Last month an episode called 'Lockroom mystery' that revolved around a magician and vanishing people, rated 5, which is no mean feat for any fictional show, leave alone one that has been on air for so long. "The impossibility of the crime is what draws the viewer," says Singh. The forthcoming episodes include one on Holi, which has a man dying when colour is splashed on his face, while in another episode, a man who withdraws ' 30-40 lakh dies as soon as he comes out of the washroom. To give the stories a different setting, Singh and his team have been travelling across India to shoot. Last month, they set camp in Kolkata where they shot an episode revolving around Durga Puja, and soon Singh plans to explore the beauty of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh.
This week onwards, ACP Pradyuman and his team will have a brand new spacious Bureau and a vibrant Forensic Lab. Shivaji Satam, who has already shot in the revamped Bureau, says that he is happy with the huge space that gives him and his team enough leg room. "The cameraman is the most happy," he smiles.
Apart from the series, Singh and Sony had introduced the CID Gallantry Awards (now called Veerta Awards) three years ago. Divided into two categories, one for social bravery and another for physical bravery, the awards have been gaining momentum and this year Singh claims to have 24,000 entries. "It's not done for commercial gains but is an attempt to reward the unsung heroes. Since we have a platform through CID, we are using it," explains Singh.
A film based on this cop drama has been in the pipeline for quite sometime and is likely to come through this year. The channel has given its nod and Singh plans to start shooting soon. "It should hopefully release next year," he quips. It's past glory includes entering the Guinness Book of World Records for canning an entire episode named The Inheritance in a single shot of 111 minutes (one hour fifty-one minutes) without a single cut.
Director turns actor
Director B. P. Singh is all set to make his acting debut in Sriram Raghavan's Agent Vinod, wherein he will be seen as Saif Ali Khan's boss. Incidentally, Sriram has earlier written many episodes of CID. "Sriram is a friend, but when he offered me the role, I told him he is taking a risk by casting me. However, he insisted, smiles Singh, who will soon have a special integration episode of Agent Vinod in CID. Though the creatives are still being worked out, Saif, who plays a spy in the film, will pretend to be a criminal in the episode and at the end will reveal himself as a government agent.
Cricket
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