Considering Avika's popularity, it will take some time for viewers to accept Pratyusha : Purnendu Shekhar

One of the most talked about leaps in Indian television happened last week when Balika Vadhu moved forward by five years. A large share of the credit for the success of the show goes to writer Purnendu Shekhar who conceptualised and wrote it. A leap in such a successful show is a risk, but if well written it can climb newer heights as well. TellyChakkar spoke to Shekhar, who has also written shows like Imtihaan, Jaazbat, Saat Phere and Saathi Re to find out what he thinks of Anandi growing up and the leap. This serial is one of the biggest success stories on Indian television and you play a key role in it… Thanks, but I am not solely responsible for this. It is team work. I have written shows like Saat Phere and Astitva Ek Prem Kahani but when I watched them on television I always thought something was missing. But in Balika Vadhu, I don't get that feeling. Whatever I have written gets portrayed so perfectly...in fact sometimes making much more impact than I even thought of. A major chunk of the credit goes to the directors and actors. How will the story progress now? People are bored seeing Dadisa torturing Anandi… Most of us think the problem of child marriage ends when the girl grows up. But that is wrong. It starts getting more complicated as a girl grows up. We will try to highlight those problems in the show post-leap. Talking about Dadisa, our research shows that she is one of the most popular characters on Indian television! She is a great performer. I can't imagine anyone apart from Surekha Sikri playing this role. Without Dadisa, we can't imagine Balika Vadhu. Expectations are very high from this show especially after the leap… I am scared. When the expectations are so high, you don't know what will happen. I am trying my level best to continue with the success story. The honesty of this show will not change -- leap or no leap. The strong message to the society that has been the strength of this show will still continue to be given. Were you party to selecting the new Anandi? We work as a team in Sphere Origin, so when the channel shortlisted three faces for the new Anandi, we all voted for our preferences. I have seen the audition of all the three girls and feel that any one of them could have done this role. But considering the popularity of Avika Gor, I must also say that it will take some time for Pratyusha or anyone else to settle down and have the viewers start liking her. Tell us something about your association with Sunjoy Wadhwa. I have been working with Sunjoy since our Zee days and made shows like Thief of Bagdad and Saat Phere. Sunjoy is very passionate about his work and never interferes in our work. That is a very good quality for a producer to have. Since I worked earlier with Ashvini Yardi also, writing Balika Vadhu was like homecoming for me! What tips would you give to budding scriptwriters? During the time of weekly soaps, a scriptwriter got time to think and write multiple shows, but after daily soaps came in one could focus on lesser number of shows. I think that is very important. I personally handle two shows -- Balika Vadhu and Godh Bharai -- not any more. When I started writing Godh Bharai I left Jyoti because I felt my creative output would suffer otherwise. So my sincere request to all budding scriptwriters is to concentrate on quality and not quantity. The charm in Jyoti seems to have been lost... There is too much of interference from the broadcasters of this show and that is why it is suffering. I am very lucky to work with Colors because they never ever interfere in our work and that is why Balika Vadhu is what it is today. A peaceful relation between producer, broadcaster and the writer is very important for the success of any show. Balika Vadhu created a trend. What else do you want to write now? Once a director had said if one hit film creates history, it can also be harmful to the same industry. After Maine Pyar Kiya was a hit, 20 other films were made along the same lines but none could succeed. I want to write something different now which will create a new trend on television. Apart from Balika Vadhu, which is your favourite show? I used to like Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo a lot. But, it has become very dark now and I am not too comfortable with that. Do you see yourself as a film writer? I have tried my luck there as well! But when you write shows for television, you hardly have time for anything else. I do not want to write films just for the commercial purpose. I am happy doing what I am doing right now.