Zee TV’s new show Amma will narrate the journey of an ordinary woman and how, pushed by circumstances, she becomes a godmother for her people. Shrabasti Mallik finds out from the director and producer how this 52-episode show is going to be a clutter-breaker in the current GEC content
It is rare that you would find a show with a simple story being shot in the premises of the Ramoji Rao Film City. More so, if 50s Mumbai has been recreated for it. Zee TV’s next new show titled Amma, will narrate the story on an ordinary woman and how circumstances push her to becoming a godmother of the place she lives.
The show boasts of an ensemble starcast with Urvashi Sharma playing the titular role. The 52 episodes finite series captures the journey of Zeenat, a mother of two, deserted by her husband during one of the darkest phases of Indian history — the Partition. At a time when women were preyed upon mercilessly on the grounds of the faith they belonged to, had no freedom to live or a sense of basic security, Zeenat had two options. Either to brace herself and endure. or to ignite and revolt. She chose the latter and emerged as a power to reckon with for decades to follow. In standing up to the adversities strewn in her path and attaining a formidable stature in a world dominated by intimidating men, Zeenat is a role model for today’s women.
“We spent two and a half years on research because we wanted to portray the time correctly. TV has done historical shows in the past but Mumbai is one place which creates history on its own every two decades. And in the time before independence, people were in awe of the place and wanted to make a fortune there,” said Farhn P Zamma, producer of the show.
Popular faces like Aman Verma, Nawab Shah, Shahwar Ali and Deepraj Rana are also making a comeback to TV with the show and in roles they have never played before. Verma, who has a penchant for picking up a new language will be seen playing a South Indian character while Ali will play a young a savvy lawyer. Shah, on the other hand, will portray a don who believes in action and not words.
Excerpts from an interview with Navneet Baj Saini, director and Zamma.
What kind of research did you do for the showIJ Was there any particular figure in mind for the lead roleIJ
Zamma: Honestly, when we started we had a character in mind who was quite famous in a couple of characters in local history chapters. But we did not want to commit to just one lady but to address that spark of feminism. When we went to places like Mohammad Ali Road and Bhendi Bazar we found that every other lady had a certain kind of courage. That one lady set a benchmark.
We took Urvashi and had to explain the character to her. It was important to understand the middle class mentality because that mentality does not come about on its own. Something needs to trigger it. And Zeenat, a woman with no lofty dreams or desires, goes through a lot. Her husband leaves her and takes their son along. So she goes through a lot of pain and suffering — that too during the time of Partition.
But she does not succumb to the times but retaliates because she had no other choice. She took the first step to help herself and the people around her and they ultimately made her a hero. She slowly started to solve their problems and soon became a parallel justice system for those who could not wait for justice.
Is there anything new about the show apart from the storyIJ
Saini: There is going to be a culmination of every character and their story. That is the one thing that is lacking in Indian TV today. Stories just keep moving on — often times without a balance.
We were very clear from the start that the show had to be of finite series because we did not want to stretch it out.
Why do you think present day TV content is lacking qualityIJ
Zamma: In the present context t is very important for intellectual content to come in. If you look closely, kids after 1993 do not watch for long largely because of irrational content, unrelatable portrayal of circumstances and larger than life characters.
There was a golden time in Indian TV when we had shows like Buniyaad and Tamas but that stopped. Now, even historical stories have been diluted. We have taken a risk with Amma at a time when TV is peppered with such irrelevant content. In Amma, a new chapter unfolds with every episode. It introduces new characters and highlights new information so that the audience gradually attaches itself with the story.
Do you think that this kind of show is a clutter breaker to the kind of content currently running on TVIJ
Saini: We are striving for that. But the sad part is that at the end of the day, we have to serve what our audience wants. See, the problem is that in a weekly show you have time to work on your character, scenes and script which you cannot do in a daily. There is tremendous pressure that comes with running a daily. And the people behind them are human beings and are bound to get exhausted. But the audience has developed a habit of being entertained everyday and shows have to cater to that. That is the difference and we are trying to cover the distance.