Suspense gets ghostly
MALATHI RANGARAJAN
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`Devadhai,' the recently launched soap on Raj TV, is a supernatural drama that has had an impressive take-off.
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A GHOST STORY THIS TIME: Devadhai.
The `whodunit' genre with the supernatural element enhancing the suspense marks `Devadhai,' the latest soap on Raj TV. "We wanted to present a story differently. The concept I embarked upon allows room for such an experiment, and the channel was also open to it," says Bala Kailasam, who heads Min Bimbangal. The production house has at least three serials on the floors at any given point of time and sees to it that each is different from the other. "As for `Devadhai,' it is a tongue-in-cheek comment on what we watch on television, and ironically the ghost represents reality. Viewers seem to have caught on to the novelty in the attempt." We have no clichés ... our ghost doesn't roam around in a white sari," Kailasam smiles. The ghost actually is clad in black!
From what you gather, `Devadhai' has a lot of characters and you understand why. The story takes place in a middle class household, surrounded by neighbours from the same social stratum. Yet will not too much crowd hamper the pace and confuse the viewer? "In a scenario where the beaten path is considered a safe bet, we have to convince people that a different theme will work. We have to have a whole lot of characters for the viewers to relate to the line. We later plan to weave in all of them into the main story. A master plan will pull them all together. As of now it is only the introduction of the cast that's over," says Kailasam.
KB influence
Bala Kailasam
The episodes remind you of the Balachandar classics of yore, `Edhir Neechal,' for example. So is KB involved in the project? "If you conceive a middle class setting, my dad's (KB) influence is bound to be inevitable ... it's so for every one ... not just us. And we're proud of it. In fact, qualitatively that's the standard we aspire for. There's hardly any aspect of their lives that he's not touched upon," Kailasam says. But as far as `Devadhai' is concerned Balachandar has nothing to do with it, because he's very busy with the feature film he's now directing.
Min Bimbangal has introduced many directors who have made it on the small screen — Samudrakani and Naga to name a couple. Theatre person `Bombay' Chanakya who vamoosed from the Min Bimbangal scene after handling around 40 episodes of their comedy pastime, `Veetukku Veedu Looty' telecast on Jaya TV, is back in the fold. He now directs `Devadhai.' "Interlinking the characters is not an easy job. And we are happy with Chanakya's execution of this emotion-filled drama," compliments Kailasam.
Teamwork
`Devadhai' is a result of a well-co-ordinated teamwork. Radhika Sashank who has worked with the unit for `Veetukku Veedu Looty,' handles the screenplay. "She is able to project the sensibilities of the urban, liberal, middle-class woman rather well. As for the heroine, I wanted a naïve, homely persona and Priya Mahalakshmi filled the bill," Kailasam concludes.
`Devadhai' that comes with the tagline `The story of a kind ghost,' is a narrative driven venture that strives to be novel within the framework, and the limitations of the medium. As a daily soap not bound by the stipulations of the number of episodes, `Devadhai' has a long way to go. And to know whether it will sustain the interest it has created, just watch and wait!
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