Imagine unhappy with Basera?

The much touted show Basera on NDTV Imagine which is inspired from the hit film Baghbaan has missed the mark. Where the film was declared a super success the show is low down on the TRP charts. In fact the last week’s TRP was as low as 0.79. Basera is a big budget show as it has expensive actors, an expensive designer, lavish sets and an unprecedented number of actors (close to 42 actors have been signed on). And it is these factors that have sky rocketed the cost of production. All this put together has the channel in a tizzy and it is buzzed that they have trained their guns on Sagar Arts, the production house and asked them to better their act. The buzz now has it that if the show doesn’t improve its ratings it may be buried earlier than its expiry date. Analysing the show and throwing light on the various issues a source informs, “The channel isn’t happy with the way the production house is working on the show. Having expensive actors like Ram Kapoor, Pallavi Subhash, Priya Bhatija and Rajesh Shrigarpure on-board and still not being able to draw viewers has stunned the channel. The show is high on expenses and thus is bleeding the channel dry. The celebrated designer on the show Vikram Phadnis charges an exorbitant amount per month only as consultation fees, let alone the cost of the clothes hired or purchased from him. "The issue is not just about the TRPs but the production unit is also tampering with the original concept and storyline of the show. There are many scenes that are changed at the last moment without taking the writer into confidence. Not many people know that the entire cast that was originally finalised has been changed. Pallavi Subhash wasn’t the original choice as Mrinal Kulkarni was the original choice for the role of Keshubhai’s wife. Neither was Ram Kapoor the first choice as Keshubhai. Moreover, going by the views of the industry insiders, viewers find it difficult to accept Ram and Pallavi as they don’t fit their characters. Pallavi who plays the role of a villager wears expensive saris. Her husband loves her simplicity and hence her look doesn’t match up to what she is expected to portray on screen. Yet another change in cast is Nisha Rawal (actor Karan Mehra’s girlfriend) who was substituted by Priya Bhatija who now plays Nandini",adds the source. Continuing on what else has gone wrong with the show the source says, “Infact, the first scene between Pallavi and Ram was not supposed to be shot in the manner they canned it. Keshubhai and his wife are simple people and you can’t show them kissing each other. Did Amitabh and Hema do something like that in Baghbaan? Having Baghbaan’s writer Achala Nagar as the writer of Basera as well and still failing to have good viewership is really something to be taken seriously. There is absolutely no creative supervision on the show and even if the creative head happens to come on the sets, he is busy smoking in the van and is least bothered about the show. The channel has intimated Sagar Arts that if they are unable to get the expected ratings the show will be pulled off in three months time”, adds the source. Vivaan Bhatena who too found himself replaced by Amit Jain said, “It simply didn’t work out as we couldn’t reach a consensus on the budget and I was also travelling. I asked them to wait but they had issues with that as well. I think whatever happens, happens for the best.” Another well-placed source in the industry says, “It’s not just Ram Kapoor who hasn’t been accepted by the audiences even the lead actor Amit Jain hasn’t been received well. One is also of the opinion that the channel hasn’t promoted the show well.” A source from the production house states that the veteran actors are unhappy with the way story has shaped up. Though when contacted the actors refused to talk about this. However an actor on condition of anonymity said, “I have not been shooting as much and so would not be able to comment on the change in the show’s storyline and its poor performance. My role hasn’t shaped up as it was briefed to me but I am hoping that it will in the near future.” Supriya Pilgaonkar who plays the role of Manda Deshmukh said, “As far as the storyline is concerned, I am no authority to comment on it as it’s a matter that has to be looked into by the storytelling department. I haven’t shot much but I am sure it will pick up eventually.” Another actress Meenal Patel who essays the role of Devkiben however refuted the buzz and said, “I am very happy with the show and also with the co-actors. Sagar Arts is a respected production house and is known for its body of work so far.” We spoke to acclaimed writer Achala Nagar on her views on how Basera is panning out and this is what she said, “Honestly, I was not too keen on writing for daily soaps but when the production house came to me and the channel liked my script, I decided to go ahead and write a daily. Television and cinema are two different mediums. Where in cinema you have a definite storyline and tight script, TV becomes a different ball game together.” When asked if she is disheartened to see the story not shaping out as it was expected. Says she, “See as I said TV is a different medium where changes take place in every second frame. It certainly troubles you when you see your story going in a different direction but I think it is the normal scenario on television.” The writer refused to comment on the rumour that she is not kept in the loop with the creative changes and is just asked to write the screenplay. “Please don’t throw such queries at me as these are internal matters and should be privy to those who are working on the show. There are certain shortcomings with everyone so one should not get there. Mine is table work and I do it with complete honesty, rest I can’t really say anything”, concluded Nagar. Producer Prem Sagar however claimed that his show is doing well. He said, “Basera is doing well and we are about to introduce the generation gap in a few days time.” We told him the latest TRPs of the show but the producer vehemently claimed that the show is being liked by the audience. Talking about the buzz that Ram Kapoor and Amit Jain have not been liked by viewers, he said, “They are loved by the audience.” Sagar asked us to speak to the channel when we asked him if the show would be pulled off air. Shailja Kejriwal, Programming Head NDTV Imagine did not respond to our text messages. We spoke to Basera’s Creative Head from the channel, Rakesh Jain but he refused to comment. With so much ailing the show we hope Basera ultimately sees some happy days.