Visit To Bhagonwali Sets - Pics pg 3, Vids Pg 4

Yesterday (1/27) I visited the sets of Bhagonwali and got to meet the cast of the show and the group working behind the scenes that makes the show that we all have enjoyed for so many months. After what I saw on the sets, I will never take tellywatching for granted ever again.

I was driven to the sets of the show by Mr. Masoom, the Creative Director. The set is off the beaten track and almost unreachable unless you have a vehicle. The vastness that we see in the background are small areas set up to represent recognizable locations ... the hut where the M & Ms locked up Runjhun on the way to meet Guddu at the train station is a small ruin on the dirt road leading to the set, with no roof. Yet the structure is re-formed for the shoot. Ittarwali Galli is also a small sound studio with Guddu Mobile Center and Billo Rani's Saree Shop, etc... Shukla Niwas is an attached set abutting Lalita Niwas in the same area, with rooms of Lalita Niwas redesigned for Shukla Niwas. Pappu Yadav's house looked like a new structure just outside Ittarwali Galli. Lalita Niwas was a larger set complete with 3 kitchens, stairs, living areas that we are so familiar with. Each time they shoot certain scenes, the technicians clean up the area and put up props needed for the scene.

These are the last days of Bhagonwali and it was bitter sweet watching the shooting. It takes a day and half for the 30 minute episode that we see on air each weekday. A group of about 85 people make sure that we get to see the show on time. The cast start arriving around 7 am and stay for practically the entire day, at times until 10 pm, 7 days a week, if required. The crew get there even earlier. Time on the set includes shooting as well as dubbing and other touch-ups needed to make for perfect viewing. The Director, Mr. Ranjan Singh, a very dynamic person, gets everyone together at the start to go over his vision of what the scene should be as a group and when close-up shots are needed, individually. These are long gruelling hours with some retakes, etc. I was surprised how much shooting is done with just a couple of retakes, considering they get their scripts on the day of and at times a few minutes before the shots. Staff behind the camera are ever so vigilant about the light, the angle of the shots, etc. The Creative Team members sit with the leads of the show to review what they would like to see. There are also dozens of technicians reading background scripts, managing sound, set management, etc. Areas are set up in minutes if angles and positions change. You have got to admire the group behind the scenes as much as the professionalism of the cast members.

Wrap-up is coming up soon, so I was lucky to get to the set when I did. My visit was from 11 am until about 3:30 pm. I saw the shooting for scenes that will be aired on Monday (1/30, my guess). It was amazing to see that what an inexperienced eye sees as chaos, turns into a smooth 22 min-aired show. All the cast members, except Diamond, Rajju Mama and Babli were present, including Mahadevi's baby (a boy) who slept through the entire time I was on the set.

Nivedita is practically in all the shots so she was needed much more on the set, but I did get to sit and chat with her. She is very nice to talk to on a lot of different topics, including life during and after Bhagonwali. During lunch break, everyone sat outside and ate as a team. I was invited to join as well. Everyone was so attentive and welcoming. I spent quite some time with Himmanshoo, who was so easy to talk to. While the sets can get stifling with lights, noise, and a lot of energy, outdoors was very quiet, cool and breezy. We both put our feet up, relaxed and chatted about the show and what he liked about it, his future plans, his fans, etc.

As Bhagonwali comes to an end, I will fondly look back at friends I met through this forum and in the show. I wish everyone happy viewing of Bhagonwali for the next few days...