Fans of Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed are in for a surprise if they are expecting something similar to "Zindagi Gulzar Hai", says producer Shailja Kejriwal about the actors' upcoming series "Barzakh" which she described as a love story that plays out as a family reunion with fantastical elements.
"Barzakh", which translates to 'obstacle' or 'purgatory', was the only show from South Asia to premiere at this year's Series Mania Festival in France and has generated considerable buzz among fans. The series is directed by Asim Abbasi of "Churails" and "Cake" fame.
"'Barzakh' is totally unlike 'Zindagi Gulzar Hai'. So If people, who are fans of 'Zindagi Gulzar Hai', are thinking that there is going to be some kind of a similarity between both shows, then they are in for a surprise. If you have seen Asim's work, you would know that he has a completely different take on things," Kejriwal told PTI in an interview.
The producer said Abbasi's show is more of a family drama rather than a couple-centric love story.
"It is a story about a man wanting to get married to his first love, who died 60 years ago. He calls his whole family for a reunion and tells everybody that he wants to marry her, but they are stumped because she doesn't exist," she said.
"It is essentially a family drama centred around an elderly man's quest for love, that takes a dive into intergenerational trauma between fathers and sons. The narrative is framed within a fantastical world of supernatural beings and otherworldly events that reveal the chasms between life, death and rebirth," she added.
Kejriwal, Chief Creative Officer, Special Projects at Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited, said series producer Waqas Hassan had pitched Fawad Khan's name for "Barzakh" but she was unsure if the Pakistani star would accept a role in an ensemble.
"We still risked it and sent him the script and once he read it, he was on board immediately. The story intrigued him. He wanted to experiment and do different kinds of roles that explore his range as an actor," the producer said.
Saeed, another major name in the Pakistani acting world and the star of Abbasi's film "Cake", was someone they wanted to cast right from the outset, Kejriwal said.
"She plays a very important character in this show. We were hoping she would say yes. She gave a brilliant audition. Sanam has this very interesting voice and we needed that for the character and the rest is Asim Abbasi's script," she added.
The release date of "Barzakh" is yet to be announced by Zindagi channel, which introduced Fawad Khan and Saeed to Indian audiences by showcasing their popular series “Zindagi Gulzar Hai”.
Launched in 2014, Zindagi instantly attracted viewers across the country with its syndicated content, also including series such as “Humsafar”, “Noor Bano” and “Sadqay Tumhare” and made talents like Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Saba Qamar and Saeed household names.
In the wake of 2016's Uri terror attack, the channel stopped airing Pakistani content. It was made available on the streaming app ZEE5 in 2020. Two years later, it was relaunched on Indian television as a “value added service” on DTH platforms like Tata Play, Dish TV and D2H.
Kejriwal, who has been working on creating cross-border content, said she realised there was an audience for Pakistani stories when the channel first launched and felt creating original content was the "next logical step".
"Our philosophy has always been to curate, create, and collaborate. Now, we are in the second stage of our syndicate's lifecycle (that is) create. We are creating original content out of Pakistan. And the next stage, hopefully, fingers crossed, will be to collaborate where we can see artists from across borders create something together," she said.
Asked whether it was possible to imagine a collaboration between the artists of India and Pakistan given the political environment, Kejriwal said she is grateful to the audiences for "trusting the content above everything".
"When Zindagi went off air for some time, the brand remained with people," she said, recalling about the time they decided to return.
"To be able to actually produce out of Pakistan while sitting in India seemed like an impossible task. This was the second time I was questioned on the validity of the idea, especially given the circumstances. We went into the collaboration with good intentions and reaped big rewards," she added.
Not just Abbasi, Zindagi will also bring out collaborations with other Pakistani directors.
"This year, we are doing something with Meenu Gaur. There are some conversations going on after 'Qatil Haseenaon Ka Naam'. Basically, a lot of interesting stories are in play. We will be releasing 'Barzakh', 'Farar', and 'Pink Shirt'. There are other shows in the writing stage which will go into production next year," she said about Zindagi's upcoming slate.
Kejriwal said artists in Pakistan are happy about teaming up with Zindagi as it gives them a chance to explore "themes that are probably a little risky".
"They are able to express themselves freely and openly in the series. I don't enforce any particular theme on anybody, I would rather be more interested in what it is that the makers want to express. They get to express a lot more while working with us, than they are able to in their own country. So, artists are happy," she said.
"As far as the regime in Pakistan is concerned, that might sometimes be a bit of a challenge as there is some confusion that arises periodically on the themes we explore. Other international OTT platforms get away with it. It gets a little challenging especially for the artists because of the reality of our dynamics," she added.
