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Rakhi
Tandon shot into prominence as the chirpy, imbecilic teenager
in the TRP buster Hum
Paanch
five years ago. While she continues to be as vivacious, the
former Ms Vijan has metamorphosed into a successful TV producer,
after her marriage to producer Rajeev Tandon. Rakhi though
has taken to her new role like a fish to water.
Apart from the hugely successful Heena,
the other shows produced by her R.T. Entertainment include
Professor Pyarelal,
Cincinnati
Bublaboo
and Dulhan.
The company is now poised to start a new innings with the
launch of two new serials in the first week of March 2002.
These comprise Har
Mod Par,
a daily inspired by a real life sati incident in rural India
and a weekly sitcom Hum
Hain Dilwale
launching 7 march on Sony Entertainment in the Thursday 8
pm slot.
Indiantelevision.com correspondent Amar
met the producer to discover that the real Rakhi is quite
different from the audience's general perception of her. Excerpts
from a freewheeling interview:
Is
Rakhi Tandon the producer different from Rakhi Tandon the
actor?
As a person, I am extremely fun loving and vivacious. But
I would also like to believe that I have always been a responsible
person and that as producer, I know my responsibilities are
increased manifold. My performance as producer would probably
indicate that I've done a pretty decent job.
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A
new channel never defaults on your payment, because
it starts off with a lot of money.
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Did you always want to be a producer?
No, most things in life have happened to me by coincidences,
most of them pleasant. I was accompanying a friend of mine
for a screen test when the director spotted me and felt that
I suited the character they were casting for. Similarly, I
was enjoying my acting career when marriage just happened
and I got interested in production.
As a producer, which subjects appeal the most to you?
Sitcoms are always my first preference. Apart from that, I
look for subjects that have the scope of getting a social
message across, subjects that give people food for thought.
Har Mod Par is an effort in this direction. It's the
story of a 16-year-old girl who becomes a widow within hours
of her marriage and is forced to commit sati by the village
head because he wants publicity to bolster his claim for a
railway track passing through the village. This is a real
life incident.
On what basis do you choose a channel?
Sony and Star are old favorites by virtue of the relationship
we have built with them. But the decision to take Har Mod
Par to Sahara was taken on the basis of the subject. We felt
the subject would meet greater acceptability in the interiors
and since Sahara has a wider reach in the interiors than other
satellite channels, we opted for it.
One of your programmes is also planned for MAK TV. In the
current scenario, aren't you skeptical of experimenting with
a new channel?
(laughs)A new channel never defaults on your payment, because
it starts off with a lot of money. It's only when the initial
programmes don't get the expected returns, that the defaults
begin.
Has any channel defaulted with you on payments or commitment
of time slots?
No, never.
Do you feel big corporate houses like Balaji or UTV have
a monopoly over the best time slots?
Yes, to an extent that's right. But, this so called monopoly
also moves in cycles. Plus Channel had the best of time slots
earlier, then there was a time when Cinevista became very
powerful, and today it's Balaji. Tomorrow, even we could be
influential and get the best slots on all channels. However,
I believe that the viability of a concept also plays a significant
role in getting a time slot.
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Plus
Channel had the best of time slots earlier, then there
was a time when Cinevista became very powerful, and
today it's Balaji.
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Have you ever felt that despite having a fabulous concept
you've missed out on pitching it to a channel?
Yes, that has happened. But, in such cases instead of
pre-selling the concept, I go ahead and shoot a pilot. Once,
a top quality pilot is ready, channels tend to be more receptive
to our concerns.
Would you not want R.T. Entertainment to evolve into a
corporate entity?
We haven't planned anything. I believe in crossing the bridge
when I come to it. Right now, our only concern is to bring
out as many top quality programmes as we can.
How do you divide your professional responsibilities with
your husband?
I mainly look after the marketing of our programmes, building
relationships with channels, as well as the creative aspects
of our shows. Rajeev takes care of the production, the shoots,
the finances, the actual scripting and the post-production.
Apart from that, we take joint decisions on taking up any
new concepts.
Do you have a fixed team of writers or do you experiment
with new writers?
I have a few favourites - Raghuveer Shekhawat, Sanjay
Solomon, Nawab Arzoo and Naeem Ijaz, whom I like to repeat
for various projects. At any point of time, I like to work
on one project with them. But I am certainly open to new writers
if they have fresh concepts.
As a producer, are you more inclined towards stories that
can have you in a central role?
Yes, I guess that is a tendency with all actor-turned
producers. That's why R.T. is planning to come out with more
comedies.
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Channels
tend to be more receptive, once a top quality pilot
is ready
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What is your production set-up like?
We have a very well structured set-up comprising executive
producers, directors and production people. There is one head
director on each programme who works more as a series director
and under him there are episode directors. Our production
team comprises a team of five people with one production head.
Have you ever felt hassled by the EPs in channels over
cast or storyline?
No. I know it's a common complaint most producers have, but
I have personally not faced this problem. On the contrary,
I've found some of their inputs to be quite productive.
Do you prefer producing weeklies or dailies?
I prefer weeklies, because we are able to maintain a better
quality in the case of weeklies. However, if a channel is
willing to buy a concept only if it is made into a daily,
I'm open to it.
How do you balance your roles as actor and producer?
Well, of late, I haven't been acting much, mainly to concentrate
on production but I have also decided to act only in comedies
henceforth. This is because it suits me and people have loved
me in the comic roles that I've done. I'm totally open to
working for outside banners.
Which has been the happiest moment of your career?
It's yet to happen.
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