Life in a Metro

After a plethora of films on Delhi,here comes a small screen story on the Capital. 12/24 Karol Bagh,as the name suggests,unfolds in this middle-class corner of the city. “We’ve tried to capture the essence of the city in treatment and look,” says Sukesh Motwani,creative director,ZEE,about the series which airs on Zee TV from August 31. This is one of the few times Delhi will be a backdrop of a television series in recent years.

The story revolves around a middle-class couple,their three daughters and a son,who live in a two-bedroom apartment in the bylanes of Karol Bagh. “It’s that part of the city where many migrants throng and which,like Old Delhi,has an inherent charm that is often ignored. The plot develops through various obstacles and vagaries that are unique to Delhi. The sealing drive by the civic authorities,for instance,which threatens to close down the family’s small shop,” adds Motwani.

There are also the typical family concerns — the eldest daughter Simi is 28-years-old and the marriage proposals are fast drying up. “Three eligible grooms have rejected her,sending her elderly parents into the depths of despair. The situation shows how contrasting values of the old and new co-exist in a typical Delhi home,” says Motwani.

Eight episodes of the show have been shot so far. A farmhouse in Chattarpur was given a makeover to resemble a Karol Bagh flat for the shooting,though the crew also shot extensively in locations like Bengali Market,Pragati Maidan and Old Delhi. “We shot in Karol Bagh with hidden cameras in cars,” says Motwani. Many of the actors,too,are from Delhi — Smriti Kalra,who plays Simi,is a former radio jockey,while prominent names from the Capital’s theatre circuit like Alka Amin who plays the mother,and Banvari Taneja,in the father’s role,make up the cast.