I am always on my toes with youth shows - Palki Malhotra

To be very true, I was quite scared when I rung up Palki Malhotra for an interview. Having been a D3 fan (a fact that Palki guessed in the initial 5 minutes of the conversation), I would always see her interviews wherein she would be fun to speak to, but somehow I had a thought in my mind that she is a strict taskmaster. And that she will only speak how much is required. But, when I called her up, all my fears vanished and we chatted up like two buddies.

When I confessed about my initial feelings of fear of speaking to her, she laughed it off. Such is Palki Mam's nature.

Reveal all about Girls On Top.

As the name goes, our show has girls as the backdrop. Till now, everyone has done bits and pieces of woman power roles on television. But we wanted an outright show for girls. As for the concept, it is an MTV idea which was conceptualized by Anuradha Tiwary and I. As for developing the concept, it was a task. It is difficult to marry one individual girl to her problems. Mumbai is very diverse and full of cross culture. And in such a city, how girls survive and deal with their issues is what 'Girls on Top' is all about.

How have the reviews been?

To be honest, the reviews so far have been great. I have been hearing that the concept being very fresh, is being appreciated a lot. You know, we have challenged ourselves. Generally, a TV soap has a fixed set.  But we have shot outdoors and on streets also. We have also taken many candid shots.

There is no single main lead in the show.

No. We have a cast of 6 people and the story is about all of them. Isha has a difficult career and a difficult romance. Gia also has a difficult career and an even more difficult romance. And Revathi has a completely odd career and is struggling to find romance.

What is different in girls on top as compared to your previous shows?

We have a voice over format, and also a thematic episode format. To induce a theme into every episode in a daily along with a voice over is difficult. 

What issues are you facing in this show?

When you have a fresh cast, you have to train them from the start. Also, it gets difficult for  non-actors to adjust to the whole 9 to 9 chock-a-block schedule. Luckily, Shantanu Maheshwari, Yuvraj Thakur, and Arjun Singh are thorough professionals. Barkha Singh has done a bit of acting before. It takes (Ayesha Adalkha) Revathi and (Saloni Chopra) Isha little time to understand.

Why are you associated mostly with youth and romantic shows?

You can say that I have become well known for youth shows. But I have done other genres as well. I have done Historical shows, fear files also. It is just that youth shows catch more attention. The fact is that I love challenges, and youth shows are very challenging. There is no specific rhythm that one needs to follow. And with youth shows, I am always on my toes. And I like that.

You have been the creator of evergreen jodis on television. Is there a sense of achievement that people still remember those pairs?

I am absolutely overwhelmed by the fact that what you visualize comes by. But I cannot take away from the fact that it is not me alone who is behind the success of the pairs. There are the directors and most importantly the actors who emote the script on screen. Pressure hai. But there is no such sense of achievement.

Which of your shows and their jodis, is your personal favorite one?

I love all of my shows. And I have always begun love stories. I love Armaan and Riddhima, Swayum and Sharon, Sahir and Isha also. It is tough for me to choose one. However, for shows, D3 was hands down my favorite one. We never worked together. We just had total fun.

This is one out of the box project that Palki has taken up. It is different from all of her previous ventures. We wish Palki that this show of hers too goes on for years and wins love and appreciation from one and all.

Tellybuzz wishes All the very Best to Palki Malhotra