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People say behind every successful man is a woman. Well the opposite is true in this case. Producer par excellence, Amir Jaffarhas hit the ground running when it comes to his production house Full House Media. The young and intelligent producer and his wife Sonali Jaffar have broken sitcom norms with their maiden venture Bahu Hamari Rajni_Kant. Now, basking in the glory of the the most successful show on Life OK, Amir Jaffar shares his experience as a producer and the hard work and dedication it takes to reach the much deserved pinnacle of success.
Your maiden venture is now the chartbuster on Life OK. How does it feel?
The feeling is naturally great and one that of total satisfaction. The show has thankfully turned out how we had envisioned and planned it, if not better. The contributions of the writers, the creative team, the directors and the artists themselves has lent the show it’s uniqueness. The quality of humor, the performances and the execution really make me proud and happy. The challenge now is to keep the show entertaining enough and bring in newer and fresher ideas in months to come.
What hardships, if any, did you undergo when first beginning this venture?
It all began with an idea which Sonali was very confident of and then it aroused a lot of interest among the folks at Life OK once we pitched it to them. They took it forward from there and the pitch passed every stage with flying colors. Interestingly everyone saw the potential in the show and we were lucky that way.
Who, would you consider to be your biggest support system in the industry?
There’s only one support system I have and that is my wife and partner Sonali. She is the mind behind every venture and I just help execute her vision.
Bahu Hamari Rajni_Kant is a unique concept, a huge risk for a maiden venture. What thoughts were going through your mind when you first began the show?
It’s funny because I was vacationing in the U.S. when I got a call at 2 am from Sonali saying that the show BHRK is on. I didn’t realize it was serious as we had been pitching various television shows for a long time and they would fizzle out at one stage or another. And my skepticism was still in tact even while I was half asleep. I thought I’ll believe it when it actually happens. Even today Sonali rags me about not showing any enthusiasm when she made that call. Once the show began pre production I was very clear that it has to stand out and we hired the best people in the industry that we could afford (haha) to execute our vision. And everyone contributed. Right from the gorgeous set, cinematography, editing, visual effects, dialogues and stories all have delivered. I can’t stop saying that we are all so proud of the BHRK and we know whoever will see it will love it instantly.
What was the most importance characteristic you were in search of when casting for Rajni?
Casting Rajni was the most challenging part obviously. Going into the show we had no idea how Rajni would shape up. We just wanted a versatile actor who had control over her craft and looked pretty, and any rough edges would smooth up as we conducted workshops and acting sessions. And I must lend credit here to the director Kapil Sharma and Ridhima Pandit of course that they caught the pulse of Rajni well. Ridhima turned out to be a perfect choice can be gauged from the fact that the girl previously cast for the part herself called up and reaffirmed that.
The Kant family loving and comical on screen. What are they like off screen?
They are a crazy bunch. I don’t know if you have seem them, but they spend their free time on sets shooting crazy dubsmashes. And everyone’s party to it. A few months back when we were waiting for the show to go on air, Pallavi (Surili) held a “waiting forever’ party at her place. Neel (Dev) is learning to play guitar so that he can serenade the rest of the cast in between shots. Bua (Sweety Walia) well is just Bua on and off screen too. Vahbiz, Tanvi and Neha are a treat to have on the show and keep the gossip machinery well oiled. Ridhima is a doll and everyone handles her exactly that way, with love and affection. Mehul and Pankit are the joyful pranksters on the set and keep the laughs flowing.The only sane soul I think is Rajinderji. Buy they are all fun to be with. I don’t spend much time on the sets unfortunately but whenever I do, I can feel their energy and craziness. Many times I find them discussing ways to improvise on scenes and that is very satisfying for me as it shows their commitment and interest.
The Kant brothers (Gyaan, Shaan and Dhyan) are unique in their own ways. Which one do you relate to the most and why?
Haha.. No I don’t relate to either one of them, as I have not written them. In any case when you create characters you try to blend in them traits you’ve seen in other people and not from your own self. We had set out to create three or four interesting characters but ended up making them all unique. Sometimes it becomes tough to give everyone more screen time as they all are so good. And the writers on the show have done an excellent job with them. We keep on adding more traits and quirks on them as we go along.
What kind of projects can we expect from Full House Media in the future?
We have been fortunate there, because of BHRK more offers have begun coming our way to make more shows. I think people have noticed the quality of work in every department we have put in BHRK and they want it emulated in their shows too. I love to do comedies and Sonali has tons of experience in drama. Right now we are working on another comedy, and two other daily soaps. I strictly believe in good writing .. that’s half your battle won and thankfully we have that taken care of.
What message would you like to give to the fans of the show?
It just makes me so happy to know that people have lapped up the show and are loving it. I wanna thank them for their support and love. And I just hope that we keep bringing them more interesting episodes and stories up ahead. They want us to keep entertaining and surprising them while holding on to the standard we’ve set on the show, and to that I would say “Command Accepted” 🙂
