After
a hugely successful run as an indigenous Superman, comes
some homegrown science fiction from Mukesh Khanna's Bheeshm
International. Khanna, in his new avatar as Aaryamaan
will
tread familiar territory - the serial that begins airing
this month will beam from state broadcaster Doordarshan.
Aaryaaman
is
the story of a boy born on a human-life supporting planet
in Ariana, a galaxy many light-years away from Earth.
Drought-struck Ariana experiences
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its first showers in many years when Aaryamaan is
born. The distressed citizens look up to him and believe
that he is their saviour and will tide them over adverse
situations.
Khanna is shooting at the suburban Natraj Studios on specially
constructed sets, designed by Bijon Das Gupta. Says serial
director Dinkar Jani: "It is a futuristic show loaded
with special effects. Crest Communications has provided
the special effects while Kamlesh Pande has penned the
tale. The cast includes Kiran Kumar, Deep Dhillon, Reshma
Modi, Manjit Kullar, Sudhir Mattu, Murali Sharma, Deepak
Jethi, Browny Parashar and Bakul Bhatt."
In
a tete a tete, Mukesh Khanna and Crest Communications'
Swapan Ray spoke at length about the new sci fi venture
to indiantelevision.com correspondent Amar.
MUKESH KHANNA:
On
the Objective behind 'Aaryamaan'
There are two. One, I want Bheeshm International to become
synonymous with a new genre of programming that hasn't
been explored in India till date. This is the action,
thrill, mystery genre that also has something special
to offer children in terms of educating them. Shaktimaan
was a huge success and gave us the confidence to go in
for something much more grand. While Shaktimaan
was meant for children in the 4-14 age group category,Aaryamaan
is meant for the 4-84 age group.Even an 84-year old with
an adventurous spirit will enjoy watching this serial,
thanks to the characters, inspired from Indian mythologies.
Two, I feel young students today are quite ignorant of
basic scientific facts. I have also realized that if they
are preached to in a didactic fashion, they don't respond
well. It works much better to lure them into watching
something
they enjoy and then sending in the right messages from
time to time. While Shaktimaan made children enjoy
simple things like drinking milk and cutting nails, Aaryamaan
has a lot more to offer in terms of imparting basic knowledge
about science, about space - things which the young generation
is unaware of because of its obsession with commerce and
finance.
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On the Concept of 'Aaryamaan'
Aaryamaan, I would say, is the Indianised version
of Star Wars. I agree a SIGMA or a Captain
Vyom
did not work but that is because they did not have earthy
characters. Unless the characters can be easily related
to by local audiences, a programme will not work. By creating
a mythological drama similar to Mahabharat, we
have ensured that even a youth living in interior Himachal
Pradesh or Assam easily relates to the subject. At the
same time, weaving a science fiction backdrop increases
interest levels manifold. In fact more than science fiction,
I would call it a science fantasy set in an imaginary
galaxy. Aaryamaan, like Shaktimaan is aimed
as a movement except that it encompasses a much wider
audience reach.
On whether 'Aaryamaan' is a risky proposition
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MK:
Yes, it is. I have a bad business sense even though I
am a passionate creator. When I was planning Aaryamaan,
I remember someone telling me that only an idiot could
think of making such a serial. My answer was that only
an idiot could think of making a film like Titanic.
Each
episode of Aaryamaan is costing me in excess of
Rs 1.5 million. Everything in the serial is hi-tech -
including the sets and the special effects. Even though
I have my own team doing the special effects on other
serials, I opted for Crest Communications to do the special
effects for
Aaryamaan.
Practically, ever third scene we shoot is replete with
special effects. Each episode takes five shifts to be
shot. We've already shot on seven different sets in the
last 25 days of shooting. Later, we plan to shoot outdoors
in places like Ladakh and Rajasthan. In the first couple
of months, at least, I do foresee losses. But then, if
I look at the long-term prospects, I expecting Aaryamaan
to become as, if not more, popular than Shaktimaan.
It is also being dubbed in three regional languages and
finally we plan to target the international market.
On why he chose DD over other TV channels
Because DD still has a much wider reach compared to any
satellite channel. I agree there are
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problems
dealing with Doordarshan officials. Instead of appreciating
efforts, they went ahead and slapped an increased telecast
fee. However, no satellite channel can match DD's reach
and for a fact,
Shaktimaan was more popular in the interiors and
the semi-urban towns where DD is far more
watched than any satellite channel. Besides, even though
I might lose money on my programmes, I at least have the
liberty to go all out and make a quality product. With
the kind of shoe-string budgets that satellite channels
provide nowadays, I will in any case have to invest from
my pocket to do justice to the product.
On whether he is consciously aiming at a national super-hero
image
This
happens to be the first time that any actor is playing
the role of two superheroes simultaneously. It is not
a conscious image building exercise, but yes, I have decided
to play strong positive characters only. This is my way
of doing my bit for society. Contrary to the negative
reports some people spread against Shaktimaan,
there are so many who called to thank me because their
children had started behaving well when Shaktimaan
asked them to do so. This is the positive impact a strong
positive character can have on society.
SWAPAN RAY:
On what went into the special effects of Aaryamaan
This is our second major TV assignment for special effects,
the first one being episodes of X- Zone. The difference
with this is that unlike other projects, everything that
is hi-tech, whether a ship or an animal, also has to have
a mythological shape, say, a shape symbolizing a Hindu
deity. The authentic execution of this required a lot
of effort and time. We spent some four months planning
the complete structure of special effects.
In Aaryamaan, almost every second scene has some
special effects. There are two ways in which special effects
are provided in a scene, depending on the suitability.
While on some occasions, special effects are provided
while shooting, in other cases it is done at the post
production stage. We have set up a team of 30 people to
provide the special effects for Aaryamaan. We still
don't have an exact idea of how much time putting together
the special effects of one episode will take because right
now we've just shot the first four episodes and these
episodes being the initial ones, we took more time than
we normally do. But all said and done, the special effects
one will get to see in Aaryamaan will be stuff
never seen so far on Indian TV.
