a 30 years journey - Ridhwana, Creative Producer, Buddha

Can you imagine the feeling when one lives a ‘dream’ for as long as 10 years and sees it getting fulfilled? - Is it goose bumps when you see your ‘baby’ come out of the dreams to take its rightful place in the world? Or is it a smile that ends up in never-ending tears owing to the sheer joy and excitement? Aah, this is how Ridhwana feels when she sees her ‘own baby’ get its due in the world of television, both in India and overseas. What are we talking about? Well, we are talking about Spice Studios’ splendid, larger than life and out-of-the world presentation on television, Buddha on Zee TV. Ridhwana, Creative Producer and Co-Producer, Buddha has been associated with the making of Buddha from the year 2004 and was literally the first person to be hired by DR B.K. Modi. When in her teenage, Ridhwana had a liking for acting, and did try it out at few auditions. But destiny had something else in store for the bright talent. Here’s Ridhwana pouring her emotions out as she talks of her dream, future goals in an exclusive talk with Tellychakkar.com. How is it that you were chasing this dream of making Buddha for 10 long years? Well, in the year 2004 I started my career as Assistant Director to Shekhar Kapur. In fact, Spice Studios had hired Shekhar to make a film on Buddha. And I got a call from Spice for my very first interview. I still remember the date – it happened on 26 January 2004, on our Republic Day and I was the first person to get on board B.K. Modi’s team to make Buddha. I worked with Shekhar for a good two and half years wherein I gained production experience and developed my creative skills too. Even though the experience was good, the film did not happen for lot many reasons. Then when Shekhar went on to make the movies Queen Elizabeth and its sequel The Golden Age I was part of his team. After this, Shekhar walked away and I continued with Mr. Modi. Post this, Mr. Modi shifted me to Singapore where I was working as well as doing a course in mass media. And in the year 2010, Mr. Modi got me back to Mumbai to make the film on Buddha again, this time with Ashutosh Gowarikar. However, this effort got shelved as we did not get the right boy to play Buddha even after going through a vast audition process. I can say that, I had a tough journey as I faced two setbacks with the group, and it hit me hard since I was close to the project. After this came the phase where I put in one year into thinking, absorbing and developing the right thought. This was the time that the boom in TV started and the small screen started to gain much of viewership than films. So we made the right move. Mr. Modi and the Chairman of Zee TV, Mr. Subhash Chandraji talked in length about the subject and since both were passionate about Buddhism, the thought of making Buddha on TV started to turn into reality. I then took over the team, sometime in April last year (2012) and hired the right people to work on this vast project. And today to see Buddha with 9 episodes already on air gives me a fruitful feeling. To tell you, I have been connected with each and every thing of this show – whether it be every scene, dialogue, word. It is a 10 years journey for me and for Mr. Modi this is actually a 30 years dream. Today, I can say that I made his dream come true. I am very sincere, passionate towards my work. I have personally looked into casting the male and female leads on the show. I have been fully involved in the look, costume, jewelry and it is too overwhelming to see it on screen. Every dream can be visualized, but to put into effect every minute thing is an uphill task. Tell us about the struggles. As a Creative Producer, I was happy that I had the leverage of having enough budget in my hands. I planned on spending the right amount of money on the set, on costumes and jewelry, on artists. Anything that went below the line of control was managed and we were impartial when it went above the line. In simple words, we left no stones unturned in bringing Buddha for the first ever time on Indian TV. And the efforts put in to bring the desired effects have been commendable. I have a 60 people in-house team and I have seen to it that I have sat with them personally to discuss the scenes, direction and all other intricate details. The idea was to make the product very international with no compromises whatsoever. And now that we have achieved it, I can say that we have been able to meet with all standards by selecting the right people with right ideas. I can clearly tell you that Buddha is the most expensive show ever launched on Indian TV. We have very sensible Directors and light men who understand our perspectives and depth. Now that Buddha is launched, how do you plan to take the idea forward? Well, work is on in terms of syndication. We plan to make home videos of Buddha so that the product reaches the family rooms of houses. The idea is to have eight to ten episodes in one pack. As of now, talks are on with one or two home video organizations. Tell us about the manner in which you zeroed in on Himanshu Soni to play Buddha? Aah, we have done enough research to get a clear picture of Buddha. The very fact that Shekhar (Kapur) wanted to cast Orlando Bloom to play Buddha in the movie gave us a clear picture of how Buddha should be. Orlando’s blue eyes, calm personality, curly hair, were pointers enough. Also, through research we found out that Buddha had 32 characteristics in him, and we looked for all these in our guy. Finally, we shortlisted two guys to play Buddha and sent both of them for a course in Viparshana. The idea was that they collect as much as calmness, depth and thoughts through the learning. And Himanshu I must say, had a complete transformation in personality after this. He worked extremely hard, got very humble, learnt dialogues, martial arts, taichi and all other stuff. In fact, he locked himself up in a room for 4-5 months to get into the character and work hard. When both the chairmen (Mr. Modi and Mr. Subhash Chandraji) looked at his auditions, they were impressed as he was well-suited to play Buddha. Tell us about making the vision of your larger than life sets a reality… Aah, the credit for this goes to our set designer Varsha Jain. When we hired her we got to know that she was also involved in the sets of Oh My God as Art Director. And for Buddha, she knew what we exactly wanted – a western look which is very realistic. Unlike daily soaps where prominence is given to interiors, we had to work on exteriors like the look based on Himalayas and many other things as per our research. I would say, Varsha took our dream beyond our expectations by giving us a fabulous set. She built an amphitheatre for Siddharth to do his martial arts, a temple, a basti etc in the 3.5 acres land in Film City. Our set is huge, something you would not have imagined. The one-liner given to Varsha was ‘rich and luxury’ and she justified it by making a set that was aesthetic. Coming to the numbers, guess your efforts have not resulted in big numbers? Yes, I know that the numbers have not been supportive. But we are working towards pushing it. Every episode of Buddha is entertaining and we want more and more people to see it. We pass a message at the end of every episode to people with a vision that it will appeal to everybody who watches the show once. The idea is that if one watches it once, he will be glued to it. Above all, this is the first time that a show is ever made on Buddha in India and we want people to understand this fact. We have been very truthful to our work and have not compromised on quality anywhere. I am sure that Buddha will be successful with time. Having said this, TVTs are not the only way to justify quality and viewership. Zee TV has been very supportive in the efforts put in and as a team we are completely determined to move ahead. TVTs take in too many parameters. Ours is a Sunday morning weekly show and this needs to be considered too. We have made the show with a right intention to show the people the world of Buddha. Trust me, the subject is very tough and has not been aired by any producer or channel so far. What kind of feedback that you and Mr. Modi have received personally for Buddha? People who know Spice Studios and Mr. Modi and even my friends all over America in Chicago, New York, Dubai etc say that the show looks splendid. They in fact send me pictures to tell me that they have watched the episodes. They love the quality of the show and the production values. The best part is that all are convinced with the face of Buddha in Himanshu Soni. Every single aspect of his is so on par with the character. Himanshu is an extremely balanced person, hard-working and has it in him to be a different person as and when he steps into the set or is with us for meetings. So what are the goals for future? Well, we need to go on with our dream of making Buddha and take it to the 52 episodes mark (series is a 52 episodes show). Also, my passion to making a film on Buddha goes on, and I will surely be driven to make it. So is the film on Buddha on cards? Well, yes, at least it is in our minds. The script is ready and we are now looking for the right director. Let’s see how it goes with time. We all know that Buddha is the most expensive show ever made on Indian TV. Can you help us with some figurative details regarding the cost? Well, I will not be able to tell you this. All I can say is that it will be about a crore for each episode. What other plans Spice Studios harbour? We will be working towards making films. Of course we are looking at more work on TV too. Our genres will be more on the historical and political front. And what about the future goals of Ridhwana? (Smiles) I am only 31, and I am still learning. The day I complete the 52 episodes of Buddha I will feel relieved. As far as future goes, I want to pursue my studies in London. You have had a long association with Mr. B.K. Modi. So what kind of a rapport do you share with him? Yes, we have a great rapport and he trusts and believes in me. In fact, many people do come up to me and ask me whether I am related to him. My answer is a ‘No’. He always makes it a point to give me creative freedom and allows me to put my views and respects them. On the whole, he takes all the creative calls. And he places immense trust in me when it comes to production, creativity, finances, marketing. As a parting statement, what do you want to tell viewers? See, this is my first ever interview (we are indeed thankful to Ridhwana for talking to Tellychakkar.com) and as I speak to you, you will not believe that I am having goose bumps and am getting very emotional. It has been a 10 years journey for me, and whenever I see a single scene of Buddha, I am completely overwhelmed. I would only want to tell the loyal viewers that we need people’s support to make this dream of ours a big success.