A director emerges from the shadow

By the admission of his cast, TV director Sanjay Upadhyay is not the kind of guy who imposes himself on his actors or has pre-determined ...

By the admission of his cast, TV director Sanjay Upadhyay is not the kind of guy who imposes himself on his actors or has pre-determined notions on how a scene should evolve. Instead, he is known to let his actors perform the way they read a scene and lets the scene evolve by itself. Sanjay learnt the tricks of the trade assisting Govind Nihalani over a long period. His non-interfering style mirrors that of his mentor.

According to Sanjay, TV has lots of limitations. But despite this, he has done a fairly good job, starting off as associate director on one series before going on to co-direct Gatha. After that he stepped in as associate producer and director of Trikaal and now has independent charge of UTV8217;s Saaya, a series that explores the female psyche.

Soaps generally tend to have many subtracks, but Saaya is a single track soap where the focus is on the bonding and friction between Sudha and Kamiya. The serial focuses on the sensitivity, understanding and complexity of its main protagonists, and explores all its facets.

Sanjay started his career with ad-film-making in 1983 as Sudesh Iyer8217;s assistant. Three years later, Sanjay moved to TV and assisted Kavita Chaudhary in Udaan. Since Kavita was not well-versed in the technical aspect of serial-making, Sanjay, the associate director of the serial, had to handle that job.Then he moved to cinema and assisted Govind Nihalani for eight years, from Tamas to Drohkaal. His association with Nihalani, recalls Sanjay, was the most fruitful as he evolved as a person and director.

Armed with sufficient experience, he decided to go independent. He directed Pope for BiTV. Both the channel and the series failed to take off. He directed UTV8217;s daily soap, Trikaal for Home TV, but the series went largely un-noticed as it was in a fringe channel.

In fact, one among the 8220;impressed8221; lot was Ramesh Sippy who asked Sanjay to co-direct Gatha. And, although Gatha was telecast to mixed reviews and reactions, Sanjay says he learnt how to add value to one8217;s work and how to balance commercial and off-beat elements from his Gatha stint. He, however, is happy that Saaya has made the connection with the viewers. And now that the serial has settled down, Sanjay is already on to his next project. 8220;I am working on a film which will be made on a shoestring budget,8221; he informs. But till such time as the film sees the light of the day, Sanjay is content exploring the complex relationship between his two female protagonists on Saaya.