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ALChougule Posted: Dec 05, 2008 at 1403 hrs IST
Shooting of TV serials is no longer confined to a bungalow, special sets are being erected and they are also being shot on outdoor locations
Two decades after late Ramanand Sagar made Ramayana for DD, his grandson is re-making the mythological tale of eternal human values in a bigger and grander way on a huge set at Sagar city in Baroda. Similarly, nearly two decades after the late B.R. Chopra made Mahabharat for DD within the limitations of technological tools Ekta Kapoor is making Kahani Hamaray Mahabharat Ki on a grand set that is spread over 1.5 acres at Film city in Mumbai. Besides the huge Hastinapur set, the show also has two smaller sets each spread over half acre. Ramayana and Mahabharat are not the only shows that can boast of expensive sets. Today, every serial is shot on a lavish set that easily costs anywhere between Rs 80 lakh to two crore, depending upon its story and scale of making. Contrast this with the serials of the '90s. They were all shot in bungalows of Juhu, Goregaon and Madh Island in Mumbai's northern suburbs and made on a shoestring budget – anywhere between Rs. 2 to 3 lakh or a little more. But today bungalows have become redundant and their place has been taken over by studio like sets with multiple floors and ample shooting space. Besides lavish sets, channels also spend a lot on actors who are paid huge monthly pay packets. That's not all; reality shows are also made on expensive sets and have the best of highly-paid Bollywood actors as anchors besides Bollywood biggies on their jury panels. Why is so much money being poured into fiction and reality shows? "Television shows of the '90s were shot in bungalows because they were closer to reality," says producer Asit Modi who made Saarthi for Star Plus and is currently making a daily comedy Taarak Mehta Ka Ultah Chashma for SAB. For Saarthi, which ran for three and half years spread over 725 episodes, Asit had erected a huge set costing around Rs 80 lakh which he renovated twice at the cost of Rs 20 lakh each. Such expenses were unheard of in the '90s but are a pass today. For Taarak Mehta... too, Asit has built a huge set resembling a housing society at Film City. "After all, dailies can't be shot in a bungalow," he chuckles. According to television director Sanjay Upadhyay - currently Sony's creative head (fiction) - who had shot some of his shows like Saaya and Aatish in bungalows and supervised the making of Kumkum on a grand studio set as its creative and ideation head, serials moved from bungalows to studio sets with the introduction of dailies at prime time. "Thanks to dailies, television programming moved from real to larger than life dream. Everything changed completely when channels started selling dream - be it the story, sets, costumes, jewellery or the look of actors. Bungalows are not designed for shooting and hence have lot of limitations. But a set can be explored in many ways for visual beauty, opulence and location variety," he explains. Sets also became a necessity because dailies are shot for at least 25 days in a month as compared to weeklies which required just about eight to nine days. Explains producer-director Ajai Sinha of Hasratein and Astitva fame who is currently making Ghar Ek Sapna for Sahara One, "Availability of bungalows beyond 12 hours is a big problem. Often dailies are shot in two units and hence sets are more convenient for shooting in a controlled and cool environment. Of course bungalows have their own charm but if you are looking for visual variety and colourful content then there is no substitute for sets." So feels producer-director Rajan Shahi of Bidaai fame, "When you are making 16 episodes in a month, you need to work in a disciplined environment. Like it or not, sets offer a factory-like set up for controlled output and round-the-clock assembly line production. A lot of time is saved in lighting and other things." Lavish sets are not the only necessity, outdoors are another must-have these days. Sony's Hum Ladkiyan, which is set in Benaras, has had its two schedules done there. Meet Mila De Rabba, another Sony show that is based in a village in Punjab, has also been shot extensively there. Jo Ishq Ki Marzi Woh Rab Ki Marzi, the Sagars' new daily for Sahara, has been shot in an 18th century palace in Satara. Producer Sunjoy Wadhwa had done a 30-day shooting schedule in Rajasthan for Balika Vadhu and currently the show is being shot at a grand set in Vasai spread over 9,000 square feet. "Sets are done as per the requirement of story. We needed a huge haveli set to shoot different story tracks," says Wadhwa. In fact, money is not an issue today. "Because of competition, television spend has increased quite a lot. When the emphasis is on upscale making, grandeur and opulence are a must," adds Wadhwa. However, Sooraj Rao, creative head of Ekta's ...Mahabharat..., is of the view that while the scale of making is high, he doesn't think a lot of money is being spent as compared to the days of the weeklies. "Bungalows used to cost Rs. 5,000 to 8,000 per day. While a set costing around Rs 1 to 2 crore, taking inflation into account, amounts to almost the same over a period of one to two years. Of course today the making is many steps ahead but that's also because of new technology. From lowband, television programming moved to high-band and then to beta and HD format," he explains. Even in the nascent days of television Sooraj says some of the serials like Buniyaad, Gul Gulshan Gulfam, Shanti and Gatha were shot on sets. "If it was possible then why should it be a cause of raised eyebrows now?" he asks.
Two decades after late Ramanand Sagar made Ramayana for DD, his grandson is re-making the mythological tale of eternal human values in a bigger and grander way on a huge set at Sagar city in Baroda. Similarly, nearly two decades after the late B.R. Chopra made Mahabharat for DD within the limitations of technological tools Ekta Kapoor is making Kahani Hamaray Mahabharat Ki on a grand set that is spread over 1.5 acres at Film city in Mumbai. Besides the huge Hastinapur set, the show also has two smaller sets each spread over half acre. Ramayana and Mahabharat are not the only shows that can boast of expensive sets. Today, every serial is shot on a lavish set that easily costs anywhere between Rs 80 lakh to two crore, depending upon its story and scale of making. Contrast this with the serials of the '90s. They were all shot in bungalows of Juhu, Goregaon and Madh Island in Mumbai's northern suburbs and made on a shoestring budget – anywhere between Rs. 2 to 3 lakh or a little more. But today bungalows have become redundant and their place has been taken over by studio like sets with multiple floors and ample shooting space. Besides lavish sets, channels also spend a lot on actors who are paid huge monthly pay packets. That's not all; reality shows are also made on expensive sets and have the best of highly-paid Bollywood actors as anchors besides Bollywood biggies on their jury panels. Why is so much money being poured into fiction and reality shows? "Television shows of the '90s were shot in bungalows because they were closer to reality," says producer Asit Modi who made Saarthi for Star Plus and is currently making a daily comedy Taarak Mehta Ka Ultah Chashma for SAB. For Saarthi, which ran for three and half years spread over 725 episodes, Asit had erected a huge set costing around Rs 80 lakh which he renovated twice at the cost of Rs 20 lakh each. Such expenses were unheard of in the '90s but are a pass today. For Taarak Mehta... too, Asit has built a huge set resembling a housing society at Film City. "After all, dailies can't be shot in a bungalow," he chuckles. According to television director Sanjay Upadhyay - currently Sony's creative head (fiction) - who had shot some of his shows like Saaya and Aatish in bungalows and supervised the making of Kumkum on a grand studio set as its creative and ideation head, serials moved from bungalows to studio sets with the introduction of dailies at prime time. "Thanks to dailies, television programming moved from real to larger than life dream. Everything changed completely when channels started selling dream - be it the story, sets, costumes, jewellery or the look of actors. Bungalows are not designed for shooting and hence have lot of limitations. But a set can be explored in many ways for visual beauty, opulence and location variety," he explains. Sets also became a necessity because dailies are shot for at least 25 days in a month as compared to weeklies which required just about eight to nine days. Explains producer-director Ajai Sinha of Hasratein and Astitva fame who is currently making Ghar Ek Sapna for Sahara One, "Availability of bungalows beyond 12 hours is a big problem. Often dailies are shot in two units and hence sets are more convenient for shooting in a controlled and cool environment. Of course bungalows have their own charm but if you are looking for visual variety and colourful content then there is no substitute for sets." So feels producer-director Rajan Shahi of Bidaai fame, "When you are making 16 episodes in a month, you need to work in a disciplined environment. Like it or not, sets offer a factory-like set up for controlled output and round-the-clock assembly line production. A lot of time is saved in lighting and other things." Lavish sets are not the only necessity, outdoors are another must-have these days. Sony's Hum Ladkiyan, which is set in Benaras, has had its two schedules done there. Meet Mila De Rabba, another Sony show that is based in a village in Punjab, has also been shot extensively there. Jo Ishq Ki Marzi Woh Rab Ki Marzi, the Sagars' new daily for Sahara, has been shot in an 18th century palace in Satara. Producer Sunjoy Wadhwa had done a 30-day shooting schedule in Rajasthan for Balika Vadhu and currently the show is being shot at a grand set in Vasai spread over 9,000 square feet. "Sets are done as per the requirement of story. We needed a huge haveli set to shoot different story tracks," says Wadhwa. In fact, money is not an issue today. "Because of competition, television spend has increased quite a lot. When the emphasis is on upscale making, grandeur and opulence are a must," adds Wadhwa. However, Sooraj Rao, creative head of Ekta's ...Mahabharat..., is of the view that while the scale of making is high, he doesn't think a lot of money is being spent as compared to the days of the weeklies. "Bungalows used to cost Rs. 5,000 to 8,000 per day. While a set costing around Rs 1 to 2 crore, taking inflation into account, amounts to almost the same over a period of one to two years. Of course today the making is many steps ahead but that's also because of new technology. From lowband, television programming moved to high-band and then to beta and HD format," he explains. Even in the nascent days of television Sooraj says some of the serials like Buniyaad, Gul Gulshan Gulfam, Shanti and Gatha were shot on sets. "If it was possible then why should it be a cause of raised eyebrows now?" he asks.
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