I am blessed to work with Giaa Maanek and Ali Asgar: Supervising Producer, Alok Gupta

The talented Alok Gupta, the brain behind the famous fictional show Jeannie Aur Juju (Eagle Films Pvt Ltd) on SAB TV, is an intelligent man who knows the needs of the audience. Currently the supervising producer of the SAB TV show, Alok’s dream is to soon celebrate 100 episodes of Jeannie Aur Juju and also that the show lasts for years together. We get into the insights of this creative man for our Behind the Lens segment. Excerpts: How did your journey begin in this industry? I am lucky to be born in a family which has been in sync with the media for long. Since my dad was a renowned journalist, I got inclined towards this profession. Though from Bihar, but my eyes opened in Mumbai with the avid guidance of my father. I started television by producing shows as well as being on the creative side. As a matter of fact, my first show was Wah Janab with Shekhar Suman in which I was the chief assistant director. At that time I was studying as well; so it was an earn and learn concept for me. I was also the chief assistant director of the film Abodh in which Madhrui Dixit was launched. I also did direction but was mostly into the creative side of a show. How did Jeannie Aur Juju happen? I was already doing a couple of shows when SAB TV approached me to helm Jeannie Aur Juju. Since I liked the concept of the show, I took it up and here I am. I am basically the supervising producer of the show. How has your journey been so far? Well, my journey, in the industry, has been full of ups and downs. I am thankful to SAB TV that they believed in this concept. And from our side, the entire team also made a collective effort to make the show popular as it is now. Did you expect it to be so popular when you started with the serial? Yes, all of us had the belief that Jeannie Aur Juju was an amazing concept; the channel believed in us. And now at the 9.30 pm slot, we have been getting good TRPs. As a matter of fact, we have a loyal set of audiences who keep on watching our show. We will be on our 100th episode soon and I am eagerly waiting for that day. Talking about actors, do you think it’s a difficult team to work with? No, not at all; it’s a very nice team and I am blessed to work with the talented Giaa Maanek and Ali Asgar; they are superbly talented. It’s not difficult at all. The best part is that other daily soaps have three four families running around who can switch over from one family to another, but in our case I have four to five characters and the show revolves around them. It’s a big effort and we have to be cautious that humor and fun is always there and we don't make a fool of ourselves. Earlier, it took us a little time but now the show is catching up fast and I must say that all the actors give their heart and soul to the project. Do you think popular actors make shows a hit? Yes, to a certain extent but at the end of the day the story is very important. It has so happened that many leads have been replaced on television but the story is addictive; hence viewers watch stories and later accept the new characters. According to you, have the actors changed with the time? Yes, I feel so. Nowadays, some actors try and behave as stars with just one show being successful. However, there are still many actors like Hiten Tejwani and Rakshanda Khan among a few others who are very much down to earth. Who is your biggest critic? My family and my kids! They watch my show avidly and have their own insights about it. I like upon getting feedbacks from my kids. Your future plans? I would love to direct a film and am working towards it.