Kehta Hai Dil, the Indianised adaptation of Star World's Picket Fences is all set to hit the small screen shortly. Produced by UTV, this one hour series will be telecast on Star TV every Tuesday at prime time from 2 July.

Kehta Hai Dil is about a small town, Anand Nagar, where most people know each other. It is a story about ordinary people whose lives take a dramatic turn because of the situations they encounter. Aman Verma takes on the role of an able superintendent of police, Gautami Gadgil is his able gynaecologist wife. The family, by virtue of Verma's post, is the hub of activity and information. Whether KHD manages to develop its own following a la Picket Fences and is able to hold the Tuesday prime time slot against rival channels, now remains to be seen. Indiantelevision.com correspondent Amar spoke to Star TV content and communication senior vice president Tarun Katial, UTV creative director Monisha Singh and the serial's cast to find out more about the show.

Tarun Katiyal & Monisha Singh

On the thrust of the show

Katial: Kehta Hai Dil is a strong character based show that aims at addressing several important social issues. For instance, the very first episode has the police officer's children witnessing a hit and run case. The characterizations are etched out such that some issues are innately woven into them. For instance, one of the police officer's friends is a lawyer who has an adopted daughter, while another friend, a businessman, is married to a young socialite but has a son from his first wife. The serial thus addresses different issues like adoption, bigamy, dowry and teenage infatuation. These incidents have a bearing on the personal and professional lives of the prominent characters of the serial...

With one-hour shows running into 26 episodes, is seasonality finally entering Indian television programming?
Katial: One hour shows are gaining acceptance because one-hour content has better recall and more involvement with viewers. However, the half hour weekly slot is not getting extinct. It will continue but perhaps have fewer programmes in it. As far as 'Kehta Hai Dil' is concerned, we have not planned to limit it to 26 episodes. If it gets a good response, it should enjoy a much bigger run.

How has the small town ambience been created?
Singh: A lot of the shooting for this serial is being carried out in outdoor locations. No, we haven't gone to a small town to shoot but have identified certain locations in Mumbai that give a small town feel. Besides, the highlight of the indoor sets is a very nattily designed cafeteria where the children of the central characters meet.

Aman Verma (who plays a police superintendent)

On what made him take up the role:
To be very frank, I owe my success to Star TV. Khulja Sim Sim and my role in Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi have been the turning points of my career and made me what I am today. Star TV is undoubtedly the number one channel today and will probably enjoy this position of supremacy for another two years at least. When Star TV offers me the lead role in a prime time serial, which for a change, is not the normal women-oriented saas bahu saga, I would be a fool to refuse the offer. I feel honoured by the faith Star TV has shown in me.

Aren't you burning yourself out- working simultaneously in several soaps and movies as well?
I have sat idle for such a long time…. When I came to Mumbai, I would even play the part a junior artiste is expected to do. Now, when I am in demand, I want to take up as many roles and play as many characters as I can accommodate. I work for 16-18 hours a day, 30 days a month. I realize now that I have probably always had this workaholic temperament. Now that quality work is coming my way, I'm enjoying every bit of it.

How did you prepare for your role in Kehta Hai Dil?
I'm a very instinctive actor. I believe acting is an inborn talent that cannot be taught. A character and his emotions have to be genuinely felt and emoting has to happen from the heart. I've never been trained. I have learnt acting by watching movies and closing observing the performances of my idols- Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. Even today, I handle all my roles instinctively.

Dara Singh (who plays a retired judge)

What made him take up the role? Does acting on TV become very taxing for someone his age?
Basically, the role and the story both excited me. At this stage, I can't burden myself with too many roles but this one sounded different. No, I won't say acting on TV is taxing for me. It may be taxing for a young actor who is doing several projects simultaneously and running from one set to the other. I have lots of time and even my role is not time consuming even though it is significant. I sometimes even take a nap between shots.

Gautami Gadgil (who plays the gynaecologist wife)

Where have you been all these months and what brings you back in Kehta Hai Dil?
Well, one and a half years ago, I was working on eight projects simultaneously. A time came when I started feeling burnt out and would treat my roles very dispassionately because they simply didn't excite me. So, I took an eight month hiatus.

But when Kehta Hai Dil was offered to me, I took it up for two reasons. One, I liked the whole concept of a small town set up where important issues are addressed through incidents happening in the lives of the serial's central characters. It sounded different from the uninspiring and oft repeated family dramas. Two, I was told that the serial was being planned for a seasonal run of 26 episodes.

I feel it is far more exciting to take up one off stories or serials that don't run for too long because that way, one is able to take up that many more challenging roles.