Mahesh Bhatt About Viraf's New Show Talks In Detail...

Come September, and Mahesh Bhatt is all set to make a comeback to television with a new daily show Naamkaran, to be aired on Star Plus. The show will revolve around a 10-year-old girl, Avni, who stays in a single parent home.

In an exclusive conversation with India Today Online, the maverick filmmaker reveals that Naamkaran starts where Zakhm ends, and is not based on his 1998 film. He also shares that though it is not autobiographical, the concept of the show is sourced from his life. Bhatt also goes gaga about his latest discovery--Arsheen, the 10-year-old child who plays Avni.

Excerpts from the conversation:

Tell us something about Naamkaran. What is it about?
When the heart speaks, the heart listens. That's been my experience as a filmmaker. It is a story told from the perspective of a girl chid. She asks some relevant questions--why is it that a woman's name is always connected to the identity of her husband or father? Why can't she be a force in herself, defined by her own name? These are some of the questions she will ask society.

Naamkaran is going to astound you, when you see our first episode. In the first episode is the DNA of what you are going to see in the rest of the episodes. It will uplift  you. It will provide a sense of closure to your hidden pains.

The reasons why your movies and TV shows are exaggerated and larger than life is because often the core is missing. In an attempt to cover the absence of this core, you create these larger than life elements. In the case of Naamkaran, we have something we can say without surface points.

How was the show born?
Naamkaran is a stream that is sourced from my life, but it doesn't end there. I'm the creator, but we have a writers' team to keep it going. I oversee it. Just like I crafted Udann, the idea is mine, vision is mine. But I'm singularly unable to do it. Sanjay Kumar, Shipra Arora, Shurita are in the team of writers.

Is it a finite series?
People ask me if it's a finite series, I would say that if the stream of water is connected to a water tanker it has a limited supply, but when it emanates from a mountain stream, it cannot be finite. The show has great characters. It has certain autobiographical elements but it is not an autobiography.

It is said that Naamkaran is an adaptation of your 1998 movie Zakhm.
Why would I make a Janam or a Zakhm again. I have done that. The story starts where Zakhm ends. But we cannot create Zakhm in today's era, things have changed since then. The narrative unfolds from the perspective of a 10-year-old girl who asks the question--why is it necessary for a woman to be identified by her father or husband's name, why can't she be a force in herself? She lives in a single parent's home and wonders why the parents and the people around us do not live the truth they often state.

Recently Indian TV showed a transgender character in the soap Shakti. It was much talked about. Is Indian television finally coming out of its regressive zone?
Tamanna was made in 1999. Paresh Rawal played it. It was based on the real life character I knew. So if you feel in the year 2016 this move is pathbreaking, it is your privilege. But the Indian movies did it way back in 1999. We got a National Award for Films on Social Issues. I think it is happening in television today and it is not the major quantum leap.

What do you think about the current crop of Naagin, daayan shows?
Whenever society degenerates to its lowest, the quantum leap happens. In the darkest night, the light begins. We have all kinds of content. There is enough bandwidth to accommodate all kinds of content. It's a business of entertainment. It will always look at optimising reach.

If there is a trend that you want to set in Indian TV, what would it be?
I have already set trends. I made Janam for TV, which was a massive success on DD. I made the first English soap called A Mouthful Of Sky. I made a telefilm for satellite TV--Phir Teri Kahaani Yaad Aayi for Zee TV. I made Swayam, which was the story of a widow that Farida ji played.

In 1984, the nation said to me it was ready to embrace a very controversial narrative of a filmmaker coming out in the open and talking about his illegitimacy in a very fearless way. It was a public broadcasting unit. It was Doordarshan. It was very brave. In India in 1984 to make Janam was pathbreaking. Nation accepts content that is sourced from heart and Naamkaran is one such concept. What absorbs me absorbs people. That is my understanding.

Would you like to remake an international series for India?
Why remake an international series. We will give them a bloody nose with Naamkaran.

Fans still remember Khawabon ka Safar on Epic channel. They are also waiting for a Season 2. Is it happening anytime soon? Is there any other show that you would like to host?
It has to be as engaging as Khawabon ka Safar. Khawabon Ka safar came to my doorstep when I wasn't expecting it. I said yes immediately. They (makers) thought they will have to woo me. I lapped it up because there was an opportunity to learn about the lives of visionaries, filmmakers. Entertainment industry stands on the shoulder of these giants--Shantaran, S Mukerjee, Raj Kapoor, these were great guys. Khawabon ka Safar was one hell of an uplifting experience. People still have a recall of the show and ask me when will you have Season 2. Such shows are difficult to do. There is a lot of research involved, you have to get clips, make efforts to get the rights. But if there is demand out there, it will be done.

Would you like to host a show like Koffee with Karan?
I don't have those skills that Karan has to ask those questions. But I think that is another frequency of life that never attracted me, about the lifestyle of people and who's doing what. He's quite skilled. He wouldn't be doing season after season if there wasn't a demand. There is a section of people that like the show.

And what about Bigg Boss. Would you like to participate if given a chance?
I don't watch Bigg Boss. A lot of people do. I don't find human beings in that aquarium interesting to watch day after day. But I did discover Sunny Leone on the show. It gave me a great marketing space to market Jism 2 which did not rise to a certain level, but gave us commercial success purely because of Sunny Leone and the marketing power of Bigg Boss.