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Mythological shows have always been a rage among tv audiences. The larger than life characters have been a great watch for them. The next in the pipeline is a TV show on the life of Gautam Buddha. Zee TV has taken the responsibilty to telecast a TV series on the life and teachings of Lord Buddha. It will be produced by B.K. Modi, global Chairman, Spice Global.
The first shot of mythological show Buddha was taken on the occasion of Buddha Purnima at the Film City in Mumbai and the makers say it will spread the message of non-violence and equality among the youth. The first shot of the serial was shot by the actors Sameer Dharmadhikari and Kabir Bedi, who play important roles in the serial.
Calling "Buddha" a personal commitment to himself, B.K. Modi, global Chairman, Spice Global, said: "Buddha is perhaps the most important personality to have born in the recorded history of India and we are sparing no effort in making this effort special. Today's youth has to be free from all prejudices and hypocrisy. They need to connect with youth globally to spread the message of non-violence and equality."
Though the rest of the star cast has been finalised, the hunt for the leading man to portray the iconic life of Lord Buddha is still on.
"We have put together a very competent cast and are close to finding the actor who is going to play the role of Buddha. This epic will showcase to help the youth to be fearless and move confidently for success in their lives," Modi added.
Veteran actor Kabir Bedi is making a come back in acting after a long hiatus. Kabir has an important role to play in this epic drama."I am playing a sage who foresees the coming of the Buddha. I couldn't refuse Dr BK Modi (producer), who is a friend of mine," says Kabir. Very few people know that Kabir Bedi has a karmic connection with Buddhism. His mother has spent 15 years as a buddhist nun in Tibet. Kabir himself has lived a life of a monk for an year in Burma. He feels connected to the role hence, gave a green flag to Mr. Modi who is a good friend of Kabir.
The show which was ideally supposed to be a movie will now be seen as TV show. According to an insider, Modi had initially wanted to produce a film on Buddha. "Two years ago, he was working on a film based on the same subject with filmmakers Shekhar Kapur and Ashutosh Gowariker helming the research and script development. But the project never took off. Though Shekhar and Ashutosh are now not involved in the TV show, Modi is going ahead with the serial and planning to make 50 episodes that will air on a leading channel," says the source.
Lord Buddha's life and his journey toward enlightment is a good topic to impress the viewers but it largely depends on how the channel and production house will depict it on the small screen. Agreed TV has the maximum reach but presenting such a high budget show on a tight deadline is a giant task. In the past periodic dramas such as Jhansi Ki Rani (Zee TV) and Chanakya (DD) have been superhits, others like Shobha Somnath Ki (Zee TV) and Chittod Ki Rani Padmini Ka Johur (Sony) fared badly. Other dramas such as Meera (Imagine), The Great Maratha (DD) and Sai Baba (Star Plus) got a lukewarm response from the audience.
Seems Mr. Modi is very confident about his project as he says "We know it's not easy to make something of this significance and scale. But we have the benefit of years of research. The scope of television today is larger than films and we wanted Buddha's story to reach out to the largest number of people possible. Only TV can give us that reach. Many big names have contributed to this project," says BK Modi, owner, Spice Studios, the production house that is making the show.
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Nepal's Cable TV Association Sunday banned screening of the inaugural episode of a Zee TV serial on the life of Buddha, opposing the claim that he was born in India.
Millions of Nepali households could not watch the hour-long episode, whose broadcast began from Sunday. Other programmes of Zee TV went on as schedule.
"Yes, we have put a ban on screening the 'Buddha' today (Sunday), as we came across huge reaction against it on social sites. We thought that it may hurt the sentiments of Nepali audiences so we decided to stop screening the serial for the (sake of) social harmony," Sudhir Parajuli, chairman of Nepal Cable TV Association, told IANS.
There was huge outrage from Nepali users on Facebook and Twitter about the "Buddha" serial and its claim that the Buddha was born in India and his entire upbringing took place in the northern part of India.
The association said it had also informed the Nepal government and the Indian embassy here about its decision. The government did not react to the ban.
"We also tried to contact Zee TV officials but, due to a public holiday, we could not establish contact and inform them about our decision. We will call them again on Monday and discuss the matter," said Parajuli.
The association itself watched the episode and said it had nothing about the claim and counter-claim.
"The world knows that Buddha as born in Nepal... if we telecast the serial and went on claiming that Buddha was born in India, in terms of security perspective, we can be targeted," said Parajuli.
After the issue emerged on social media and attracted wide criticism, actor Kabir Bedi, who is playing a lead role in the serial, apologized on Twitter.
"Yes, my friends, I mis-spoke. Forgive me. Lord Buddha was certainly born in Lumbini, Nepal. My apologies to all whose feelings were hurt," he tweeted.
As the issue of the spot of the Buddha's birth has become an international issue, the Nepal government - to persuade its own citizens and world community - has decided to issue notes of denomination Rs.100, featuring Lumbini, the birth palce of Buddha featuring Ashoka Pillar on the front of the notes where it will be mentioned "Lumbini: The Birth Place of Lord Buddha".
The Lumbini site has been declared a world heritage site by UNESCO, which says: "The Lord Buddha was born in 623 BC in the sacred area of Lumbini located in the Terai plains of southern Nepal, testified by the inscription on the pillar erected by the Mauryan Emperor Asoka in 249 BC."
Nepal is dedicatedly working on preserving the site as a holy place.
"I was initially apprehensive to play this role as I have done this earlier too but then when I got a call from Shekhar Kapoor's office I could not say no. He had seen me in that show and thus was keen on taking me on board," says Amit who is all excited as he starts shooting for the role today, "The show Pradhan Mantri has received positive response from all over and I realized that Shekhar Kapoor is taking an active interest in the show too. It happened so suddenly, my look test happened and I was on for it."
About the show, Amit says, "Pradhan Mantri is a show which replicates incidents of history of India which as a narrator Shekhar Kapur takes you through. The prime focus in on a Prime Minister which could be anybody and the story revolves around the PM. It basically talks about the political history of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka."
Talking about his character, Amit says, "In reality what I know of the character is that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was quite a liberal man and a colorful PM. In his reign there were night clubs, pubs all over which was put to a stop by the Muslim clergymen and when Zia-ul-Haq took over as the Chief of Armed Forces in Pakistan and after which the coup and Bhutto's execution happened."
Since he has already played the character earlier, how will it be different in this show? "I had played the role in 2007 for a show on a Pakistani channel prior to which in 2004 I had been a part of a play with Neena Gupta. So people in Pakistan knew me and had liked me. The role I had played then and the one I am doing now both are quite neutral and not biased at all. Bhutto was a statesman and did not believe in Islamic fanaticism which is what will be portrayed now too. It will be his journey about his political career, and as a Prime Minister till the time he was executed. His first trip to India, the Shimla agreement and such small nuggets from history will be covered."
Amit who has been getting rave reviews for his role as Guru Vachaspati in Buddha on Zee TV is now all geared up for this new role and it is sure one exciting phase in his career!
We wish Amit all the best!
The handsome Sameer Dharmadhikari, most remembered for his portrayal of King Gangadhar Rao, the husband of 'Jhansi Ki Rani', is now seen playing the righteous King Suddhodana, father of Prince Siddhartha, in Zee TV's new historical show 'Buddha'.
Sameer Dharmadhikari, who garnered a lot of appreciation for his on-screen kingly avatar says, "I feel fortunate that this is the third time I am playing the role of a King. The very first time I essayed the character of King Gangadhar Rao was certainly a distinctive personality with a different temperament altogether. Been blessed on the second occasion, I played a cameo for the upcoming show Mahabharat, wherein I'll be seen as Shantanu, King of Hastinapur. I shot for hardly 15 days for it as my character Shantanu basically introduces the show and makes an exit as soon as the show builds up its drama."
As Sameer will be seen as a King for the third time in the last three and a half years, he says, "I shot for Mahabharat way before I signed for Buddha. Frankly speaking, after Mahabharat, I had never thought that I will play the role of a king ever again."
When asked Sameer, does being typecast bothers him? The actor says, "I don't fear being typecast, in fact I enjoy playing good characters, luckily the historical ones. Each and every character that I played had a different shade to it. That was the prime reason for me to put my soul into each one of them. Maharaja Gangadhar Rao had his own flavor while Shantanu for that matter was altogether different. It was difficult to play these different characters, as these ancient characters are larger than life."
Talking about his new show Buddha, which is a story to be told in 52 gripping episodes, the actor says, "If you know the complete story, you can give it a beautiful end. Following the same, Buddha falls under a complete different format, a tale of 52 hours of entertainment and an unusual story with a message after a period of time."
The actor who himself has been associated with popular historical shows, is religious in his personal life too. Says Sameer, "Being religious not mean leaving all your work and remembering God throughout the day. I have never read Ramayan or Mahabharat in my life. What-so-ever I have seen on the television, is what I know about our religion."
In a similar way, we all have a basic knowledge about Buddha and his history. Yet today, the youth of the world needs to be made aware of Buddha's story. "When narrated in a story form, the legendary tale gets registered in our minds. So it's a very responsible job of our entire team to showcase the story in a very subtle, interesting and a manner" says Sameer.
On being asked whether the actor follows any kind of teachings or disciplines in his own life, Sameer says, "Discipline is very important in an individual's life. I am disciplined in my own way and it does not keep on fluctuating. However, if the other person doesn't wishes to follow the same, I don't force them, be it my daughters or my wife."
As per our source, "Shamin has been approached to play the character of Yashodhra which is going to be the lead role in Zee TV's ongoing show Buddha."
When contacted Shamin, she confirmed the news saying, "Yes, I have been approached for this role."
Well, to know more updates on the same keep reading this space.
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