Producer Siddharth Kumar Tewary’s forthcoming show on Zee TV isn’t just the story of a relationship between a girl and an elephant, it conveys an important message — fair treatment to animals. He spoke to Divya Kaushik about shooting at real locations and bearing with the elephant’s moods
Water for Elephants isn’t Robert Pattinson’s one of the most popular movies. The film that gave an insight into the world of circus through Benjini Brothers Circus train was promoted as a romance drama, but that is not how most of us remember it. Out of those who watched the film, a few cared about the brewing romance between the circus company owner’s wife and an employee (played by Pattinson), the real hero of the movie turned out to be Rosie, the elephant. It was a wonderful attempt by the makers to portray the emotions of the animal. There was no comedy woven around Rosie. It was the bond between Rosie and her human caretaker that made the film special.
On television, Britt Allcroft adapted Mumfie, the elephant from Katherine Tozer’s series of children’s books, originally in a televised puppet show and then in the 90s animated Magic Adventures of Mumfie series. Stories featuring elephants have been few in Bollywood and on Indian TV. There mostly have been documentaries and wildlife series making us familiar with the friendly, frolicking and at times furious behaviour of the animal. Considering this, it is commendable that producer Siddharth Kumar Tewary took up the challenge of coming up with the story that will not only highlight the bond between a small girl and Ganesha, an elephant whom she considers to be her brother, but will also give out an important message of fair treatment for animals to the masses. While in the city to talk about his another path-breaking show on Zee TV, Bandhan… Saari Umar Humein Sang Rehna Hai, the producer told us that he and his wife have always been animal lovers. The idea of the show came up during a conversation between the two on how animals are treated in this country.
“Bandhan belongs to a world significantly different from the urban world most of us inhabit. It takes the audience into the world of a forest ranger’s family that lives in a jungle. I have been working on this show for the last two years. It was not an easy show to make with the animal as we had to train the elephant in a certain way. Also it has been shot at Umarrgaon, the place where we shot Mahabharat. A show like this required a certain budget and a different planning. The challenge was also to present the story about an animal in a way that will be appealing to the masses. So we thought of packaging emotions in a way that it touches the heart of the audience and at the same time conveys an important message. The show is based on a relationship between a child and an elephant, it is an experiment and we hope that the audience would appreciate our effort,” he said. The show, featuring actors like Sudesh Berry and Shweta Munshi, will be launched on September 16, the date when Mahabharat launched last year.
The reason why Siddharth chose an elephant and not any other animal for his story was because he wanted to present something new and “elephants have a lot like humans.” While planning this show, the producer kept in mind that he is not telling a story that will conclude in a few hours. “A lot of hard work went into writing the story as per the formats of television. It is important for a TV show to sustain the audience attention in the long run, so we have been thinking of new ways to keep the audience hooked,” he said.
After the completion of his magnum opus that was a huge success on TV, Bandhan is yet another clutter-breaking concept from the producer’s kitty. “I don’t like getting into a comfort zone. With each of my show I try to do something different and challenge myself on new levels. The TV industry is going through an interesting phase and I think it is the best time for people like me who do not believe in stereotypes. The audience is open to changes and channels are accepting content that breaks formulas. Relationships are being presented in a positive way and new concepts are being introduced,” he said.
Siddharth revealed that he is in the process of creating another magnum opus for Star Plus. “It will be a big show and we are working on that. Most of my shows are a result of in-depth research, so it takes time to give a project a final shape,” he said.