At a time when old hit shows are returning to TV, MTV has joined the party by retelecasting its 2014 hit property, Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan showcasing Parth Samthaan, Niti Taylor and others.
Kishwer Merchantt, who played Nyonika Malhotra, says, “MTV has repeated this several times before as well and every time it becomes a hit. I guess the youth connect, and the lead pairing makes a big difference.”
Talking about the resumption of work, Kishwer says, “While web series (shoots in green zones) may get underway, I don’t see how daily soaps can work with skeleton crews? Certain online content like SIT ( Chavvi Mittal) was anyways first shot at home. We moved to sets only after sponsors came in. The lockdown has been a boon to online content with everybody checking out the latest shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar. But even this pre-shot content will soon start getting exhausted, so fresh shoots need to begin.”
Talking about bold content, Kishwer says while she is opposed to just dropping her clothes for no reason, “if the story and character have meat, then I will consider. But yes now social distancing might make content less explicit.”
So how are you spending your lockdown days? “While staying at home is the task, not working is cool. Anyway, I took a break for an extended part of last year. Hubby Suyyash Rai is also busy in the studio making music.”
In closing, when asked if her last Star Plus show Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum had continued a bit longer; it might have got a new lease of life, as launching of new shows post lockdown might be challenging, she says, “On the contrary, I think it makes better sense to start again for this gap might lead to a lot of loss of audiences to existing shows, no wonder several running series has shut.”