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

In conversation with creative keeda Palki Malhotra

Published: Friday,May 06, 2016 17:32 PM GMT-06:00

Swarupa Tantravahi

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 girlsÂ survive and deal with their issues is what 'Girls on Top'Â 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.Â 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.Â

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 forÂ 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

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Barkha Singh

Shantanu Maheshwari

Yuvraj Thakur

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Ayesha Adlakha

MTV Girls On Top

MTV India

Comments (11)

Manisha Bhardwaj @Rockingbhardwaj

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Love you Palki mam..
GOT is doing great

7 years ago

Labiba islam @labiba_islam

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Thank you sooo much for plaki mams interview...

7 years ago

A true Shantanu lover *_* @--Ana--

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Palki ma'am will always stay dear to all of us. But I fail to understand how did she go wrong in putting up this show into one piece. It needs a lot of attention ma'am. Hoping all the concern's will be addressed cuz the gravity of trust we have in you is alot and even you know that, so hoping for the best. And definitely that respect and admiration will always be there for giving us Shantanu Maheshwari and Vrushika Mehta, our VruShan <3 our SwaRon <3 And giving a show like d3 :D

7 years ago

2 Reply

Ananya @ExpectoPatronus

+ 2 ⋮

respect palki maam a lot... she is fabulous creative.. i totally loved dmg & d3... spcly d3... i m a hardcore swaron fan... staunch shantanu maheshwari & vrushika mehta fan... but i must say PM's new show GOT failed to seek my attention. i still watch Shantanu aka sahir's part on net. shantanu is doing good job as sahir.. but der is sumthing missing in d character too. & isha just cant act. she is a total disaster in d show. i hope shantanu gets his due in d show, which i blv is quite impossible. shantanu deserves much better. love u shantanu...

7 years ago

1 Reply

swarontanha786 @swarontanha786

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The level of EPICNESS of D3 and swayamsharon Just CANNOT be matched!!!!!!!! The only attention the show is getting is of shantanu's fans who are watching it for him!

7 years ago

1 Reply

TonyStark91 @TonyStark91

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i really love mam's creativity and previous shows like dmg,d3 but just sake of tvt and giving importance to her flop show girls on top she is comparing her newly made flop jodi isha-sahir to swaron and armaan-riddhima..AR ,SWARON are masterpiece created by her hope she doesntt degrade her own epic creations in future just for a show...its a cheap way to do promotion..hope she will visit the forum sometime soon like she did visited d3 forum during d3 days :)
ps:and mam fans arent blind to know what kinda buzz this show got created to public :p stop doing these stuff :p it would be better if mam stop using d3 sets,plots story ...D3 was a epic show got isnt ..

7 years ago

2 Reply

Mansi @Mansi98

+ 2 ⋮

I just love GOT
N Shantanu's character its new n real also i feel connectivity when i see Isha n Sahir
Palki mam sketched it very beautifully
N for those who dont like Sahir character its just difference of POV
Just stop comparing swayam and sahir both are different characters n they need to be seen differently

7 years ago

1 Reply

pri98.arora @pri98.arora

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I really respect Palki Ma'am alot, but this time, I'm sorry to say I'm least bothered in Girls On Top. Concept was fresh, no doubt but execution has failed big time! In just 2 months time story has become draggy, monotonous and haphazard. Was watching the show for Shantanu but now I can't because of the stupidity shown everyday. I'm only left to find logic after each episode ends. Talking about 6 leads ... how I wish all of them had a story. Arjun, Yuvraj and Shantanu are shown as props. And pls don't compare SwaRon with Sahir Isha! Already fed up with the way you ppl are using d3 tracks and sets. You guyz seriously need to sit with your team and sort out things. Also, by chance if any of the team member of GOT happens to read this ... it is a request pls visit GOT forums and the topics discussed there carefully. It will give you more clarity as to where the team needs to work.

7 years ago

2 Reply

Aisha_skywalker @Aisha_skywalker

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Umm.. So I desperately want to break Palki Malhotra's bubble. So,she admitted the show has girls as the backdrop & then also said things like there are 6 leads. Thats a news for me. So,all this while,maybe I was watching a different show where the "lead" male actors are being treated as props.. Inequality everywhere guys & they talk about empowerment,equal rights. I guess Palki ma'am is afraid of losing viewership as it's an open secret that majority here watch the show for Shantanu's mere appearance on the show. By the way I hope sometimes she van visit IF just to check how much the show is being appreciated Hope she will stop using D3 sets & tracks just to give GOT a much needed take-off. Instead write something really sensible. Comparing cult jodis like Armaan-Riddhima & Swayam -Sharon with Sahir Isha just to promote her show is of bad taste. Hope Shantanu Maheshwari to get everything he truly deserves. Hope all these years hardwork,talent & popularity won't be limited to just being a supportive character. Keep rocking Shantanu. Love you-Aisha Kapoor.

7 years ago

2 Reply

Chitra. @..MiStLeToE..

+ 3 ⋮

Palki Ma'am is best in the business out there. But this time there really has a lot of things to work on. . .The writers either needs to be changed or they gotta upgrade their thinking caps. . .Watching the show for Shantanu Maheshwari only. He is doing an aweskme job as Sahir Bhasin <3

7 years ago

4 Reply