The makers and leads of Zindagi ki Mehek shed light on the plot and why new faces were required for the show. Ankita Jain reports
Imagine someone shouting on the top of his lungs, few murmuring, few mugging up lines and rest running from one corner to the other in getting things right. Well, this was the scenario when we entered an exotic plot of land at some corner of the city where the shooting of Zee TV’s latest show Zindagi ki Mehek was in process.
Over the years, the channel has warmed the audience’s hearts via TRP-notching shows and with Zindagi ki Mehek, it’s back with something different from the regular saas-bahu sagas. Merely 30 episodes old, the drama has already managed to carve its niche, drawing accolades from a new demographic of telly lovers.
The plot depicts the story of a girl named Mehek, played aptly by Sameeksha Jaiswal who is a newbie. She loves to cook and treat her family with scrumptious meals. When the world sleeps, she enters the kitchen, wears her apron and creates culinary magic. like an artist, she cooks delectable delicacies, and in return all she wants is a smile on her family’s face. “The drama has just began with the main characters finding its way to pull each other down,” said Sameeksha aka Mehek about the show. When asked how she managed to bag a lead role, she gushed, “I just completed by bachelor’s degree in electronic media from one of the colleges in Indore. I am 21 and a lead role I thought was a good start. I had always wanted to act and though not trained had started giving auditions in Indore itself. I also auditioned for Behad, one of the shows in Sony. Though I was appreciated, I couldn’t get through it. And suddenly I got a call from the Zindagi ki Mehek team.”
The pleasing personality of Mehek, who does not get bogged down by the pressure of getting married or being rejected by a suitable groom, shows her bold and confident nature. And she brings happiness back in her family, by making a sweet dish and cheering all of them.
Since the entire show is Delhi-based, the makers wanted the male lead to be a typical Delhi guy. After an extensive hunt, they finalised model-actor Karan Vohra. Zindagi Ki Mahek will be his first stint on television where he has a full-fledged role that will give him more screen space and continuous episodes. “They were after my life. I am a businessman and own a series of gyms and health clubs in Delhi. It was difficult for me to come out of it completely and focus on the show. Somehow, the makers of the show convinced me that no one else could play the role of Shourya better than me and I came on board,” said Karan, who is already a hit among the girls. He plays the role of a celebrity chef in the show and when asked whether if he is fond of cooking, he smiled, “I know everything when it comes to cooking. Even during the shoots, I prefer to cook my own breakfast.”
Producer Saurabh Tewari, who has rolled out TV hits like Rangrasiya, Madhubala - Ek Ishq Ek Junoon, Do Dil Ek Jaan and Badtameez Dil, and the director, Pushpendra Singh, said they like breaking moulds. “We wanted to make a love story but not a cliché one. We wanted to enhance the love story with a beautiful backdrop and conflict. It started from there on. The next important aspect was to develop the female protagonist. We had ample thoughts and approaches in our mind regarding what profession should be given to her, what should be the exact aspiration of the character and while we were discussing all these, the first thing that hit our mind was why was it important to give a unique professional aspiration to a regular girl. In our society, the role of a homemaker is under the carpet, she is not credited for anything. So that’s where we decided to create a story which is around a home-maker who believes her life starts with the sun and goes on till the moon is up.”
About choosing Sameeksha as their female protagonist, Saurabh added, “We were very clear that we didn’t want any baggage while casting for the lead. It was mandatory that we chose someone who hadn’t done any previous show. If you are telling a story of a common girl who is a homemaker, then that actor needs to be faceless. Sameeksha was our first choice in March last year but somehow all of us couldn’t come on the same page. While we kept hunting for the lead, we kept shortlisting many other girls. Finally, we kept auditioning and re-auditioning Sameeksha for a period of six months. This itself became a training period for her since she hadn’t faced camera prior to this.” We hope the viewer, too, sheds, his/her baggage of expectations and gives a fresh story a nudge.