I'm feeling like a newcomer right now, ready to take on a challenge," says producer Rajan Shahi, whose first-ever daily soap, Sapnaa Babul Ka Bidaai, goes off air this weekend, following a two-hour long Maha-episode. "I'm a bit tired, running around and figuring out all the star
Holiday first
Shahi will go on a family
holiday
before kicking off two of his big projects, rumoured to be for two
leading channels. "When Bidaai went on air, I had promised to
take my daughter for a holiday the day it ends. She is on school
vacation. So we can take off immediately," he says. "As for the new
shows, I can just tell you that I'm ready to prove my worth as a writer
and director once again, apart from being a producer. The shows will be
innovative family content that I can watch with my little daughter in
the same room."
The director-turned-producer harbours mixed feelings right now to see the curtains close on his flagship show. "It had become a lifeline. I'm feeling like a father parting with his daughter at her bidaai ceremony, the daughter I'll not get to see again," says an emotional Shahi, who launched three more shows following the success of his debut production. "At the same time, there's gratitude because the show is exiting when it was still doing well, after running for over three years with fantastic ratings. It has made my production house what it is today."
After spending 17 years in the industry, he admits that repeating Bidaai's triumph will be impossible. "My next works may not go beyond Bidaai. But I'll try to live up to the standards set by it," he adds. Gulaal, produced by his one-time boss Sunjoy Wadhwa, will replace Shahi's show in the slot and he's not complaining: "I've directed two shows for Sunjoy. And his show replacing mine is like an extension of me. I couldn't have been happier."
Bidaai timeline
October 2007: Bidaai
launches with 4.6TVR, replacing Meri Awaaz Ko Mil Gayi Roshni.
December 2007: Rose to 5.4 TVR starting with the
episode of Ragini's marriage breaking up.
March 2008:
Reached 6 TVRs with Sadhana and Alekh's (Sara Khan-Angad Hasija)
wedding.
October 2008: Touched 8.8 TVRs with the
Taj Mahotsav event featuring Hema Malini's dance performance.
October
2008 ' January 2009: Ratings continue in the 6 to 8 TVR range.
January
2009: Soared to 9.6 TVRs with Ragini-Ranveer's (Parul
Chauhan-Kinshuk Mahajan) wedding.
June-July 2010:
Seven-year leap. Ratings began to dip, the range was 2 to 5.
October-November
2010: Show stays between 2 and 3 and wraps up.
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