Daily crime thriller a production nightmare: Producer

New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) Searching for new ideas and bringing them to the small screen in daily crime thriller 'Surya - The Super Cop' was like a production nightmare for veteran TV producer B.P. Singh, who has told over 600 thrilling stories on the show 'C.I.D.'.

'We had a major challenge in front of us when Sony TV asked us to produce a one-hour daily show to be aired in the primetime slot of 9 p.m.-10 p.m. during the IPL (Indian Premier League),' Singh told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

'We decided to produce a crime thriller with a new story every day because it takes a lot of time to get a regular audience hooked to a daily soap. But trust me, it is a production nightmare!' he added.

Singh of Fireworks Productions has assigned the job to four different units, with a total of 400 people working round the clock to create new, one-hour long stories for 'Surya - The Super Cop'.

'It takes a lot of research, a lot of planning, shooting space and people to generate fresh ideas. Besides, people are aware that we are the makers of 'C.I.D.' and so they don't expect regular mystery stories from us,' he said.

'We have a group of nine writers who think of new angles and stories to keep the audience entertained,' he added.

The show is a crime thriller that revolves around three separate crime investigative units and a binding link between them -- a middle-aged blind man Surya, played by actor Harsh Chhaya, who is their friend, philosopher and guide.

Singh, who is also the man behind horror show 'Aahat', said making the show different from 'C.I.D.' was also a task.

'What's tougher is the fact that we have told 600 thriller stories already in the past 14 years. At times we don't even remember the stories we have told in 'C.I.D.' - so we have to be extra careful not to repeat any storyline,' he said.

However, for his new show that went on air March 4, Singh has stayed away from the forensic investigations that are popular on 'C.I.D.' -- arguably India's longest running investigative series.

Why not involve the audience for sending in story ideas?

'See, one has to understand that there can be a lot of legal hassles. Stories sent by viewers can be inspired from something that they may have read, or seen in a movie,' the producer said.

'So a lot of credit issues can erupt due to this. No one has the time to crosscheck the authenticity, so it is wiser to think of stories ourselves,' he added.

In the meantime, Singh is also working towards producing 'C.I.D.' for the big screen. He says 'it is in the process of being made'.