Siddhartha Vankar who has been at the helm of creativity in TV shows Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, Navya, Mahabharat, Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani, Balika Vadhu, etc is happy to be doing what he does the best!!
Being totally occupied with work, handling the Creative Director duties of the #1 show across all genres, Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin on Star Plus, Siddhartha is a happy and satisfied professional. The show is produced by Cockrow and Shaika Entertainment.
Says Vankar, “Thank you for all the appreciation and love that Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin has been getting. Yes, we are at the #1 position right now and it has come with sheer hard work. I think what has really worked in our favour are our characters, and also in the way the story has been written. Also, the fact that the characters are very relatable to us and for the viewers watching it, has made a big difference.”
Ask Vankar about the recent trend on TV for working on the original regional shows that have been successful, and bringing it in Hindi, and the CD says, “There have been a lot of stories that have been picked up from the regional sphere. All of them have been doing well. These regional shows have strong protagonists, very forward-thinking, bold, and contemporary and relatable to younger audiences. This is a very good trend that has started. Sai is a very big example of that particular trend.”
“Having said this, there is no dearth of original concepts. It is just that these stories have different points of view, and these views have not been explored in Hindi GEC. There are channels coming up with very good concepts, which are original. These shows taken from regional setup give a new dimension to Hindi GEC which has been unexplored for a long time,” he adds.
Talking about his lead actors, Neil Bhatt, Ayesha Singh and Aishwarya Sharma, he states, “Neil, Ayesha and Aishwarya are a bundle of joy to work with. First of all, all three of them are brilliant actors. They have imbibed their characters in them, and have been amazing to work with. They have always wanted to improve, have taken one step ahead, and have pushed themselves. All three of them were down with Covid at some point or the other and came back strongly to accept more responsibilities. When Ayesha was down, Neil and Aishwarya worked extra hard. Similarly, when Neil and Aishwarya together were down, Ayesha bailed us out of every situation. All three have been wonderful to work with. They are pranksters, and we have fun on the set.”
Siddhartha Vankar who is a passionate writer talks about the love he has for his characters. “As a storyteller, I am very passionate about my characters. For me, my characters are very important. I personally feel that there is nothing called a character of a person. If you put few people in any situation which is very challenging and demanding, they will react differently and will go out of their character. My characters are extremely unpredictable; they react to situations as they deem it is right. That is very important. I am very passionate about telling that aspect of the story.”
On his much-liked genre, Vankar avers, “I love working with the genre of romance. I am presently writing whatever I have seen or experienced in real life.”
Ask him whether he will be game for the web, and he states, “I would love to tell a story on the medium of web. So there are talks of my book Love At Manipal being turned into a web series. So yes, I will divulge information at the right time. There is a possibility of me getting into the platform of web.”
Ask him about the importance of established actors in a show, and he explains, “In television as a medium, it is the characters that work and not the actors. I feel that the character always remains there even if the actor gets replaced for any reason. The character never perishes. The aura of established actors is surely there, but that is not the main reason for the success of a show.”
Ask him about the shows that he likes in the present scenario and Vankar lists, “I see a lot of potential in Namak Issk Ka, and Udaariyaan. They are potent shows. Similarly, Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali surely has everything in it to do well. I do not want to comment on Anupamaa and Imlie as they are already there at the top.”
Best of luck, for Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin and for the next new ventures!!