Rajshri launches serial after 2 decades.

The current trend in serials is extra-marital affairs, bitchy vamps and illegitimate children. Considering your serial will not tread on taboo territory, how will you capture the audience?
It's true that there is no bitchy vamp or menacing villain. It's the situations that evoke a negative reaction or conduct. With the kind of stress and bad experiences most people are subjected to in real life, this serial will help generate positive energy.

Woh Rehne Wali Mehlon Ki is an engrossing story of four sisters, but the focus will be on Rani (played by Reena Kapoor), a pampered, rich girl. We have our own style that's refreshingly different. Besides, there will be a bonus of melodious situational songs like in a movie.

Then how come you got director Kaushik Ghatak, former director of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, to handle your serial?
That's because Kaushik is a brilliant technician. Besides Kyunki... he has also directed serials like Sanjivani and Ssshhh Koi Hai.

And Kaushik was directing Kyunki... only in its initial phase, when Tulsi was the daughter of a pujari and was having a discreet romance with Mihir. There were lots of positively endearing characters and situations then.

What eventually matters is the execution of the script and screenplay written by a separate creative team monitored by my sister Kavita Barjatya, who is heading the Rajshri television bureau.

With a pompous title like Woh Rehne Wali Mehlon Ki how do you expect the common man to connect with your serial?
The initial portions of the serial show Rani being pampered by her business tycoon father (Alok Nath). Later on, when she gets married, there is a drastic change in her lifestyle.

From moving around in chauffeur-driven cars, she has to now travel in crowded buses and trains, buy vegetables from the market and even do the chores at home. That's when she transforms into a pragmatic woman of substance and here the masses will identify with her.

What about the other characters?
Among the female leads we have this sister called Shalini (Lata Sabharwal) who is like one of those Page 3 ladies who gets married into an affluent family and loves to look fashionable.

Each of the four sisters has her respective male partner with their individual peculiarities. Let your daughters be delicate but not weak and timid is the subtle message we want to drive home.

You could have easily cast a Bollywood heroine to add star power and boost TRPs. Why did you go with relatively unknown faces for the female leads?
We consciously decided not to cast any stars because it has been observed that their star persona overshadows the character. The script requirement was female artistes without any screen image.

Secondly, being a daily soap it is very demanding in terms of long shooting schedules, rigid deadlines and bulk dates availability, which is next to impossible with top stars.

After the lukewarm response to your Hrithik—Abhishek starrer Main Prem Ki Deewani, you are back with lucky mascot Salman Khan in your next movie. Comment.
Yes, I have spoken to Salman Khan and he will definitely be the hero in one of the two movies we are proposing to launch by year-end. Right now, the dialogues and scripting work is going on