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More than the myth
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Anuj Kumar in conversation with actor-producer Dheeraj Kumar
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Photo: Shanker Chakravarty
YOURS FAITHFULLY Dheeraj Kumar in New Delhi
In the season of mythologicals, television watchers were looking out for something from one of the masters of the genre, Dheeraj Kumar. They didn’t have to wait for long as the actor-turned-producer, known for his mythologicals like Om Namah Shivai, has come up with Jai Maa Vaishno Devi on 9X. “Unlike other genres, mythology and historicals demand more research because it’s a matter of people’s faith. Then, special effects take time. Like in this case it took a long time to create Mount Kailash. That’s why it took us almost a year to come up with Vaishno Devi. It is more of a devotional serial than mythology. People don’t know much about how Vaishno Devi came into being. So in the first 14 episodes we are explaining it right, from how the Trikut parvat came into existence. After that we have tried to capture the real life stories in a dramatised format, where people talk about how their faith in the goddess has helped them in life. ”
Isn’t television getting too religious, with the balance tilting towards one particular religion? “It is a trend which has come back after a while with Ramayan. The balance is tilting towards one religion because Islam and Sikhism forbid the human depiction of their prophet and gurus. One can show Jesus, and I am all for it.”
Cyclic trends
From Kahan Gaye Woh Log to Jai Maa…, Dheeraj has come a long way, but he reminds us that television trends are cyclical. “You will soon see something in the patriotic mould.” Meanwhile, his family drama Waqt Batayega, which has marked the return of Mukesh Khanna, has opened well on Sony. “I was the one who introduced Mukesh in the film industry with Waqt Ke Shehzade. For too long he was living in the Bhishm Pitamah image. He admits it and wants to change it.” Dheeraj reveals that soon audiences will see him in the series as the brother of Mukesh. “After Sansar I got too busy in production. Now I have some time, so I thought why not.”
Having acted in films like Heera Panna, Dheeraj was known more as a good looking face rather than an actor. Very much like the Dinos and Johns of today? “Again there is a cycle… at one time chocolate heroes were the flavour of the season, at others angry young men ruled. But unlike the good looking actors of today, my idols were always actors like Sanjeev Kumar and Motilal.”
Dheeraj’s films didn’t find much favour at the box office. However, with his 3D venture Abra Ka Daabra, he had promised a new technology where 3D series could be watched on television with special glasses. “Yes, we had acquired the technology where on normal television screen one could watch 3D series by just putting on special glasses. But the production cost of these glasses continues to be a hitch. The production cost of one pair comes to around Rs.5, which is high for mass production. Then there are issues regarding distribution.”
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