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(Re)searching for success
The crime series Powder boasts of more research than all our saas-bahu soaps put together. But primetime TV still prefers the latter, laments its creator Atul Sabharwal to Deeptiman Tiwary
Posted On Sunday, March 07, 2010 at 04:09:45 AM
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In a small set up of an office space in Jogeshwari's Visage studio, writer-director Atul Sabharwal has his eyes trained on his actor sitting across the desk. The scene demands an expression of understated panic after a sudden turn in the plot.
But Sabharwal is not taking chances with the intelligence of the discerning viewer. He wants utmost sincerity in almost every shot of his most cherished project — Powder, a crime thriller on Sony, based on the murky world of narcotics trade. It's not hard to fathom why Sabharwal is so possessive about this serial. For a man who has spent close to nine years just researching the subject matter of his work, being stickler for the smallest of details comes naturally. It is also clearly visible in Powder. Sabharwal's characters aren't polished faces beaming into the camera repeatedly in reaction shots, his policemen don't pick up fingerprints from knife butts, nor do they whip out revolvers and fling their fists in desperation when attacked by a mob. He knows that no forensic expert can take fingerprints from a knife butt (fingerprints can be collected only from absolutely smooth surfaces), and that it's not wise to play a hero facing a mob. Sabharwal has learnt this through hours of discussions with real men in the field, reading miles of text on narcotics non-fiction and through years of observation of the crime world and police operations. Almost every character and most of the plots are inspired from real situations in the underworld. His stubble-sporting policemen are a far cry from the quintessential imagery of Palmolive faces donning Ray Ban shades.
It's not an attempt to be different in style, however. "It's to bring authenticity. That's how Narcotics Control Bureau officers operate," says Sabharwal. True, in Mumbai NCB one can easily find officers whose hair-length could put a rockstar to shame. "Officers have to infiltrate rave parties and embed in drug networks. You need to look like a junkie if you want to get to the drugs," he explains. It is on this documentary-like research that Sabharwal has built an edge-of-the-seat thriller that not only entertains but goes deep into the wide spectrum of narcotics that's, perhaps, far more entrenched in our everyday lives than we imagine. The 33-year-old director, who also has films like Phir Milenge and My Wife's Murder to his credit as a writer, first came up with the idea in 2001. He also made a pilot episode and presented it to Star Plus. The channel trashed the content and asked Sabharwal to infuse the virtues of Antakshari in his serial to make it worthwhile. Needless to say, the show never took off. "Shivam Nair (of Sea Hawks fame) had approached me for a story based on these lines. That's when my extensive research started. We made a pilot episode shortly and presented it to Star Plus. They found it boring. But I had full faith in my story and I continued studying its subject further," says Sabharwal. The director spent considerable time with the then officers of the Mumbai NCB not only to understand how the trade functions but also how anti-narcotics agencies operate, the systemic problems and the turf wars within and without the agencies. "To understand the trade, I didn't have to work too hard. I have assisted my father in his shoe business as a teenager and I realised that principles of trade remain the same everywhere, even in the contraband business. It's run on the same principles of demand and supply, profit and loss, risk coverage and cost recovery. The individuals and the turf wars among different departments fascinated me. So did the women officers trying to break free in a male-dominated force. And so you have a character like Brinda in my serial," explains Sabharwal. "It was interesting to learn how the opening of the economy in early '90s led to the massive upsurge of contraband trade. Containers arrived in thousands on our ports and it was virtually impossible to check each one of them. Secondly, there was a complex web of parking money from illegal trade to legal businesses and becoming player in the mainstream economy. You will be surprised to know that Malana is no more the capital of charas in the world. Much more cannabis is being grown in Chamba now." While his other works of writing carried on, Sabharwal kept reading on the subject. He read the entire NCB manual, waded through reams of literature from books published on customs and narcotics in the West, attended court hearings of narcotics accused, read several chargesheets and even visited villages of Himachal Pradesh where poppy and cannabis are freely cultivated on an industrial scale. "Even if I randomly bumped into someone who had any knowledge of the industry, a chat was on," remembers Sabharwal. "I recently learnt that there is massive cannabis farming happening in Orissa." The director even visited a jail to interact with a female Nigerian drug carrier who later translated into a similar character in his serial, albeit for a tiny role. "Even my actors have had sessions with NCB officers to understand their operational behaviour. They have gone to traditional narcotics hubs in Mumbai and spent considerable time on their own to get a feel of the environment there and make mental notes. Thankfully, I got a great cast," says Sabharwal. Despite his meticulous work, he struggled to get buyers for his serial. He stuck to his guns, even though he had all the ingredients to turn it into a film, finding a producer for which wouldn't have been too difficult. "The idea did cross my mind. But through my research I had learnt that only a TV series could do justice to the wide spectrum of issues involved. I did not want to end up as George Lucas making Star Wars after Star Wars," Sabharwal laughs. His wait finally paid off when YRF TV asked him over for a narration. "I wasn't hopeful and was just waiting for rejection. I didn't expect YRF to be enthused by it. But Adi (Aditya Chopra) loved it and put it with the launch of its first string of shows on TV," he beams. The show, however, has been struggling since then. Sabharwal looks visibly disheartened with the response he has got to the show, which has one of the lowest TRPs among soaps. To add insult to injury, he feels, the channel has been unfair to the show. "I wasn't expecting roaring response. I know it's difficult to suddenly wean away viewers sedated on heavy dose of saas-bahu serials, but the series could have been promoted better. Its timing has now been changed from 9 pm on Sunday to 11 pm on Thursday. But I am happy that whoever has watched it, has liked it," says Sabharwal infusing some consolation in the lament. He adds, hopefully, "What you are fed regularly, eventually becomes your food. I hope more such work will bring about a change in the taste of the larger audience." We hope so too. Here is the direct link to it http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=Lifestyle%20-%20Sunday%20Read§id=82&contentid=201003072010030704094524638ea2701 |
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