new serial on zee

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Indian television's renowned quizmaster Siddhartha Basu is turning producer for an upcoming primetime spectacular drama on ZEE TV.

Basu (Synergy Productions) famously known for the success of STAR Plus' 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' is set to venture into fiction shows, with the launch of ZEE TV's new soap 'Jiya Jale' (tentative title). The show is being touted as a social drama with a difference.

'Jiya Jale' will have a host of fresh faces and the production house will soon hold a nationwide audition to source fresh talent for the upcoming show.

Mahesh Dattani, the writer and creative editor of the show, has been associated with Siddhartha from his early days in Delhi (mid- 1990s) when Siddhartha had acted in Dattani's play Dance Like a Man.

Talking to The Times Of India Mahesh said, "The show will be a human drama revolving around real emotions unlike the overblown melodrama of our daily soaps. Each character will have a shade of grey. The woman-oriented show will also address social issues."

But what makes the production house cast fresh faces for their first daily soap? Says Mahesh, "The story requires a certain kind of innocence. We see a lot of experienced actors these days jumping from one set to the other, something that eventually affects their performance. Besides, they cannot do justice to all their roles and do not have enough time for all their shows."

When contacted, Anita Kaul Basu, MD, Synergy Communication, said it was too early to divulge any details about the project. On probing further, she said, "We are looking forward to launching the show within the next couple of months. The show will appeal to everybody. I am sure it will give a fresh perspective to drama on television.

For now, we are simply hunting for the right faces for the characters." Siddhartha Basu was unavailable for comment as he is out of the country. Reportedly, if all goes well, the shooting will begin by June (as soon as the fresh faces are cast) and the show would be on air by August.