PRAKRITI ROY travels to Mumbai to bring you a report on the launch of Zindagi’s first show made in India
The viewers have been treated to shows from Pakistan and then Turkey. Now, it is time to be entertained by the first original Indian fiction show on Zindagi channel. Keeping in mind their motto of bringing new kind of content, the cast put up a short skit to introduce the characters of the show — Bhaage Re Mann.
The show is based around a 39 year-old protagonist, Padmini, who is a free-thinking and independent woman. She looks at her life and problems from a different perspective than that of her family. Producer-writer of the show Mitu tells you that the story is about Padmini’s journey from the age of about 20, when she fled from her wedding, to the present time when she comes back home and finds that she still has responsibilities she needs to fulfill. “Each one of us go through a rebellious stage in our lives, and this is what happens to Padmini as well,” Mitu says adding that as a character, Padmini speaks her mind, has no hang ups and doesn’t feel she is old at 39.
Sunil Bach, Chief Business Officer, Zindagi, hopes that the show “will surely break the shackles of age-old stereotypical content that we see the small screen.”
Priyanka Datta, cluster head, Zindagi & FTA Hindi GEC tells you that the channel has always shown content that is differentiated. “This has helped us carve a special space for ourselves. Bhaage Re Mann is the reinforcement of our style of storytelling, one that is distinctive with a strong narrative,” Dutta says.
The makers of the show say that the USP of the show is not just Padmini and her story but also her family, played by an interesting mix of actors like Nupur Alankar, Dr Ved Thapad and Chandan Anand among others. While Padmini is an aspirational character, someone whom we all want to be but can never become, the rest of the family as well as Padmini's best friend and love interest, played by Chandan Anand, are identifiable characters.
At its outset, the show does promise to have a realistic portrayal on life and the life of a contemporary, modern, Indian woman. However, one will have to wait to see if the show can sustain the standards Zindagi promises or is there a danger to fall back into the habits of other shows on Indian TV.
As is Zindagi’s pattern, the show is a finite series. The show goes on air on November 30 at 8.30 pm.