MUMBAI: Television content is going through turbulent times with an emerging landscape in the form of OTT, where viewers are offered a cliff of choices- which means they decide the ratings and rankings of TV shows without an iota of compromise. With a newfound struggle, many producers have started producing the same content packed in new packages. Isn’t that too much? But wait, some wear their hearts on sleeves, and they aren’t the followers of trends but are actual trendsetters. Even if you don’t know television writers, showrunners, and producers Nilanjana Purkaysshata and Herumb Khot, chances are there. You must have heard, watched, and admired their shows like Peshwa Bajirao, Kulfi Kumar Bajewala, Chikoo Ki Mummy Durr Kei, and now they are back in the news for their much talked about show Dhadkan Zindaggi Ki. Yes, the prodigious self- duo and the founders of Invictus T Mediaworks have run the gamut of form and content – a musical drama, a half-hour of real history without butchering content, and now a high octane medical procedural drama prescribed with emotions. But in each, one can gather their distinct stamp and sensibilities in rolling out shows that are a far cry from the mundane.
“Our shows have always been the extension of our beliefs; we have never compromised on content. There have been times wherein we have wrapped a successful running show purely because we didn’t believe in the script,” apprises Nilanjana, who has penned shows like Chakravartin Ashok Samrat, Maharana Pratap to name a few.
Both Nilanjana and Herumb believe in creating zeitgeist when it comes to historical shows. “Every historical show of ours is backed by an exhaustive research, of course, the story is spliced with fiction elements, but we have never detoured from the real story or misguided our audiences,” informs Khot, who is an avid reader of Indian and world history.
When asked in the mountain of choices offered to the viewers, has led the producers or content creators to end up in Fomo? “Well, actually, this is the boom and the bust time. Great content in any format will sell, leaving no space for mediocrity, so do big or do small, but do the best,” says Nilanjana, “Why would anyone labor through something meander? Especially, we are now more likely to consume content in one sitting, which makes diversions and digressions and water-treading easier to identify.”
Indeed, the new trends in content consumption have tightened the focus on the story. Discussing the making of Dhadkan Zindaggi Ki, Herumb points out, “Not every serial has to be remade or condensed down to a greatest hits version of itself. This the time to hurl away the old content and feast on new with the new- edge technology.” Explaining further, he says, “A television show can have an OTT feel, and yes, something has changed; viewers thirst for new content that is more real, that defines social biases and stark realities.”
The duo promises Dhadkan Zindaggi Ki to be one of its kind. The show has showcased all the medical procedures, including surgery, the emotional trauma and breakdowns doctors go through, and why not, after all, lives to hang in the balance when doctors do their work. Still, they are also people like you and me. “Medical science is all about pain and discomfort and how you overcome this pain through management of not only medicines but with the help of our emotions too,” concludes Nilanjana.
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