MUMBAI: Zee TV is proving that it meant business when it spoke of its progressive new tagline ‘Aaj Likhenge Kal’ by introducing a new show wherein the girl is half the age of the man she is with. This time, it’s not the wife who’s younger.
Premiering on 15 January 2018 is its latest offering Aap Ke Aa Jaane Se, slotted in for Monday to Friday at 10:30 pm, an unconventional romance that transcends the barriers of age, life stages and background.
Produced by Bodhi Tree Productions’ Sukesh Motwani and Mautik Tolia, who are currently churning out Fear Files season two on Zee TV, the show’s edginess caused it to be given a late prime time slot. “It has a slightly adult appeal with a bold progressive concept. So, it makes sense to pick the 10.30 pm slot,” says Motwani.
Each episode takes an investment of approximately Rs 7-8 lakh. Tolia says that reverse economics works in television. “Rather than us deciding the show budget and making a decision, we work on what the channel allocates. The budget varies as per different components such as time slot, star cast, etc.”
The intellectual property (IP) right of the show is with Zee TV. Motwani says that owning IP rights is relevant only when you are creating something uniquely Indian or extremely universal, and which travel all over the world and adapted in other languages. A regular family drama doesn’t have the quality.
Zee TV deputy business head Deepak Rajadhyaksha says that the show is meant to question the point that do people really need social sanction to fall in love. “The show asks us to pause and reassess our understanding of what makes a couple ‘suitable’ or ‘appropriate’. Many of us often go through life, forming opinions about who other people ought to form romantic relationships with. This is based largely on social conditioning dictats that are governed by traditional compatibility factors like age, gender, class, caste, financial background, lifestyles and culture. If they choose to get involved with someone who doesn’t fit any of these pre-conceived parameters, we are quick to judge them,” he says.
It is an infinite series and 10 episodes are ready. The story is set in Kanpur while the shooting is in Mira Road, Mumbai. Some scenes will be shot in Bhopal for its scenic beauty.
The show boasts of a stellar star-cast that comprises Suhasi Dhami and Karan Jotwani. Set against the backdrop of Kanpur, Aap Ke Aa Jaane Se chronicles the unique journey of Vedika and Sahil, two strikingly different individuals, hailing from diverse backgrounds, who fall in love irrespective of their substantial age difference. Vedika Mathur is a 42-year-old strong, independent single mother whose world revolves around tending to her own mother and her 15-year-old daughter. Sahil Agarwal, on the other hand, is a 24-year-old fun-loving, free-spirited young man whose thirst for living it up often compromises any semblance of a focus in life or any serious career aspirations.
Bodhi Tree Productions has a big line up for the new year. While discussing their plans, Tolia says, “We are doing a lot of digital web series and have seven to eight digital properties in the pipeline for 2018 for various platforms. We are in advanced talks with Star, Sony, Discovery Jeet and others for daily soaps. For digital, we are in advanced talks with Vu Clip, Voot and Times. So, for this new year, we have 10 shows in the pipeline.”
Motwani was doing fiction shows with Zee from 2009 to 2012 after which he quit and launched Bodhi Tree and the production house has initiated 22 shows in the last four years. It was of the producers of Fear Files season one on Zee, and also shows like Nisha and Uske Cousins for Star Plus, Bade Bhaiya Ki Dulhaniya for Sony, Tedhi Medhi Family for Big Magic, Big F two seasons for MTV and Channel V’s episodic shows. It has just completed the web show for Bindass Disney called Dil Buffering.
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