Anna Singh's interview

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=7520&CatID=7

Why I quit Nach Baliye…
Friday, October 28, 2005 17:19 IST

Anna Singh

This coming February, I will complete 20 years in the industry. The only reason I have stayed afloat despite the radical changes is because I've always looked at doing something different. That's what keeps my fire burning. This is the reason I took up 'Nach Baliye'. Doing television meant working with people who are more real - some are overweight, others have thin legs, there are even some dealing with post pregnancy blues! Little did I know that the TV factor would bring the house down on me.

The first few weeks were fun - most of the songs in the show were ones I had styled for in the original movie. But I started getting the feeling that by seeing a designer like me placed in front of them, the participants' expectations had skyrocketed. The budgets were still TV, yet more was expected.

The experience of working with TV people was lovely. I do not think that being from films gives me the right to be condescending towards TV stars. Apurva Agnihotri, Rohit Roy, Sachin etc have been great friends for ever. It's just a few - Sai and Shakti in particular - who couldn't explain what they wanted and weren't happy with what they got!

The last straw was when this couple chose to put the blame on the underdog and got hostile with the junior assistants. To protect those who work for me, leave alone Anaconda, I'll become a dinosaur if I have to.

Finally, dealing with TV stars and their round-the-clock schedules started eating into all my time. I had to start work on Sooraj Barjatya's 'Vivah' and that's when we mutually decided to call it off. The growth I had looked for was missing. I'm no quitter, but I could see these people needed just another designer, not an experienced professional like me…

As told to Jamal Shaikh