Suhaib Ilyasi was arrested for involvement in his wife Anju’s alleged suicide. His TV career had seemingly ended. Now Ilyasi fights back. No not with FIMW, but by making shows he never thought he would. Currently, he is producing three serials for Zee’s Urdu Channel UTN. While Ek Nazar Ki Tamanna which he is also directing is a emotional family drama based on Sindhi culture, Bazme Sukhan is a mushaira-based serial. The third, for which he is just a consultant, he doesn’t want to talk about.What has the famous anchor been doing for the past one year? How badly has his reported involvement in his wife’s death harmed his image and affected him personally and professionally? ‘‘I am a much tougher person,’’ says Ilyasi, adding that, ‘‘but of course it has also been a bad year. I feel very lonely. Also, it is very difficult to bring up a child who often remembers her mother,’’ Ilyasi pauses. ‘‘Professionally the loss was too much,’’ he continues. The tragedy has taught me how difficult it is to fight against the system and influential people. ‘‘Today, I realise that I didn’t make even one friend when I was at my peak, but I certainly seem to have made a lot of enemies through my programme. I have this feeling that I am born for a mission and God is testing and preparing me for it,’’ he says. Lost in his own world and surrounded with his memories, Ilyasi constantly dreams of the past, of better days. Now, after months of torment he has chalked out a new life for himself and is trying retrieve his professional career. Why has such a big television star chosen to make a comeback through a newly launched channel and by doing entertainment shows which he never attempted before? ‘‘It was basically a compromise. I had to get things moving. I have an office to maintain. After my arrest, my business was in total doldrums, but my staff had been very cooperative. I have to do something to set the business going. So this was the starting point. When I heard of this new channel happening I approached them and they thought my Urdu was good’’. Could it also be people shun Ilyasi because of his alleged involvement in his wife’s suicide? ‘‘No, it is not like that. The image one has made can’t be spoiled at any cost. People still have trust in me. They know and can also judge what the truth is. Today also they are with me,’’ he insists. To prove this he speaks about his future shows, one for BBC.‘‘I am not an entertainer. I am now working on Let’s Investigate India, a show revolving around human rights issues and violations by political, private and public organisations, for BBC Worldwide. This 26-episode series is likely to go on air from April’’. How did this series come about? Filled with bitterness against the system. Ilyasi says he thought of it when he was in Tihar Jail for two months. ‘‘I met so many other prisoners who were innocent like me but were a victim of the system or law. It was then I decided that I should do a series based on this’’. Along similar lines, he is also making a programme for Star Plus, which is to be aired soon and he has some projects lined up for Zee. ‘‘I don’t want to say much about them because there is such a shortage of innovative ideas in this industry’’. He is willing to say that he has also lined up a drama serial Kathith Apradhi for Sahara and Tum Bataon Sach Ya Jhooth has been approved for B4U. But what about India’s Most Wanted? ‘‘After I was arrested, Prasar Bharti took my show off air. We are pursuing them and hopefully it will come back soon’’. And what does he think about India’s Most Wanted on Zee? ‘‘An original is a original and a copy never works. I don’t want to say anything about the way it is done or presented’’. Ilyasi claims the tragedies which befell him have made him all the more determined. ‘‘The more someone troubles me, it is better for me as it makes me a much stronger person,’’ he concludes.
