TOI: Soaps on Exotic Trails - Hunar

Small screen has not limited its cuts to only the kitchen. Moving from the drawing th action plan in the drawing rooms, are Tellyland's thinktank which is taking its crew to capture some fab glimpse of exotic locales.

With shooting at 'actual' outdoor locations is catching up big time in Tellywood, the story is just getting interesting. Bade Achche Lagte Hainhad a Australia shoot in November, and seven months down the line as the show takes a leap, the location shifts to Dubai! The soon-to-air soap Rab Se Sona Ishq just wrapped a 90 day shoot schedule in London; popular soap Diya Aur Baati Hum recently completed a shooting schedule in Singapore, Hitler Didi had spiked up the show with Macau as a shooting locale three months back, Chhal - Sheh Aur Maat has shot a major chunk shot in Auli and Mussorie. Also, soaps like Ek Doosre Se Karte Hain Pyaar Hum has a lot of outdoor shooting in Ahmedabad,Hitler Didi too has sequences shot in Old Delhi, Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai in Rishikesh etc.

So, what makes outdoor shoots, the in thing? Actor-producer JD Majethia shares, "Authenticity is what audiences are looking at these days. The shooting done at actual locations has a visual interest for them and makes them loyal to it. It helps us getting their confidence and they can relate with it." He adds, "Our budgets overshoot when we do outdoor shoots but it's the fun."
Sukesh Motwani, fiction head of a GEC shares, "It is important days to hold the audiences' interest. In certain soaps, we do add a foreign exotic location to add glam up the show, but in some locations are an integral part of story telling. And as they say 'seeing is believing' so, we don't mind spending an extra bit on it. Audiences' spectrum has widened and we don't want to lose out on their interests."

Actors seem to love the idea of locale hopping. HUNAR HALI says, "It gets a little monotonous working indoors. An exotic gives you greater excitement to shoot." Even Anas Rashid echoes same feeling. He says, "Locations add a lot to the soap. In Singapore, we almost felt as if we were shooting for a film. It was a good bonding time for the entire cast and crew."

A visual treat always helps fetch more eyeballs. And why not think outdoor when it only helps a show rake in more TRPs?

Prime Time's Travel Diary

Bade Achche Laggte Hain Australia, Dubai
Rab Se Sona Ishq London
Diya Aur Baati Hum Singapore
Chhal - Sheh Aur Maat Mussorie, Auli
Hitler Didi Macau
Saath Nibhana Saathiya Switzerland
Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai Hrishikesh
Balika Vadhu - Jaisalmer
Kachchi Umar Ke Pakke Rishte