Coming from a family full of creative thinkers it came as a no surprise when Ila Bedi Dutta decided to don the hat of a producer. After writing varied shows like Mehendi Tere Naam Ki, Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chaand and Veer Shivaji she now brings to you her maiden show Hitler Didi made under her banner Trilogy Krikos Ltd. This much talked about show has indeed been a dream come true project for her. With such a promising cast and strong script in place, there is no looking back for the producer. She opens up to Tellybuzz and shares her overall experience of setting up her 'baby'...

What made you switch to a producer after writing various hit dailies?
Oh! It was my dream to be a producer one day as I have come from makers back ground. And I have wanting to do it for the longest time as I am always writing for other production houses, so always wanting my own production where your vision as a producer is taken forward was something I know has to happen. I have got this opportunity from the Zee team to give me a platform and trusting me to come up with a new show on their channel. To sum it up, it feels very empowering.

Can you throw some light on your previous projects that you undertook as a writer?
I started with Zee with Mehendi Tere Naam Ki, then Saara Akaash, Mili, Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chaand and the last show which I did was Ek Veer Stri Ki Kahaani Jhansi Ki Rani; then there was Veer Shivaji but I left it in the midst as I had to start up with Hitler Didi and now I have completely dedicated my time to Hitler Didi.

So do you think your family backdrop influenced your decision to be a producer?
My father, grandfather all of them are producers in the industry some turning a producer was something like carrying the legacy forward.

Now that you are a part of this competitive bandwagon, any threats?
Oh, definitely I want my production house to be on number one position. I would love to pitch more shows for sure but one thing I want to do is not follow the trends like something which relates the audience. Not something which is drama, I would love if the audience identifies the same with themselves. So there are chances that I might not be successful with this trend but I am definitely not going to follow trends. And I think with the strong cast I am sure the show will be a success.


What is the USP of the show according to you?
I think there should be some relativity of the audience to the show as I said before. For example the character of Hitler Didi which is essayed by Rati Pandey, I am sure the audience will notice and say that they have encountered such a character somewhere around them. I find today's television has those characters of fantasy, filled with drama which do not happen in our day to day life. So I want to do something which has a slice of life, which is real and connects the audience.

Rumour has it that the character of Hitler Didi resembles you in real life?
(Laughs) Yeah! I think there is a Hitler Didi in everyone because when you are working women, when you know that you have to go outside and you have to work and along with that you have to look after your house and juggle between life and work, you turn your gestures and the way you behave outside. Actually the character is pretty much today. And you have to deal with it, go and get what you want.


What are your expectations from this show, being you're first?
I expect that the show connects the audience at the first place and it starts appealing to them. They should be motivated to switch on their TV sets and watch the show because it's totally different, a slice of life about a struggle of a women between her family and her own life so I hope the audience likes and watch the show.

...And the cast? It is very promising.
The casting is promising; I agree and on the same note their delivery more than what I have written is expected from them. So I would like to tell everyone to continue their hard work and then surely we will reach our destination. Rati is a strong actress and that's the reason why she has been given Hitler Didi's part to play. I would say I have my dream team to work with and they have taken the script to another lever with their performances. And hope this magic continues...

Which shows do you generally watch on television?
No, I don't watch anything on television because I am very disheartened with what is shown on the television and you know what is shown on TV is something very different from reality. If you say what is happening in this show and which character is entering in any particular show doesn't excite me. I am a creative person.

Any more ventures from Trilogy in the pipeline?
Yes, we are working on another show on another channel, we will reveal more on it when the time comes. And also we will be taking concepts to other channels but right now Hitler Didi is my first venture and I am concentrating on the same.


Reporter and Author:Tejashree Bhopatkar