"I always try to make shows on subjects I can relate to or experiences I have gone through"

Pratigya and Pratha were both based on social issues like eve-teasing and honour killing respectively. What about Doli Armaanon Ki?

I always try to pick up social issues that have always plagued India but have mostly been under rug swept because we are taught to ignore them. For instance, every girl faces eve-teasing but we are always told this is how men are and we must learn to live with it. Or we are taught to think we can't do anything about honor killing like portrayed in Pratha. But my question is, why? After those shows now Doli... also will also speaking about a cause but that will probably happen after three months; so I cannot talk about it right now. Every woman can endure only so much and when you torment her beyond her endurance level, she will take a stand and Doli will also have a similar situation.

How do you come about producing shows on social causes? Does it trigger from personal experiences?

Yes, I always try to make shows on subjects I can relate to or experiences I have gone through myself. For instance, having studied in Allahabad, I know it is commonplace there for boys to stalk girls and eve-tease them. I had a close friend who used to be followed by this guy and she used to be so scared. But I decided to stand up against it and complained to the principal. For Doli also, just like Urmi my only dream was to find a nice guy, marry him and have a happy married life. I had no ambitions or dreams when I was growing up. So I can relate to Urmi too.

What makes Neha Marda ideal for Urmi's role?

I have been seeing Neha acting since she was in Mamta on Zee TV. She has grown tremendously as an actress. I was meant to cast her as Komal's daughter Chinki in Pratigya 2 but unfortunately that didn't work out. When I thought of Doli... Neha was the first name that popped in my head. She is a sensitive and also an intelligent actress and the story is also about a young girl who grows to be a mature woman so Neha fit the bill perfectly.

What about Mohit Malik as the main anti-hero?

Initially Mohit was apprehensive about playing the anti-hero but he was really loved as Abhimanyu in Pratigya, who was also an anti-hero. Also Krishna or Sajjan Singh in Pratigya also had shades of grey and they weren't really hero-hero types but they were such a rage. So I told Mohit that if he takes up this show he would have a memorable character for sure. So he came on board.

Why hasn't Pratigya 2 materialized yet?

Just like most second seasons, Star wanted to make Pratigya with a different storyline, different characters and actors but we were keen on taking the story of Season 1 forward with Pooja Gor as Krishna-Pratigya's daughter. We were really disappointed that we couldn't make it the way we wanted so we decided to can it altogether. Otherwise Pratigya 2 would have gone on air in November.

Why didn't you cast Pooja Gor as Urmi since you already gave a hit with her?

Pooja as Pratigya has created an image of a very strong woman, which was further consolidated when she did Saavdhan India (Life OK). But Urmi is a very vulnerable and naive girl with lofty dreams and Pooja wouldn't have looked as convincing in the role.

You chose Zee TV for the show. Why not on Star Plus?

I have worked in Zee TV for three years writing shows like Suhana Safar, Rishtey and Saturday Suspense. I always wanted to produce a show for Zee TV because it has been a very satisfying experience working with the channel.