Stories based on faith inspired from real life have become the new focus for showmakers aiming to connect with a large number of viewers and spreading positivity, hope and inspiration. Sangeeta Yadav speaks with actors and directors about this new trend on the telly
Call it a fad or an experiment to generate higher TRPs, showmakers today are trying to explore new genres that are universal and give a feel-good factor. One such trend that is fast catching up is making shows based on faith inspired from real life incidents — be it Belief on Discovery Channel, Mann Mein Vishwaas Hai on Sony Entertainment TV, The Story of God with Morgan Freeman on National Geographic and Bhakton Ki Bhakti Mein Shakti on life OK. These shows not only talk about people’s faith and the miracles that they experienced but also aims to spread positivity and hope.
Sony has brought their popular show Mann Mein Vishwaas Hai (MMVH) after a hiatus of nine years which is hosted by Shakti Arora. “To move away from hatred and violence towards the belief that the world is a good place to live in, is what this show focuses on. Ever since this fiction show went on air few years ago, it became popular and a lot of letters from the viewers started coming in where people talked about their experiences. The channel also reached out to people asking for their unbelievable stories. But due to certain reasons they couldn’t continue. The idea behind bringing back MMVH is to give viewers lots of positivity, hope and inspiration from these real life stories,” Gaurav Seth, co-producer, Purple Canvas Creations, says.
The makers believe that with so much of negativity in our daily lives and the regressive shows on telly, these shows will be a breath of fresh air. “TV plays an integral role in our lives today. There is a responsibility that comes with the entertainment which is to provide a better society. These kinds of shows are the window to the world that breaks away the darkness through positivity,” Seth opines.
Another show titled Bhakton Ki Bhakti Mein Shakti, which went on air from April 9, also talks about the real life stories of how people came faced traumatic situation because they had faith. Anchored by Saurabh Raj Jain, who ascended to fame after playing lord Vishnu’s character inDevon Ke Dev… Mahadev and lord Krishna in Mahabharat, he says that by doing such shows, it has brought a change in him personally and given him a new perspective towards life.
“By doing such shows, it has given me an understanding about life and how to face my problems. Professionally, I was a drama person but now I have became much more subtle in my acting. Personally, I’ve become calmer, patient and face problems with a smile. I strongly believe that even if you don’t want to get into religion, rituals and practices, just the thought of doing something for the society is wonderful. Thus, I associated myself with Chandrodaya temple and their Akshaya Patra Foundation,” Jain says.
For Arora, travelling to all the temples and mosques of Mumbai for shooting was an unforgettable experience and taught him a lot about life. “Umeed par duniya kaayam hai. If you don’t have hope, you don’t have a purpose of living. Faith gives you hope and makes you stronger. This show has inspired me at all levels. No matter how many plans we may make for our future, God has a plan of his own which we can’t change. If our faith will be strong, no matter what you do, you’ll accept the fact that whatever will happen, will happen for good,” Arora says.
The Indian telly has always been influenced from the West and the same is true with the faith-based shows. Discovery Channel came up with a show titledBelief which was narrated by Oprah Winfrey and featured real people walking through their journey in faith and finding the purpose of their lives.
Now all eyes are on The Story of God with Morgan Freeman, which is said to be the channel’s biggest production thus far. The show, which will premiere on April 15, will take the viewers on a trip around the world to explore different cultures and people’s belief.
The concept of real life people sharing their experiences or reconstruction of their stories is not only interesting but it also has a realistic and relatable aspect which is largely missing these days from television. What makes it more difficult for the showmakers is to make a realistic show in such a way that doesn’t exaggerate through dramatisation or propagating a particular religion. “The challenge here is that you’ve to be true to the story and faithful to the people who experienced it. It’s about telling a good story and in manner that is inspiring. Such shows are not about religion it’s about people’s faith which helped them cope while dealing with a difficult situation,” Seth says.