Although there are many TV producers around, only few have left a mark. Illa Bedi (Triflix Entertainment), of Zee TV show, Detective Didi, is one of them. IndianWikiMedia met up with Illa for a quick chat.
She appeared happy with the initial numbers. “It is a tough Saturday-Sunday evening slot. Audiences are finicky and demanding more visual stimulation; yet we are growing week on week.”
Talking about the family drama-meets- snoop theme, Illa says, “Even a detective has a personal life, and the audiences will connect with the challenges she faces at home and on the work front.”
Here, she admits that there are similarities to her earlier hit show, Hitler Didi, which too was set in the crime capital of India, i.e. Delhi. “And the character organically grew out of Hitler. But leaving out certain commonalities, the story and plot is completely different.”
Coming to the casting, she says, “I love Manish Goplani– he is everything that I wanted from Bhim Singh Bhullar, right down to the required attitude, sass and swag. Sonia Balani, on the other hand, has also internalized the character, and is living Bunty Sharma. Her back story will open up soon. Also, watch out for the on-screen chemistry between her and Manish.”
Point out that there were certain disjoints in the first few stories, and she says, “It might have happened due to edit and logistical issues. You need to appreciate that, for the first time, we have actually shot on real locations, and not sets. But we have taken note, and will make sure that they don’t happen again.”
After Hitler, Illa made Maharaja Ranjit Singh, with Contiloe Films Pvt. Ltd. and Lajwanti. “The latter did not do too well, and hence, was taken off,” she states.
Ask her about Hitler, and Illa’s face lights up. “We had a good story, and a great actor in Rati Pandey, and everything just fell into place. Even now, fans want Season 2, but that is not possible; so better watch Detective Didi, which is equally good.”
Illa, who hails from a filmy family and has been a TV writer for many years, says, “TV is going through interesting times. While on the one hand, there is fragmentation and competition from digital, the biggest competition is WhatsApp. Today, most urban folks don’t want to watch TV. They are quite happy exchanging videos on their phones.”
“Having said that, the idiot box has also moved into untapped markets. Keeping in mind the sensibilities of the new, rural and small-town audiences, we have to cater to the lowest common denominator. The story plots have to be simple and very relatable– you can’t have grey characters, as on the web,” she adds.
Ila, great work with Detective Didi!!