Salaam Zindagi Articles Archive

There was a time when a serial would be known by its director's name. Today directors are non-entities with producers driving the content.
True. Earlier directors had a vision, but with the advent of dailies they had nothing to contribute. In a daily there's little time to think and create. As I said, you may have planned it a certain way for four episodes but the EPs have decided 20 more episodes that have nothing to do with what you have conceived.

Now that you are on the other side of the board, has your opinion changed?
Today, the EPs of the channels draw the outlay of the show and are in charge of the creatives, right from the conceptualisation. My whole idea is to bring to the table my experiences of being on the creative side, first as a director and then as a senior creative director with BAG Films. This will help me in sourcing right kind of creative minds and connecting with them which is why I have a broadbased interaction with the producers. It is not 'my way or high way'. I also give and receive feedback with the directors of the shows who are virtually forgotten.

Amber Dhara is the first serial to roll out after you joined. Didn't you think it was risky to air a show about conjoined twins at primetime?
The risk was in the mind when we heard the idea. Soon, we realised it was a story of triumph and though there was this little mental block about viewers accepting conjoined twins, we knew we had a winner in our hands. We were right as the girls have endeared themselves to the viewers and opened up new markets for Sony. Rajasthan, Punjab and Indore that earlier were not responding to us have started tuning in.

"I was looking for something different from the routine family dramas. Virrudh is of course quite different but in Salaam Zindagi not only am I playing the lead but it gives me an opportunity to live and breathe a character that's quite challenging and absolutely different from the roles I have done so far," says Pariva who plays a girl- next-door in the show who goes on to become a successful police officer. Salaam Zindagi, according to Pariva, is a combination of both soap and drama series. "The show has a family but it doesn't have the usual soap elements like family politics, villains and vamps within the family. More than soap, it's a serialised daily drama. The story starts in the family and moves to police academy. But both the family and the police force are an integral part of the story," she elaborates.

Salaam Zindagi is the story of Manya Sharma. Though she comes from a family of cops, Manya is passionate about dance and her dream is to be a well-known danseuse. But she sacrifices her dream for the sake of her grandfather's happiness and health and decides to become a police officer. Quiz Pariva on how difficult is it for Manya to achieve her new dream and she says it is not going to be easy at all. "Manya is a girl-next-door. She is simple, cute and delicate. Nobody gives her even an outside chance to make it as a successful cop. But having made a difficult choice, Manya is determined to overcome all challenges. Of course, it is not easy for her to overcome the problems as Manya backtracks and even changes her mind. But what keeps her going is her grandfather's wish, which acts as a constant inspiration for her," she explains.

Inspiration apart, Manya encounters a whole lot of problems and difficulties when she joins the police academy where she gets very little support. She explains, "Most people make fun of her because she doesn't look like a cop. She is neither rough and tough nor tall. But despite little support in the academy, she goes through the grind and proves everyone wrong." The show deals with both personal and professional life of Manya. While the family remains as her personal abode of peace and support, Manya's professional life will be full of problems, issues and pressure to prove her worth as an able officer in an overwhelming male domain. "The story will focus on the academy for about 30 episodes because that's where her transformation will happen. After that it will revolve around how Manya balances between her personal and professional life. Essentially Salaam Zindagi is the story of a modern working woman who tries to prove her worth as a worthy and successful individual in a man's world. The police backdrop is a metaphor," she adds.

Pariva says that her career journey has been pretty smooth so far. "I think nothing comes easily and everything happens at the right time. My first show was Bhabhiwhich was a good learning experience for me. I was to play Sanyogita in Prithviraj Chauhan but my entry got delayed by a year and I had to opt out of the show. Meanwhile I did 26 episodes of Shaadi Street but the show is yet to come on air. For a while I did Saathi Re and Virrudh and after that I got Salaam Zindagi which is produced by the same company that made Saathi Re. I don't think it's been a difficult journey but it's also not been a cakewalk either," she smiles.