Juhi Video...in Shaheen...one of her old.

THE ACTORS

Under the arclights

Sushama Seth (Begum Sahiba) is the only well known name in the serial. Most others are newcomers.

Juhi Parmar

Pretty, slim, tall, and twenty something, the actress from Jaipur, Juhi Parmar plays the lead role in Shaheen. With one Gujarati film under her belt, she looks confident and excited about her role.

Very keen on her career, Juhi left Jaipur, dumping college two years back , and came to Mumbai. She received guidance from her uncle, Rakesh Parmar who had directed a part of blockbuster serial 'Tara'. 'I get to know few good people in industry due to the contacts, but never the role. For my first serial, ' Woh, ' I went through a screen test and got the role.' It was the same with Shaheen.

Juhi Parmar

'There were seven to eight girls trying for the same role, But I grabbed it.," says the charming Juhi . Although she had schooled in English, she sounds as though she was born in a Muslim family.

Sushama Seth with Juhi Parmar

She started her career with 'Woh' on Zee. After Woh came 'Choodiyan' produced by Just Production. She played the role of younger sister to the central character, a mentally disturbed character.'The role in Choodiyan is similar to my nature, where as in 'Shaheen it is totally different.'

Playing two different roles back to back does not deter her. She looks at any role as medium to prove her acting abilities. " So when I am doing Shaheen, I am involved in the role." Her enthusiasm, concentration, and zest for work are clearly visible. Each time after a shot is okayed, she runs to the monitor to see how the shot is. There is very little stress or fatigue on her face. She hopes TV will be her stepping stone to Bollywood.

Bhaveen Gossain

Bhaveen Gossain ( Nawab Junaid Akhtar) is from Delhi theater, having worked with Manoj Bajpai and Ashish Vidyarthi. He met Bharadwaj through a common friend. When offered the role, he studied the strong storyline, well fleshed out character and accepted.

THE DIRECTOR

Inside Programming: Shaheen

The Channel Perspective

A Sony Entertainment Television programming executive explains why they selected Shaheen amongst the hundreds of TV series proposals that come their way every month. And how it progressed from pilot stage to airing on one of the most exciting television channels in India.


Why was Shaheen taken on ?

Prima facie the concept was seen as being very humane and identifiable as it reflected the story of many Indian girls who have to crush their ambitions and desires to marry when their parents deem fit. That too to the man of their parents choice, often without getting the opportunity to get to know him better. And being expected to make all adjustments to make the union work

In Shaheen's case what added to the drama was that her husband Junaid was previously married with a 10-year-old son. This fact was kept hidden from her by own father who seeks a Nawabi alliance at any cost. What should she do? Should she stay or leave? Shaheen is faced with dilemmas at various points and a lot of Indian women would identify with this.

Another dimension of interest was the underlying cultural difference between traditional Lucknow and urban Mumbai. Can a Mumbai girl adjust to life in a Lucknowi haveli and learn "Lucknowi Tehseeb" ?

It also gives us a glimpse into the seemingly fascinating lifestyle of Nawabs. What does being a Nawab mean in today's day and age. Are the age-old traditions still intact?

How is the story different from other serials?

The story idea in itself is unique in the sense that marriage to an older widower with a son has not been depicted before. What's more the man is still in love with his ex wife a la Rebecca. Again the cultural differences between two cities that have been highlighted also sets it apart.

The concept required shooting outside of Mumbai to depict life in a Lucknowi haveli which in itself is refreshing in light of overexposure to the bungalows and studios used for TV serials.

Not to mention the old world charm, which exudes from the haveli settings and mannerisms of the Lucknow residents, which adds to the appeal. It's almost like being transported to another world.

The serial also differs from others in terms of the treatment. A conscious attempt was made to make the characterisations and dialogues believable and subtle and do away with the loudness and over acting typical to many shows

Steps involved: from concept to… on air.

• The pilot and concept were submitted, basis which the approval was given.

• The name "Shaheen" used in the pilot was retained. And so was Juhi Parmar, the young girl who played Shaheen with great conviction in the pilot.

• The story line and parallel track of other characters were sketched out and further developed

• The casting, which was crucial to the show understandably, took a long time to be finalised. The cast includes an interesting mix of theatre personalities, some new faces as well as established veterans like Sushma Seth. Interestingly Surekha Sikri who played Begum Sahiba in the pilot was to be retained. Since she could not spare dates Sushma Seth was roped in and this decision added a lot of weight to the project

• Another important task was finding the "Lucknowi Haveli". The authenticity lies in the fact that the serial has been actually shot in a haveli and no sets have been created. After scouting for more than a month we settled on Bhopal after taking in to account visual appeal and practical considerations. Of course a bit of touch up was required to make it shoot worthy

• Simultaneously the title montage, logo and advertising of the show were being worked on. Shaheen has been depicted as the main protagonist to create empathy for her character and other characters are always shown from her point of view. This approach has been extended to on air promotion as well.

• The on air promos were developed with a view of creating a unique dreamy look and giving the viewers a flavor of the show. Beads, paisley and gold were used to create an ethereal, old worldly feel.

• A lot of time was spent on the development and recording of the title track. The title track is in fact one of the highlights of the show. The sound track has a Muslim ghazal feel to it with the lyrics depicting the story of Shaheen in first person- a woman with dreams, which get shattered along the way but she still hopes for happiness. The title montage shows Shaheen's world in the Lucknowi Haveli with interactions with different characters. The title montage was shot separately in Lucknow by the team at Sony Entertainment Television

• And of course last but not least the promotion of the show. The show was announced in a joint press conference along with other shows. This was followed up with press ads in leading publications and on air promos.

  
  

  To read more about The Making of Shaheen click on the links below

Inside programming: On Location

It is not morning; it is past midnight and I am trying hard to rub the sleep from my eyes. Artificial floodlights have been used to make it appear to be day.

When I view the scene on the monitor later, it looks like a day scene, no one will know it was shot at night, thanks to the good lighting.
I am at the location shoot for Shaheen, a television series that is airing on Sony Entertainment.

The whole unit, the crew and actors, are dog-tired. The night shoots have been going on for the past three days and worse, the previous night's shoot had wrapped up at four a.m. The unit gets ready for another take in the garden

However, it is not pack up time yet. The shoot has been planned well in advance, and the producer and director have to stick to it. So, even though the rhythm of the unit has been interrupted, within a few minutes, the crew has to pull itself together and get ready for the next shot.

The relatively less frenetic Bhopal (compared to Mumbai) is slowly but steadily becoming a destination for TV and film crews. After the feature film Tarkeeb completed a major shooting schedule there in March 2000, a couple of other movies have been shot there as well. It's now time for TV serials. Eenadu Television is shooting the Urdu serial Namak (an interim working title) in another wing of the Hotel Imperial Palace. And of course there is Shaheen, which is being produced by Arvishi Cine Vision for Sony.

Most of the actors and crewmembers are from north India, which has helped them acclimatise themselves to Bhopal's climate. But most of them are homesick.

" I have not called home for the last four days," says Bharadwaj, desperately punching in his home number once more into the mobile he has borrowed from one of the executives from Sony Entertainment Television.

The food and temperature seem to be the major problem for the entire unit. The October heat is in full swing during the days I am there. Throw in the strong lights used during the filming and you are talking about being thrown into a veritable furnace. You tend to sweat considerably and the entire unit of 50 people consumes about eight jars of 20 litre Bisleri jars daily. The heat leads to other irritants. "The makeup gets smudged and you have to constantly go to the make up room to have yourself done up again," says a crew member. "The layer upon layers of clothes we have to wear during the shoot make us very uncomfortable."

A local person butts in then to say that the situation is going to be very different the next schedule comes around. "Within a month, the winter will start, so for the next shoot everyone has been cautioned to carry enough warm clothing. That time everybody will try to be as close to those lights as they can to stay warm," points out Anup, who is from Bhopal, and apart from acting in the serial he is also helping them out to source things locally.

Everybody is waiting to complete this schedule, to get back to his or her assignments in Mumbai. Some will continue to work on the same serial - mainly post-production and shooting of some scenes in Mumbai. Some are working on other projects. For some it will be leisure time. But come December and the crew will be back in Bhopal.

To read more on The Making of Shaheen click on the links below

Inside Programming: The Location

THE PRODUCER