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EXCLUSIVE- Ekta Kapoor: Ram Kapoor-Sakshi Tanwar and Nimrat Kaur are the driving forces for all my other web-series
In an exclusive interview with PINKVILLA, Ekta Kapoor talks about her new web-series.
You think of a woman of substance with just the gumption to talk her heart out, and we have the Queen of Television, Ekta Kapoor. Fearless yet subtle, Ekta knows how to strike the right chord with her audience literally hypnotizing them to her shows. Right from Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi to Naagin 2, Ekta has never failed in entertaining her viewers. Having said that, here she is to entertain yet again with 5 of her new offerings, now on the online platform.
Catch the excerpts from the quick tete-a-tete with Ms Kapoor.
With venturing into the online market, are there any plans to carry forward your own legacy of ruling the shows out here as well?
(laughs) You know, when I went on to do the soaps years ago, I myself was a kid. Digital medium was new and so was I. I did Hum Paanch and then I thought I wanted to do something that would be fun. I never thought that I wanted to be the bigwig of the TV dailies. I did Kyunki and a lot of soaps in south also and I knew it will work not because I was this smart chic or something but because I thought if I could watch it, there would be someone else watching it too. If I start thinking that I want to become the big daddy on net, I would rather follow the things that are doing great on net already and not think out of the box or a little different content. I decided to tell a different part of story which I thought If I coudn't show on TV or in films and which would work, needs to be shown on the online platform. I just wanted it to be in short formats, crisp and done just right. Because the long formats were torturing me. I wanted to do something that is not available on TV, because then all that you can see it on TV. There is always a need of a private space. You just cant watch everything with your family or even with your spouse. You feel like watching somethings at your own peaceful time.
Game Of Thrones is not a sexual show but its also not shying away from sexuality. I don't like watching it with my family.
But one of my online show, DEV D's girl is this bad ass chic and has got an attitude and swag.
I loved her story. Initially, I was asked why are you showing her to be buying condoms. But here it is, very girl should think of it. STD is a reality and so is pregnancy. A girl should have it with her because boys may get away with a 'Oh I forgot to buy, next time'. And it is here, when a girl should have it with her. It's way better than buying a contraceptive pill later which creates hormonal imbalance for the girl.
How do you actually conceptualize all these shows?
We literally go about discussing a Naagin in a meeting to discussing a Test case to Chandrankanta , to what not and then head back to square one and wonder what are we talking about. Our meetings are full of panchmukhi Naagins to Chandrakanta's clothes to a mature topic like Testcase. We talk about everything.
With recreating TV's iconic pair Ram Kapoor-Sakshi Tanwar in Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, do you not think it could take away from your other series launched?
You know, you need something to drive a new thing initially. Why will a newcomer come to watch a new show on a new app. Nimrat and Ram-Sakshi are the driving forces to my shows. When viewers watch their shows, the other series will slowly unfold.
Any new projects you are working upon?
I have some interesting stuff on board. I am hoping to launch some mini soaps online which will get over in 20 episodes. They are dramas. You will have your favorite TV actors roped in and for which you won't need to watch like some 200 episodes. I am about to launch Test case which is also a big show for me. It is the first woman commando show. It's a hypothetical scenario where we have the first ever woman into the combat services and have taken Nimrat as the first Testcase. This will surely led out a message of how patriotism is not only a male lookout. It's about both men and women to look after their country and that the integrity of the country has got nothing to do with the gender. It somewhere will help in fading away the notion that we need men to protect us. You know in Israel, it's an equal duty of both men and women to take care of the nation.
Out of the 5 shows launched, which has been your personal favourite and why?
It has to be Romi and Jugal. It's about a gay love story and the way it has been received by audience is heart-whelming. We have been receiving bouquets and requests of meeting the boys. I have gay friends who have told me that the show has normalised them. If a show can actually bring about a good change in anybody's life, then nothing like it. I got to know how this coupe accepted their gay son back after the show went on air. If you can manage to bring about such a change like this in anybody's life with your work, it's simply wonderful. But I knew this one also would be a tough one to get people to watch. I had told my team that it's going to be tough for them to even promote considering shows like Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbaat and Dev D on board. But I was sure of this fact that once people watch Romil and Jugal, they will be like,Oh..let them just be together. I might have smaller number of audience watching that show as of now, but I am proud of it.
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