Up loaded on Friday May 28, 2010

“If you are concerned about the society, the only creative outlet is still Doordarshan,” says Director Kewal Sethi

 Courtesy:http://beta.thehindu.com

       Director Kewal Sethi on his tele-serial “Karam Yudh”

          “If you are concerned about the society, the only creative outlet is still Doordarshan,” says director Kewal Sethi whose Karam Yudh is getting a good response on the public broadcaster. Having directed episodes of Uttaran on Colors and Pratigya on Star Plus, Sethi has seen the best of both the worlds. “On private channels the TRP pressure is so much that the director has been reduced to a fabricator. After every four episodes the channel analyses the ratings and changes the plot accordingly. They also claim to be pushing a positive cause but after a few episodes the negative aspect overpowers the constructive aspect.”

         Sethi says as negativity attracts, they start playing by it. “See what is happening in Laado…. The director has no say in it. He just has to carry out the instructions or is shunted out. Since the money is good, most shelve their creative pursuits. I nursed it and when I got an opportunity with Doordarshan, I lapped it up. Here, the monetary aspect is not that bright, with limited budget you can't create the ‘look' but at least you can create something you believe in.”

         A battle of principles, Karam Yudh shows a politician-police officer couple (played by Harsh Chhaya and Vaishnavi) in a positive light. “I wanted to prove that no profession is corrupt. It is the people who are corrupt. After 26/11 I saw people on streets calling the entire political class corrupt. This is sad for Indian democracy. Because of rampant corruption if inspired youngsters stop joining politics then who will lead this country to future? That is why I created the character of Yashwant Chauhan, a politician with principles.” Seth says when he offered the role to Harsh, he also had reservations about the perception of the political class. “He (Harsh) said people won't believe him. I said, we have to make them believe that at least two per cent politicians are still not corrupt and it needs to be reflected in the media,” sums up Seth.

   (“Karam Yudh” is telecast on DD National from Thursday to Saturday at 8.30 p.m )

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