Indian television can never be discussed without the name of Ekta Kapoor coming up in the conversation. Arguably the most successful creator of daily soaps in India, the woman completely revolutionised the game during a time when people were still trying to figure out the genre. She has worked with several different generations of actors, and most, like Shweta Tiwari of Kasautii Zindagii Kay fame, have nothing but respect and admiration for her work and dedication.
While making an appearance on the Bharti TV podcast, hosted by Bharti Singh and her husband Harsh Limbachiyaa, Shweta talked about her prime on Indian television, and she explained the kind of environment that used to exist back then. She said, “Our industry was known for the fact that no one ever used to sleep or take rest. I used to shoot for 72 hours straight, without a break. After working a 30-day schedule, I used to get payment for 45 days, and that is because my first shift used to be from 7 in the morning to 7 in the evening, and the second shift was from 7 in the evening to 2 am in the morning.”
Shweta credited Ekta Kapoor for inspiring her to work this hard and said, “This was not something the actors were only doing; Ekta herself was present throughout the shoots. She never used to sleep; neither did her team. At that point she had 22 shows under her wing, and whenever someone used to ask me, ‘Aren’t you tired?’ I used to look at her and think about the amount of work she was doing. If you called her at any hour of the day or night, she would pick up in a second.” She added that Ekta would calmly listen to all complaints by the actor, and if someone had any problem with a particular scene, she would personally explain to them the flow of the scene, and no one ever needed a second round of explanation after talking to her.
“Once Ekta explained the scene to you, you could never go wrong. The way she used to create the story and then narrate it to us gave me goosebumps. The way she used to say the dialogues, it seemed that she was better suited to act them out. I often tried to copy her while shooting a scene. The passion was unmatched, and she wasn’t creating shows to impress someone, just herself.” Shweta admitted that the overall space of Indian television has changed a lot now, as have the goals of the creators, who, according to her, only make shows “in line with whatever gets them the most numbers.”
Ekta now has another task on her docket as the iconic Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is coming back with the now turned politician Smriti Irani reprising her role as Tulsi. The first episode will drop on July 29.
