Rajiv Pandey (RBO Writer) Interview...

On the occasion of RBO having turned a year older, we caught up with Rajiv Pandey the story writer, who talks about the show, his involvement in it as well as how each character is very close to him. To him, RBO is a reflection of his own family and hence making the story look real and appealing comes easily to him. Having won an award for his make-over show Naya Roop Nayi Zindagi on Sony Television, and also an ITA award for Ajeeb on 9X a fiction show as the "Best Thriller", reality and fiction go hand in hand for Rajiv.

Rajiv believes knowing what you are doing extremely important for a writer in the industry, as it keeps you away from succumbing to pressures around you.

He surely knows what he is doing, and is extremely passionate about it. Here is an excerpt from our conversation with the writer.

---------: You took over as the writer of the show only in December. How did you prepare yourself to become a part of a show that's already been written by someone else?

Rajiv: See, you carry your own understanding of the world. When I came to this show, we were doing a soap format of story. Rang Badalti Odhani is happening on a cross pan channel. That's why I wanted to make the story as interactive as possible. We started dealing with situations in a light hearted way. Head on collision but without drama was what I had in my mind.

---------:What are the touches that Rajiv added to the characters of the show??

I am a very passionate, romantic guy. I love giving surprises, Shaan became that, my dad is very understanding and encouraging, so Sunil became that, my mother and father have a cute nok-jhok happening all the time so Madhavi got that. My elder brother is always confused, so Akshay became that' that's how all the characters got their touches.

---------: so we have a Rajiv's family scene happening on screen every night at 10:00

Rajiv: absolutely..

---------: How do you balance between comedy and romance? That's one thing Odhani has managed beautifully.

Rajiv: Actually we don't go the comedy way... I have a problem here with the use of the word comedy as when the term tragedy was coined, it meant anything that was sad, so automatically comedy became the opposite. Whereas here we try and show an everyday progression. When we go back to our homes, we don't have the same thing happening all the time. That's why an effort has been made to ease out mannerisms that we give to the characters. They are every day and not cardboard like. A character moulds itself with changing scenarios. They are not stiff. If there is a high voltage drama happening, each character has his or her way of reacting to the scenario.

So its not comedy, romance or tragedy. Its life.

---------: Which is your favourite character?

Rajiv: All of them are. Rahul and Jenny are also very powerful characters. We have come to a juncture where everyone says, it's a cute family, a strong family. Rahul has a baggage, with no parents, siblings, he was uptight. We are getting into his life as to how a rich single guy living all by himself, leads his life and how it changes when a girl enters his life. We are trying to bring a very today's youth story.

---------: Your audience always wants to see more and more of romance '

Rajiv : What is your definition of romance? To me even Sunil and Madhvi have their own track. My dad and mom are romantic but I would never think of them as romantic. Even Khushboo and Akshay have their own share of romance. You don't have to be always hugging and jumping on each other to show romance.

---------: No, I meant the moments between the leads..

RP: yeah ... we do plenty of those, but when we do what we then do is, we turn the tables on them. The youngest couple on the show become the point through which we do fun things. Shaan didn't want to become a father but Khanak wanted to become a mother, so we decided to make them switch roles. Khushboo reads a column and wants her husband to what she has seen.

---------: Alright then, in terms of the future track, how far do you stretch your vision as a writer?

Rajiv: I can write this show till the day I am alive.

---------: wow..

Rajiv: ... this is a show which is everyday life. Literally speaking we all live 6 six days a week on this show... its six days of work and one day of sleep and party. We will not have OTT melodrama, but may be everyday couple problems.

For example, Khushboo wants her husband to choose between two sandles, while she has already chosen one of them. So when he makes a choice, and it's not the same as hers, she makes a scene about him not respecting her choice.Its fun and light hearted and these are the scenarios we will play on even in future.

---------: The big three letters ...TRP'what effect do these words hold in your life?

Rajiv: See, TRP is not just the rating of the show, there are a lot many factors like the promotions, what's happening on another channel, who is watching what. They do affect us, as a change in TRP would obviously change the storyline accordingly. But I am sure people who have already started dating Odhani will continue dating it.

---------: Message to the fans of Odhani

Rajiv: Live life like they(Shaan and Khanak) are living. They were on their honeymoon recently, which I think could be the worst honeymoon anyone could have. They have been married for one year now. They have done everything that a married couple would do. But at this moment, they are experiencing each other in a way that nobody has known. They are going through cute hell. The family on the other hand has their own set of issues. So when they get back home totally understanding each other, everything's changed. Then, it's back to zero. It won't be a drastic change. The equilibrium has tilted. I assure you in Odhani there will be no suffering. So keep watching!

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed interacting with the writer first hand. spamdomain has always tried to know the other side of the story and here was a small attempt from our side. We hope we get to have such interactions more often.

Niharika Vidya Sagar