‘Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai is a nice show

How has it been hosting Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai?
It was our first schedule and I enjoyed it very much. You get to meet people in a completely different environment. I have met Rohit (Roy) and Mandira (Bedi) at a lot of parties. But I didn't know them that well. Interviewing them in Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai brought out a totally different side to their personalities.

Last season, the show had stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt and Rani Mukherji etc as guests. But this time around it seems that the show is focusing on television actors only.
I think the channel felt that in their last season they have covered almost 90 per cent of the film stars. Besides Satish Shah and Poonam Dhillon, there are not only television stars, but actors too.

But then there are a lot of stars like John Abraham, Vidya Balan, Ayesha Takia, Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Kapoor etc who have not been featured.
With time you shall surely see more film stars on the show. We would also be interviewing sports persons, pop stars et al.

But for the time being the focus seems to have shifted mostly towards television actors?
Nowadays TV stars are very popular and probably even have a far better reach than the film stars. A lot of personal things about a film star's life are being published every other day in the papers. People are quite aware of their lives. But very few people would be aware of the life story of TV stars.

Does Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai want to create a new identity altogether?
Since it is a brand new show, the environment is much more relaxed and casual. We have done extensive research into our invitees' personal lives. You will see that the actors and singers have all gone through a lot of struggle to achieve stardom. It's about the small town people landing in Mumbai with dreams and shaping them into reality. There are amazing stories of survival to unfold. Rakhi (Sawant) maybe brash, but if you hear about her hardships you will be shocked. People will understand that a lot of hardwork goes behind the glamour.

Was Rakhi Sawant invited on the show to cash in on the controversies that she has been involved in recently?
We do discuss all aspects of a person's life before inviting him or her on the show. I don't think she was invited to our show to cash in on the controversies. It was more to know as well as find out why she is always associated with controversial stuff.

Do you see Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai touching new heights?
Accessibility is the thing which draws people to television. If you want to relax in the evening having a cup of coffee, then Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai is a nice show to watch and unwind. It is not a kind of show which would achieve high TRPs instantly. But with time it will surely go up. My sister called me up from Lucknow to know what happened in Rakhi Sawant's episode. People are actually eager to know about these stars' life.

What difference do you find between the previous anchor Farooq Sheikh and yourself as the anchor of this show?
Farooq sahab belongs to a cinematic background whereas I am more of a television person. Farooq sahab was much more formal while I have tried to bring a much more casual approach to the show.