CID

They are the master craftsmen- artistes, technicians,visualisers, all rolled into one. They lend their artistry to mundane associations to create path breaking scenes and dramatic sequences. They are the directors, who direct the cumulative energy of their work force towards one creative whole - they are the captains of shows that make us laugh and cry. In this special fortnightly section, we pay our tribute to these masters, who choose to remain off the screen and create magic on it!

'A director is the captain of a ship'; and Sibah Mishra adheres to the adage. The man behind the long running telly thriller - CID, Mishra comes across as not just a hard task master and a perfectionist, but as a thorough gentleman too. He's also had his share of fair association with the big screen as a cameraman of blockbusters like Aankhen and Shola Aur Shabnam. In a free-wheeling chat with Kavita Shyam, the director of spine-chilling thrillers like Shh…Koi Hai, Aahat and Achanak 56 Saal Baad discusses TV, films and his current passion, CID….

I…
I hail from Orissa (Puri) and after my studies; I enrolled with the reputed Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in 1969. There I pursued a course in camerawork and in 1972, came down to the land of dreams, Mumbai. Since childhood, I always dreamt to be a cameraperson..

Films…
As a cameraperson, I have worked in 46 films, of which six projects were with showman Subhash Ghai. I can say Aankhen proved my caliber; it even fetched me my maiden Filmfare nomination. As far as direction goes, I tried my luck with the Aditya Pancholi starrer, Zanjeer- The Chain in 1998 but it failed to click.

Television…

This medium never allured me but it was B. P. Singh, my dear pal from the FTII days, who coaxed me to take up direction in television. As I was a novice in this field, I opted to work as a cameraman, and later on took up direction of the action-packed serial, Krishna Arjun. My actual call was thrillers and I have directed Shh…Koi Hai, Aahat and Achanak 56 Saal Baad. CID followed later and now I'm hooked to it.

CID is…
It's episodic, so it does not bore the viewers. I have tried to lend a different style and treatment to the series and its characters. I prefer canning the shots in interesting locales and weave in the local flavour. I try to be realistic with my shows. Fireworks, the production house, deserves full credit for giving me a freehand to give my best shot.

Films v/s Television…
Films are time consuming while television is more about quality work in less time. Each episode has to be good and crisp enough to tell the story in a designated time period. With time, television has grown in leaps and bounds and is today, perhaps considered to be bigger than films. The TV actors are more sincere than movie stars, no nakhras, no tantrums. But there's a hitch in TV: the show's life-span.

Television shows I prefer….
Other than CID and I loved watching yesteryear soaps like Buniyaad, Junoon and Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka.