At the grahpravesh of the Shastri household in Goregaon Filmcity, Mumbai, the Shastri sisters got chatty about their role and future plans. Also in attendance was the producer Neelima Bajpai who shared the concept of the latest drama. Samiksha Raj reports
Alka, Anushka, Devyani and Peeya were in an emotional fix; they were busy making arrangements and were all set to leave their home when suddenly they were stopped by the melody of 1961 song Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar. Much to their surprise, they found that they left behind the most prized possession — their mother’s radio set in the house they were leaving. Colors channel’s latest offering, Shastri Sisters (produced under the banner Shakuntalam Telefilms Pvt ltd), has many such poignant episodes. The daily soap celebrates sisterhood and shares the story of four sisters bereft of maternal love and care but supported by a doting father, Narayan Shastri. The show traces their journey from a small town (Kanpur) to a big city (Delhi). Bundling the memories of their family home in Kanpur, the four ‘friends-for-life sisters’ support each other throughout as they gear up to start life afresh in Delhi. Throwing more light on the show, Neelima Bajpai, creative head and co-founder Shakuntalam Telefilms Pvt ltd said, “Shastri Sisters is a show to which every Indian can relate to. The entire setup is very real-life as even the sets of the show have been done in a way to depict the middle-class lifestyle. It’s a positive show highlighting the closeness of four sisters in the absence of a mother and how after receiving a cultural shock (Kanpur to Delhi), the girls pave their paths unitedly. The underlying message of the show is ‘sisters are forever’, a bond that remains unchanged even after marriage.”
Shrugging off reports that the show was earlier named Shastriji Ki Betiyaan and later rechristened to Shastri Sisters, Neelima told us that the idea was never to focus on the betiyaan (daughters) part of it. “The story behind Shastri Sisters is a little uncanny. I myself have four sisters and my maternal place is Kanpur. My brothers-in-law have coined a term Bajpai sisters for us and once joked that why don’t you make a show named Bajpai Sisters. That is how the thought came which set me off to make a show about sisters which is out-and-out real and not melodramatic.” Neelima also produced Na Aana Iss Des laado. She also added that the sisters have been given traits of anger, jealousy, love — everything that shows how people are in real life. “Nothing is over-the-top and we have created ‘flawed’ characters — none of the girls is perfect and all have their own issues. The idea was not to create a perfect heroine-like character,” shared Neelima.
Most Indian daily soaps, target women as their potential viewers. “But we have created some very interesting male characters in the show which will draw both boys and girls. Also the father has been portrayed as a mother more, who is strong and supportive. He isn’t authoritative,” said Neelima. The protagonists — the sisters are played by Neha Pednekar (Alka), Ishita Ganguly (Anushka), Sonal Vengurlekar (Devyani) and Pragati Chourasiya (Peeya). Sonal has dabbled in television before with shows like V Buddy Project, Dil Dosti Dance, Savdhaan India and Pragati was seen last year in Jodha Akbar and Bade Achche lagte Hain. Neha plays the role of the eldest sister who is an emotional fool, a Ranbir Kapoor fan and a believer of fairy-tale romance. “I am completely the opposite in real life,” said Neha who is making her debut into acting with Shastri Sisters. Ishita is the second daughter of the Shastris but is the most mature and is the glue that binds the family together, she is the person on whom Narayan Shastri relies on. Ishita feels that her on-screen persona matches quite a lot with her off-screen one. Sonal is the tomboy of the family who is the most excited of the lot in moving to Delhi as she feels it’s there that all her dreams would come true.
The tallest among the four girls but the youngest both on-screen and off-screen, Pragati, is the apple of everyone’s eyes. “Working on this show has helped us grow as actors. It has been an enjoyable experience and we share a close bond and help each other to understand our roles, improve and progress. Also, at this point of time we neither have restricted ourselves nor have high ambitions; as of now we do not bother whether we’ll get a chance to foray into Bollywood or not. We are focussing on project that we have in hand at present,” said Neha on behalf of all. Sonal added, “If given a chance who among us would not like to act in films. We will definitely grab the opportunity.”