Anupamaa producer says TV actors bigger than Bollywood stars, addresses controversy over firing actors: ‘Wrong perception that they shoot for 18 hours’

Talking about his journey, Rajan Shahi shares, “Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi was my first daily soap, I worked on it for a year and a half and then went on to do 18 to 19 shows. In 2007, I made my debut as a producer with Sapna Babul Ka: Bidaai. I ventured into films as well but that didn’t do well. My biggest challenge as a maker over the years has been to see what kind of audiences are watching my content. My first show as a producer, Bidaai, was very simple, it came at a time when the emphasis was on over-the-top acting, with importance given to costumes and jewelry. It was a show with two newcomers that suddenly became number one. It went against the tide, with a very basic story around skin color. It changed Star Plus’ fortune at that time.”

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He further added, “Even Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai spoke about relationships and marriages at a very different time. But the audience has kept changing, every template for a TV show today is two women and one man or vice versa. We are just repeating our stories with new faces and it is getting very difficult to reinvent in television. I feel everybody is playing very safe.”

Being a game-changer in an industry that people think is losing its sheen has been a challenge that Rajan is facing. Trying to emphasize storytelling on a greater level, his latest show Anupamaa has been a trendsetter. Rajan says, “Anupamaa came and became a trendsetter at a time when everyone said TV is over after Covid. Anupamaa has almost completed 4 years. Daily soaps have to run longer because so much is invested in them, but creating a brand out of it gets difficult. People are not connecting to TV shows these days. Anupamaa has become a landmark show, it has international recognition. My shows have always brought a change, Anupamaa deals with issues like child diabetes, panic attacks, etc.”

He also added, “TV actors are bigger than big movie stars, the viewership they have is incredible. Modiji shot a special campaign with Anupamaa for vocal for local. That’s the reach.”

Recently Rajan Shahi was embroiled in a controversy when his statement about actors giving him a tough time went viral, with his contentious equation with former actors from Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai being revisited. “I have had a lot of controversies with actors, but I feel nobody is above the show, not even the producer. This is a creative field, in the industry everything goes through ups and downs with the best of people. I always appreciate my actors. However, there is a wrong perception that a lot of actors claim they shoot for 18 hours. It does happen sometimes, but not always. Some fans and even actors create a very wrong perception of the producers being bullies. My mentor, Mahesh Bhatt told me, ‘Always fall in love with your actors, only then you will see their hard work’, but I have always been very blunt about it.

“I am the only producer who goes overboard in appreciating the talent, but if an actor is misbehaving or troubling me, I will not take the nonsense. We have big stakes for a show, but when actors or some newcomers come in and suddenly they get success, which is very short-lived today, they suddenly start taking themselves so seriously. They start believing the world does not exist without them,” he continued.

Rajan even shared the kind of actor he prefers or loves to work with, and said, “In my career, I have worked with actors who have had that hunger. In Anupamaa, Sudhanshu Pandey had not worked for long, even Rupali had taken a sabbatical, and even Gaurav Khanna, so they had that hunger. With fresh talent, they end up coming late on a shift… there is no place in Director’s Kut Production for such people. Sometimes I take it because I have a next-day telecast, otherwise, I am the one who asks such an actor to very politely leave my set. I have done that with some leads, who were faces of the channel and told the channel after one week. I love my actors, we all work very hard, and they are equally important to me and so is my technical staff. A lot of actors are different in front of the camera and behind it. How they behave and talk with the unit, these things matter to me the most. I have learned from Ektaji (Kapoor) that nobody will hold the show for ransom. A character can be changed in a second, and I have done that.”

He even recalled an incident and shared, “An actress was once troubling me, she shot one day, all wide shots were taken, but the unit was so harassed by her that I said don’t call her anymore. I went to the edit, got the frame zoomed, she was out of the picture, and we continued the story. Few people remembered the character for some days and then forgot her. I have done it many times.”

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Well, another feather in Rajan’s hat is to have Indian TV’s longest-running show, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai to his credit. He says, “It is the longest-running show in terms of episode. We have around 4300 episodes, it is one of my biggest records. For me, this will be written in history so it feels nice.”