MUMBAI: Shashi Sumeet Productions is known for its distinct narratives, progressive storyline and bringing alive a bygone era on television. Previously, it created magic with Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai, now the studio is back with Kyun Utthe Dil Chhod Aaye. The serial is set in 1947, in pre-partition Lahore. It showcases the story of three girls, Amrit (Gracy Goswami), Vashma (Anchal Sahu), and Radha (Pranali Rathod), who set out to conquer love that will stand the test of time and manmade borders. However, these love birds are sadly unaware of what will happen tomorrow (after Independence).
The premise of Kyun Utthe Dil Chhod Aaye is ambitious in its scope, and it needs to be, for it has big shoes to fill. The serial replaced Kaun Banega Crorepati season 12 on SET after it went off-air from 22 January 2021. This new show started from 25 January 2021, Monday to Friday at the 9:00 pm time slot.
It will be interesting to see how it competes with other shows in the same time slot. Star Plus airs Maharaja Ki Jai Ho concurrently, whereas Zee TV telecasts Ekta Kapoor’s popular show Kumkum Bhagya. The latest BARC India data shows SET ranks fifth in the (U+R) market.
Period dramas require utmost precision to create a visual aesthetic that looks convincing to the viewers and makes the story come alive. From costumes to the set design, the makers have tried to keep everything authentic and accurate.
Lending a cinematic touch to the show, the makers have paid attention to the minutest of detail to bring to life the pre-independence/ pre-partition era. From the characters, to their looks, the dialect being used, the sets and the props, everything has been authenticated to precision.
Shashi Sumeet Productions co-founder Sumeet Mittal mentioned that the team decided to do outdoor shoots on the outskirts of Amritsar ten days before the filming started. However, most of the filming is taking place at a studio in Mumbai’s Mira Road area. Generally, lavish sets are created to depict any era but the studio has hired art director Aparna Raina to create a set that represents homes that were present in Lahore before partition.
According to Sumeet, this is the first time that any production house has attempted to create miniatures in fiction drama for TV. A miniature is a special effect created for motion pictures and television programs using scale models. The Mandalorian, the latest small-screen entrant in the Star Wars universe, also makes use of miniatures in certain sequences to amp up the VFX. These miniature models not only have great creative potential but are also cost-effective; they work in tandem with old school techniques like practical lighting, camera framing, matte shots alongside digital post-production for a final product that appears realistic and convincing to viewers. The production house has used interesting elements like local bazaars, cityscapes and houses while designing the show. These are then combined with graphics and VFX to create shots like open windows, lobbies, and lavish scenes that look true to life.
What sets Kyun Utthe Dil Chod Aaye apart from other period dramas on television, asserted Sashi, is its storyline that focuses on the journey of the protagonists, the contemporary culture and beautiful history which was prevalent in those times. Said she: “Every country amazingly depicts their history as a backdrop but in India, fiction shows are still dependent on Lucknow, Bhopal, Bareilly to create backdrop of their shows. Whenever we speak about partition, it is mostly the war, blood bath, however I think there was a different side to it. Locals were naïve, there was no news channel, nobody thought they would be thrown out of their land, there was brotherhood. The kind of strength shown by women of that era is rare to see even today. So, we are trying to present that side of the era which was jovial, modern and in every sense beautiful.”
The concept was inspired by Sashi’s visit to the Amritsar partition museum where she, for the first time, came close to the realities of the historic event. After reading several books, she came up with this story idea. In fact, she hired a lecturer named Jasbir from Chandigarh, who is an expert on the subject. Apart from the dialogue writer, the studio sought help from diction experts who could take care of language and authenticity. The costumes have been designed by Sheetal Patel. Casting was a straightforward process and as the showrunners were clear about their characters, so it took no time to pick the actors.
Sashi, on her part, shared that the core of any Indian daily soap is the relationship between the characters, romance, and conflict; but this time instead of any person, the circumstances created by the partition pose as the real villain of the story.
Music plays an important part in this narrative and well-known music director Uttam Singh, known for his contributions to Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, Pinjar and many others films has composed the title track for the show. For the uninitiated, the tune of the title track was finalised within 30 seconds by the SET team.
The producers have also commended Sony Entertainment Television for its constant support while making the show. Madhuja from Sony’s development team approached Shashi and Sumeet to create an interesting story. The pandemic has forced production houses to work on 10 per cent margin, however Mittal thinks that television has always been a writer's medium and large stories can be presented with good storytelling. Even though there are budget constraints, it has not impacted the end product. She stated, “I filmed the show Vo Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki in a small chawl, but due to the strong storyline, it was loved by the audiences. It is important to understand how you weave the story around characters.”
Media Ant co-founder Sameer Choudhary opined, “Sony Entertainment Television is doing very well. Its average realisation is higher, the kind of audience that it targets is slightly premium. At the channel level the program might not be coming at the top but it has a fixed audience set which is quite loyal to it and the channel is able to monetise that set.”
In terms of advertisement, there have been no dips or spikes in the requirement. Sony’s fixed share of expenditure – close to 10 or 15 per cent – is being allocated by the advertisers, he said.
