&TV is set to enter your homes with its latest offering Waaris, a drama with an underlying social issue. PRAKRITI ROY catches up with the lead cast to find out what’s in store for viewers
Staying true to giving their viewers variety, &TV is set to launch the show Waaris mid May. The drama, set in Punjab, stars Iqbal Khan and Aarti Singh in lead roles.
The show revolves around the theme of property dispute among brothers and the issue of the heir to their property. The lead pair Charan and Amba have three daughters but in their pursuit to have a son as an heir to the property, Amba dresses up her third daughter as a son.
Aarti, who was earlier in Parichay and comes from a filmy background (she’s Govinda’s niece and Krushna Abhishek’s sister), tells you that Amba is a good wife, daughter-in-law and mother who’s strength comes out in testing times. But circumstances force her to take certain decisions which mould the show.
“The show is based on a Punjabi farmer family in dispute over property as there is no son to bewaaris. The entire story is about how she makes her daughter a son,” Aarti says.
like a lot of other shows on TV these days, there is an underlying social message in this one too but Aarti clears the air about the show revolving only around a social issue: “There is a message about the girl child. But the show is like any other fiction series on TV.” Aarti says that for this show, she would have agreed to even play a mother of 12 children. “My aim is to perform. Waaris is perfect for an actor who wants to perform,” she adds.
Iqbal, who already has a loyal fan base, took up the show because he felt that the concept was new. “Our show is based in a regressive place. But even in metros like Delhi, girls face similar problems. A lot of families don’t allow their daughters-in-law to work. These are the kind of things that need to be addressed and our show touches upon them,” he says. “However, I am against extreme feminism in which men are put down by women. It should be about equality,” he adds.
Iqbal sports a matured look in the show with a salt-and-pepper hair and beard. But he tells you that the look is not something that came up after he was cast. “Between shows, I usually grow my beard. That works for this role. I am excited about experimenting with my look, something I haven’t done before. I want to break the stereotype that if your hair starts greying, your TV career is over,” Iqbal says.
Both Iqbal and Aarti refuse to divulge details about the show.
“My character Charan Pawania is probably the nicest human being ever the epitome of goodness. I have been trying to be like him for years. Whether he is aware of what his wife is up to, you’ll find out soon,” he says.
Sharing his experience of shooting the show, Iqbal says that since he is not Punjabi, he spent some time in Chandigarh with friends trying to pick up the accent. “I would go to the park and sit next to someone and eavesdrop to understand how Punjabi is spoken because the show is based in places like Patiala and Malerkotla. I got a lot of weird looks for this,” he recounts.
The show also stars Akshay Dogra as Charan’s younger brother Jagan, Mukesh Khanna as lalaji Bajwa, Sidhant Suryavanshi as Harjeet Bajwa and the little Sania Tauqeer as the daughter-turned-son Manpreet Pawania.