Aatish Kapadia
Co-producer, Hats Off Productions

By SEEMA PHERWANI

Sitting in his exquisitely done up plush apartment in Goregaon ( a suburb in Mumbai), dressed comfortably in a grey T shirt and track pants, Aatish Kapadia looks totally calm and composed. I sense a certain aloofness about the man as he tells me, "Actually I've taken a day off from my shooting today to write my next episode for Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai."

After discussing a few nitti gritties the fresh pineapple juice arrives, Kapadia opens up a bit and gets talking about himself, "at times I can be very aloof but then I can also very gregarious with people I know well."

That perhaps sets the whole tone of the conversation, as we settle down for a brief tête-à-tête on his life and times. I ask him about his rise from a writer to a successful producer, and he goes "somehow, life hasn't been a struggle but things have just fallen in place for me. I am a product of meeting the right people at the right time. I strongly believe life is a journey and not a race." And this, coming from a producer and the brain behind the immensely successful shows like Khichdi, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai and Ba bahu aur babli. I wait for more, as Kapadia reveals it all about his life and times.

My early days
My family's been into the textiles business for years, but somehow I knew that I could never fit into it. And that's why the surname `Kapadia'. One best thing that I picked up from my father was the habit of reading. And along with reading voraciously I tried my hand at different things in life - acting, writing and theatre.

I started off doing Gujarati theatre and later scripting for Gujarati soaps. Somehow, God has been kind to me and life has not been a struggle but things have just fallen in place for me. I am a product of meeting the right people at the right time. My big break in the Hindi television space happened with Alpaviram. Later, Ek mahal ho sapno ka happened, which I thoroughly enjoyed writing.

I believe, life is not a race, it's a journey cause if it's a race then what do I do when the race ends? I want to walk at my own pace and compete with myself.

I seek inspiration from
I seek inspiration from people I meet on the road, on the sets and when I travel. They could even be complete strangers to me. I try to understand people, their real selves and their three dimensional lives. Life is not about being either completely white or black. So, people are my fodder for thought.

I keep the child in me alive by watching children play. Children are an amazing gift from God, as they enjoy the simple joys of life almost mesmerized by life. It's we adults who put in ideas of competition and racing against time for them.

On the television business
The television business is getting crazier by the day. We are obsessed with glamour, gossip and everyone's trying to fit into the same slot. So, if one guy is creating unnecessary drama and getting TRP's everyone's trying to imitate. As a result, the whole landscape looks the same. I think, success is a relative term and TRP's have to be seen in the right context. Even newspapers are all intellectually crap, full of parties, gossip and weddings. There is nothing intellectually stimulating to read.


On Page 3 parties
I feel totally out of place at parties especially, filmi parties. I try to avoid all parties as far as possible.

Success means
Success is being allowed to do the kind of creative work that I want to. And not having to do what the channel or the audiences want. There are people in the market who think they are successful but I think they have succumbed to pressure.

I am failing every single day.
I experience failure every single day as I try to write and pull off every episode successfully. To fill a blank piece of paper every single day is a great challege. Since, I am not a genius, words don't flow out but I've to work very hard at my craft.

Stress busters
I don't believe in getting stressed. If something is not working out or shaping up as per my wishes - then my attitude, So what? I take it very cool in life. I used to practice Yoga earlier but now I prefer going to the gym. I mix a workout of cardio and weights. I also love traveling because of the hectic schedules. I love traveling and have traveled across the world along with my theatre group.

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