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Sandiip Sikcand – a name linked to some of the most successful shows on television over the last two decades as a producer and creative director. In the last few years, his shows ‘Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum’ and ‘Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali’ became a daily talking point and remain so despite being off-air. Well, we had the opportunity to chat to the producer about what goes into creating a show, some of his memorable works, and he also shares some hints about an exciting show on the way!
When conceptualising a new show, what are some of the factors which you consider most important?
The most important factor for me is the kind of story that I’m telling, and honestly what I pay attention to, is how this story is going to be different from the other hundred stories that are running on television. I always like my shows to have something different. It could be just a line, it could just be a character, it could just be a thought, but I pay more focus to how I should stand out in this entire crowd.
Over the years, you’ve worked on various successful television shows. What do you believe are the key ingredients for creating a successful TV series in India?
Very honestly if you ask me, I think luck plays a role. You may find it funny, but I feel every show comes with its own kismat (destiny). Every show has its own success story, and has its own luck factor. The luck factor is very very important and the second part I feel, is the characterisation and story has to stand out. It has to connect to the masses, and has to connect to the people who are watching it. Hard work, everybody does, so I don’t talk about hard work at all because everyone, even you’re making a show which ends in one month or two months, a lot of hard work goes in so hard work is there. I think the luck factor and the characterisation are the most important aspects that are the ingredients of a successful television show.
Everyone knows how much TRP impacts a show’s run, so how do you balance your artistic vision with the commercial demands of the television industry?
This is a constant war. There is always a constant fight between TRPs and creativity. These days creativity depends a lot on channel research. The channel does a lot of research about what is working and what is not. I’m not going into how valid this research is and I’m not going into how accurate they are but you have to accept it. So you try to strike a balance between the demands of the television industry and your creativity, and from experience I want to say that in this, creativity is something that always loses because eventually every producer wants his show to be on air for the longer time and you tend to sacrifice creativity so that your show is long running and you make money.
Television content often reflects and influences cultural norms. How do you approach cultural sensitivity when developing storylines and characters?
Honestly I don’t know which are the shows which influence and reflect cultural norms because I think right now we have exploited cultural norms so much on television that I feel even cultural people don’t have so many cultural norms as we have on television. There is SNP which monitors and makes sure that none of the stories play with or hurt somebody’s cultural, religious and emotional sentiments. So you have 10 million things to look after before you put something on air. When cultural norms are concerned, you have seen Ganpati aarti, you have seen Holi, you have seen Diwali. You have seen everything in so much quantity in all TV shows across channels, that I don’t think there’s any novelty factor left, and I feel everybody just goes into it but where sensitive, cultural norms are concerned, nobody goes that deep and I think we should go, we should address certain cultural issues, certain religious issues. We should show that on television but somehow we are very safe and don’t do it.
You have been part of many shows not only as producer but also as a creative. Which are some of the characters and stories that have really impacted you?
Well, all my shows have impacted me, all my stories have impacted me because that is where the creativity flows from, but for me if I have to point a few very distinctive characters that stand out in my body of work, then it has to be Santu from Bandini, Sonakshi from Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum, Ishita from Yeh Hai Mohabbatein and Dipika from Dhhai Kilo Prem. These are the characters that I have loved most from the 21 years of television I have done. There is also Bani from Kasamh Se, and Amrit from Amrit Manthan. You know I have loved these characters so I think let’s keep it to these six for the time being.
Currently, almost every show on air features a love-triangle, and new shows are even incorporating it into the concept. Many of us are exhausted by it, but they seem to be working well. What do you think makes viewers enjoy love-triangles so much?
I have a problem with this word ‘working well.’ What defines working well, is it TRP? The highest TRP today is a 2.5 or 2.6. During Kyunki and Kahaani days it was 20 and 21 so I think we are not seeing the writing on the wall. We are just seeing whatever is the highest TRP, and we are following that and saying ‘this is successful.’ In fact I feel the reason why these TRPs have dropped so much is that people are genuinely bored and I feel people are not watching TV shows because they want to watch it. TV shows come to your house pretty much free of cost. Because what you pay for the subscription is pretty nominal. What’s on air is what people are watching and it’s just going on. People are just watching it out of habit. I mean you change actors and change characters and nobody says anything so I think that when you have drastic changes and nobody is reacting to it is a bad sign.
If people are not reacting to big dramas, if people are not reacting to big fallouts and they are not reacting to big changes that means they are not watching. I think it’s something that we need to see the writing on the wall that we think that people are watching but people are not watching it with the keen interest, the love and passion that they used to maybe 10 or 12 years ago. You see so many Instagram videos, you see people making fun of TV shows. I would also want to point out a recent condom ad. There were a lot of people who spoke against it. I don’t think there was anything wrong with the ad because it showed exactly what we show in our TV serials. So I think TV not being successful and to a larger extent being made fun of, is because of the kind of dramas we show. I think it’s time the television industry wakes up to it and we realise that we need to up our dramas and we need to up our stories. We need to make our stories and characters more believable and more in sync with 2024. We are still copying movies of the 1960s and 1970s. I think that needs to change desperately.
‘Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum’ is a show very close to our hearts as viewers. When do you think would be the right time for a show with that level of freshness and progressiveness to come to our screens again?
Well I feel Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum would work perfectly right now. In today’s time, it should be an early prime time slot. I always thought a 7:30 or 8 was the right time for it. Just today somebody sent me a link on Instagram where somebody’s written about the famous TV scene we did on Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum and they said that this was the best TV serial of its time. So till date I get posts on Instagram about Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum. I think Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum is evergreen. It will do perfectly well in today’s scenario because it reflects Sonakshi and Rohit Sippy who are today’s characters and I feel a 7:30/8 pm timeslot will be perfect for it.
How do you see the Indian television industry evolving in the next few years? And are there any changes which you would like to see?
I would like to see a lot of changes. I would like to see the changes in the way stories are told. I would like to see change in the way auditions are done, I would like to see change in the way casting is done, the way drama is written, shows are written, the way concepts are made. I think television has immense reasons for change. I would also love if we get into weekly show formats or at least have a Monday to Thursday format because you know what is happening, is that writers are writing day in and day out, producers are working non-stop so there is no time to sit back and evaluate. There is no time to think about what you are doing. There is just one mad rat race going on. You write one episode, you write the next, write the next, and so on. Sometimes if you have a maha-episode then you have episodes on all 7 days. It is actually madness I think and a complete overhauling and a complete relook at television has to happen because you know the amount of stress that people go through in the television industry is unimaginable. So if you ask me about changes, from top to bottom everything needs to change.
Can you give us a glimpse into any upcoming projects you’re working on or planning for the future?
Well I am very superstitious and I don’t do that, but I will tell you that the next show I’m working on is a very contemporary issue. It is an issue which everybody faces and no, it is not an issue about a kali ladki, moti ladki, choti ladki, gori ladki, lambi ladki or a girl who is yet to be married. It has got nothing to do with that but it is still an issue which is very contemporary and every woman, every mother, every housewife, and importantly every parent faces. Once the promos are out you will know exactly what I’m talking about and it will be a show that everybody will say ‘yes this is a big issue in India today’ so yes that is something that is coming up and as I said I’m superstitious I won’t speak anything more.
Wishing Sandiip Sikcand the very best for his upcoming works and we cannot wait to watch them!
