He8217;s in it for laughs

The idea of a sequel according to Mahendroo popped up because of the popularity of the programme and the characters. Also when it had its run on Doordarshan in 1985 he was not granted an extension after 13 episodes inspite of its popularity. He accepts that he is not sure if it will do as well this time. quot;I don8217;t think about things which are not in my control. If it does well, very good, I8217;ll be happen and even if it doesn8217;t I8217;ll carry on with it and see that it comes to a logical end because it is very dear to me.quot; Though it faces stiff competition from serials like X-Zone and Aahat which share the same time slot on Zee and Sony, Mahendroo feels that DD1 has its own viewership and that DD is a platform where you don8217;t worry about CNS viewership. quot;No slot is dicey. Its your product. I8217;m not trying to sound pompous but it has eaten into Aahat and X-Zone8217;s viewership.quot;

The huge set spreads over an area of 15,000 sq ft. And Mahendroo8217;s so careful of it. quot;I8217;ve trained my boys to be careful and tidy. Like if someone is smoking on my sets, the spot boy will immediately come and stand next to him with an ashtray. You8217;ll not see a single butt lying on the floor,quot; explains Mahendroo.

A Rs 2 crore set is quite usual for a mythological or a historical but for a sitcom it does not make sense at all, especially when most of the producers are cribbing about sponsors. Mahendroo has a clear picture about the current scenario which is quite bad and has accepted the fact that break even for him comes in the 40th epiode instead of the 4th because of the huge investment. 8220;DD alone is not my market. It is also going to be telecast in 14 countries. So I have to make a product which has global values. I knew if it is released successfully in all the countries only then I8217;ll be able to make money which is not going to happen in less than a year,quot; says Anand.

While others are dubbing their serials Mahendroo actually shoots the Tamil version separately with local artistes as he feels that the Tamil market is large and that the viewers down south would be pleased inspite of the risk involved and the costs. quot;It is an experiment and if it works I8217;ll open up the way; if it doesn8217;t I8217;ll be burning my fingers. It8217;s difficult to decide what will work and what won8217;t: one should have the spirit of taking risks otherwise how would one know that that the earth is round?quot; he asks. Mahendroo has been missing in action recently. After Dekh Bhai Dekh in 8217;93 he went into an oblivion until Idhar Udhar Part-II happened. He vehemently denies having disappeared, citing projects he8217;s working on: Beauty Parlour of which he has written 70 episodes, and 120 episodes of a soap called Subah, Dopahar, Shaam and also a daily sitcom called Achche-Khaase. These projects should be on air in the next 18 months. quot;I8217;ve always been busy and was working on some different projectswhich have never been tried before. And a sitcom takes three times the time a soap takes,quot; explains Mahendroo quot;A comedy works on timing and is performance based,quot; he adds and calls two of his actors to enact a scene to demonstrate and prove his statement.

While the comedies are getting less and less hilarious, there is a new one hitting the air every week though they are all the same. Mahendroo hasn8217;t been impressed. quot;I have8217;t seen much of it but whatever I have seen I haven8217;t liked. It is buffoonery in the name of comedy. There is no characterisation and the makers take liberties with relationships. The problem I feel is with the script writers. They go bankrupt after a few episodes and for a comedy you have to think fresh every week. That8217;s not the case with a soap and hence comedies are more difficult.quot; Well, he hasn8217;t had much of a problem, has he?