Sidharth Kak, documentary filmmaker, TV producer and presenter, has his hands full at the moment. According to the buzz, Kak is going to be back on Doordarshan again, this time with a show that he doesn’t want to talk about just as yet. Deebashree Mohanty tells you more
After his TV series, Surabhi ended as an all-time TV blockbuster in 2001, Sidharth Kak was at peace with himself. He had achieved what he had set out to and the overwhelming response he got from the audience affirmed his faith in God.
“As India’s longest running cultural TV series, Surabhi did very well for itself and for me,” the producer/anchor tells you over the phone from Mumbai. The serial was the longest running cultural TV series which entered the limca Book Of Records for having the highest documented responses of over 1.4 million.
“That was so unbelievable. I don’t remember the statistics now but the postcards kept coming in heaps. And 99 per cent were positive reactions, people congratulating me for daring to take up such a concept on TV. There was genuine feedback too. People were simple those days and would pen down their thoughts simply. The Government had to increase the cost of the postcard from 99 paise to Rs2 after they saw the response the show was generating. I feel sad that somewhere down the line I have lost that connect with my people,” Kak, who comes from an anglicised background, tells you.
It is his hunger for being in touch with the mass that has driven him to Doordarshan again. This time though, Kak is tightlipped about his project.
“I don’t want to talk about its content right now,” is all he says. The Surabhi foundation (of which he is a trustee) too is in a no-spill mood. “We are busy raising funds for the 39-episode show at the moment. Haven’t given shape to anything concrete. As for the Press information, that will have to wait,” the publicist, not willing to be named, says.
However, the buzz is that Doordarshan would be going all-out with the launch of this show and may have invested heavily in it.
Channelwallahs, however, have no clue. While DD’s publicist Yasodhara tells you that the show may be a re-run of his previous series Surabhi, others said it will be a show propelling the art heritage of the nation.
Will Kak want to make a new avatar of SurabhiIJ “Why notIJ I would like this generation to watch and relate to the serial. Culture is a part of us and that is something which cannot be denied,” he concludes.
Watch this space for more details on his new stint.