I believe in grabbing every opportunity that comes my way - Reality Producer Abhinav Srivastava

There are few who ‘thrive on luck for success’ while the others belong to the hard-working category who see to it that they knock on the ‘doors of success’ with sheer dedication. Reality producer Abhinav Srivastava has had a mix of both in his life. He was lucky to get his first break, but from there on, it’s been sheer hard work that has brought him where he is today. Here is the man in a conversation with Tellychakkar.com for our ‘Behind the Lens’ section.. Tell us a bit about your journey? I had come down to Mumbai from Bhopal to appear for my CET exams, and since I was staying with a friend who was trying his hands at acting I happened to go for an audition one fine day. Unfortunately he did not get selected but I did. Aladdin on Zee TV was my first show as an actor as well as an Associate Director. I also started as an Associate Director as the production people felt I was good at helping people with their dialogues. You also tried your hand in films? It happened accidently. I was working for a TV show then and I had been to the office of the makers to collect my cheque. I saw a huge crowd gathered on one of the floors of the building. Out of curiosity I inquired and learnt that it was Vishal Bharadwaj’s production house and he was about to start shooting for Kaminey. His employees were handing over forms to people standing there. I too filled one of those forms and I was finalized to help Shahid Kapoor with his scripts. Since he played a double role in the film, I used to also read out his dummy dialogues. How did your journey in the industry proceed from here? It was only in the year 2004 that I first started working on non-fiction shows as a reality producer. I first worked on Wheel Smart Shrimati after which I did a lot of non-fiction shows like Cineyug, Dance Premier League, Boogie Woogie. I also shot outdoor stories of KBC (Kaun Banega Crorepati). Latest shows that I have worked on include Aap Ki Kachehri, India’s Best Dramebaaz, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 5 and I am currently working on its sixth season too. Apart from working on non-fiction shows I also direct red carpets of award shows like Mirchi, Stardust, Filmfare and many more. When you started as an actor, why did you not take up acting as a profession? I was here to complete my MBA and not to be an actor, but I grabbed every opportunity that came my way. I think I would continue doing that. What about your family? I am a married man and my wife is an assisting choreographer to Ganesh Acharya. She is also my lucky charm. What’s next for you? I want to be a film director someday.