Abhinay Deo says it is high time TV should be treated like cinema. He tells Divya Kaushik that channels should respect the basic intelligence of viewers than dumbing it down
It is said that when your work speaks a million words for you, half the battle is won. His first film Delhi Belly was enough to find him endorsers and promoters from among the film fraternity and now Abhinay Deo is only choosing from the end number of offers that he keeps getting. The director who is currently working on the series 24 on Colors says that after Delhi Belly he has refused over 45 films, “just because they did not appeal to me and I do not want to get into something which I am hardly interested in.” When 24 was offered to him, he was thrilled that finally someone is thinking to push the envelope and is trying something extraordinary on television. “Apart from this I have been an ardent follower of the American series so there was no reason to refuse the offer,” he said. Anil Kapoor, who is producing the show, shared that he was impressed by the way Delhi Belly was made and how the best was taken out from the actors in the film and therefore he approached Abhinay. Over 20 episodes of the series have been already shot and Abhinay is confident that the series will prove to be a clutter-breaker. “I feel that the generation on our country has lacked reality on the small screen. No matter if it is an action sequence or drama, it is either over-dramatised or soapy or melo-dramatic. The audience can’t relate to that stuff today. Second I strongly feel that TV has never been given the canvas like cinema in our country. In our cinema we always had parallel and mainstream films, doing equally good. Both had their loyal fan following. But in TV storylines tend to repeat and the treatment hardly differs. Television should be like what cinema is. There is a lot of scope for experimentation on the small screen today as we are catering to a mature and informed audience. It is the same audience who goes and watches different kinds of films and appreciates good content and watches TV in their homes. The basic intelligence level of the audience should be respected and it is high time we should stop spoonfeeding them. It is heartening to know that our audience is open to accept coming-of-age stories and we should provide them that,” said the director, who is qualified to be an architect. He has worked with leading advertising agencies and has created a number of innovative ad campaigns. He adds that he hasn’t watched Indian television as he was not able to relate to it. Abhinay wasn’t even sure if he would work for the small screen. “The kind of stuff that I do and relate to was not there on TV, so my association was not strong,” he added.
Abhinay says that the Indian version of the American series has been changed at various levels to suit the Indian sensibilities. “The backbone, that is the major content remains the same, but the treatment differs,” he informed. He said that they had some channels as options but Colors was the most appropriate one. “They realise that something like this is the need of an hour. And Raj Nayak, the CEO of Colors, is a maverick when a business is concerned. Also since now I am making something for TV I have to concern myself with everything relating to it, and that includes TRPs and the ratings. I have to be aware to give my audience what they would love to watch,” he said, adding that at a time when Doordarshan seems to be reviving its strategies, he would love to do something if offered.
After 24, he will start working on his film early next year. “I have been developing three scripts and one of them will go on floor next year,” he ended.