Yeh Unn Dino Ki Baat Hai, a show which replaced controversial daily soap Pehredaar Piya Ki overnight, will take the viewers back to the 90s. Pragya Mittal talks to the makers about how the bank of new shows helped them in crisis and also about launching new faces on TV
Today TV is flooded with modern-day love stories. But a new show on Sony Entertainment Television — Yeh Unn Dino Ki Baat Hai — will take you the 90s romance. Starring newbies Ashi Singh and Randeep Rai, who will be seen in lead roles as Sameer and Naina, the show will take you to the days when there were no smartphones, social networking and dating sites and romance was all about writing love letters and poems.
The makers of the show, Sumeet Mittal and his wife Shashi Mittal, have scripted incidents from their real life. They hope that it will take the people in their 40s today relive their days and give a sneak peak to the younger audience about how relationships were back then. “We are reliving our memories through the show and hope audience, both the older and the younger, will connect with the show. A majority of the audience belong to the 90s era who prefer to watch family entertainment shows. This show will recreate the average middle class family where youngsters used to find happiness in little things,” Sumeet says.
After shutting down the show Pehredaar Piya Ki overnight due to showing regressive content of the marriage between a nine-year-old boy and an 18-year-old girl, Shashi tells you that since they were simultaneously working on Yeh Unn Dino Ki Baat Hai, it made easier for them to replace it at 10:30 pm slot.
Talking about the show shutting down, he says: “It was sad that we had to shut down the show since it was not liked by majority of the audience. I hope Yeh Unn Dino Ki Baat Hai will be appreciated. It is another effort to entertain the viewers.”
To portray the life and times of the 90s, the lead actors had to work a lot on their appearance. Twentyfour-year-old Rai, who is playing a bold, vibrant and outgoing boy, had to lose 11 kg. “I had to lose all this weight in just three months. I ate light meals and went for jogs and did functional training exercises. I didn’t meet my family and friends during this period. When I finally met them, they said I looked like a school kid. Hearing that felt good,” Rai tells you.
For 20-year-old Ashi, who will be seen playing a studious, ambitious and chirpy student, this role is perfect to make a debut on TV. “My character, Naina, is very different from today’s girls next door. This is a great opportunity for me to learn the craft. To prepare for the role, my mother helped me a lot by sharing stories about how the 90s were and how she used to behave at home, in school and with her friends then. I saw movies like Maine Pyar Kiya and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak to get some glimpse of those days. I have always been interested in love stories and luckily I got one,” Ashi says.
To recreate that musical romance in the show, the title track of it is sung by popular singers of 90s Kumar Sanu and Sadhna Sargam.
“Today, only two out of 10 songs are actually worth listening to. Music should be such that it relaxes the mind and soul but today's songs are far from that. The era of 90s was magical and songs made in that era will keep on creating magic in upcoming years as well,” Sanu tells you.