Yen to be different
LIZA GEORGE
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Shajiyem's next serial `Velutha Katrina' will see Sheela making her debut on the small screen.
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REALISTIC TOUCH: Sheela in `Velutha Katrina,'.
He is known for his yen to be different. In fact, his next serial `Velutha Katrina' will have yesteryear Malayalam heroine Sheela making her debut in soaps.
"She plays a no-nonsense business tycoon called Velutha Katrina. Bold and ambitious, it shows her facing various adversities that come her way with her head held high," says the serial's director, M. Shaji, who is better known as Shajiyem.
Reaching out to her fans
For Mollywood's yesteryear sweetheart Sheela, her decision to enter serials was to reach out to viewers. She says, "Women spend most of their time watching soaps. In fact the characters on screen are a part of the family for most households. Many women have come up to me complaining that they often can't make it to the theatres to catch a movie. That's why I have entered the small screen; they don't come to me, I go to them. Besides, it's now the era for glam dolls in the movie industry. I think I have passed that age."
Shajiyem entered the world of movies while working for a film magazine called Rangam. He met Balachandra Menon who was a colleague at the magazine and was soon working as an art director for his movie `Uthradarathri.'
After doing the art direction for more than 16 films such as `Prema Geethangal,' `Tharattu' and `Greeshmam,' Shajiyem decided to try his luck at directing. His interactions with an ornithologist led to the film `Parasparam.' It had Zarina Wahab and Nedumudi Venu in the lead roles. "It was the love story of an ornithologist," says Shajiyem. However, the fact that "you at times have to butter people for the finance," put him off making movies.
That was when soaps started to make its appearance on tube. "It's a medium which you can more or less make-do with your budget," he says.
His first tele-serial `Deva Manohari' was adapted from a story by author Ashita. It was `Aruna' however, that had the audience take note of the director. Based on a novel by K.S. Surendran, a complex love triangle, it revolved around a sister-in-law's adoration of her brother-in-law. Short stories by women authors like Kamala Das and P. Valsala saw Shajiyem producing `Snehathoolikaal.' He later produced `Nizhalukal,' which was adjudged the second best mega serial.
Shajiyem.
"Nizhalukal,' was a horror serial. A painter at heart, I could use my creative skills. There were no false teeth or eerie music," he says.
Serials on NRIs
Two of his previous serials were based in America. It depicted the ups and downs of Malayali families living in the United States. "I try to make my serials as realistic as possible. It does not matter if the story is set in America or in India. Human trials, tribulations and especially emotions, are the same, the world over. Besides, I try not to make mine the run of the mill kind of soaps like those based on `saas-bahu' episodes or on a missing child," he says.
It's probably this feel of `watching a real and not reel family' that won Shajiyem's `American Dreams' the 2004 Kerala State Award for Best Tele-Serial.
His serials also have new faces. In fact his serial, `Summer in America,' based on Neena Panakkal's story had three debutantes from the U.S. "New comers give a character a fresh interpretation and emotions. An established actor will generally have a set range of emotions. Besides working with a new comer is like working with dough, they are easy to mould."
Shajiyem's first love, however, is painting. He won the Lalitakala Akademi award for his series, `Man and Nature' in 1977. His visits to the U.S. have resulted in resurrecting his first love.
"I visited many a gallery there. Artists are revered there. Somehow, that brought out a desire in me to wield the brush again."
The director is now busy with `Vellathu Katrina' and an unnamed one to be based in the U.S. The project in the U.S. will deal with the life of teenagers living in the country.
Regarding his name he says, "There are a lot of Shajis. Besides, I have always signed my name such, to be different."
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