Producer and Creative genius Sandiip Sikcand always looks for opportunities to tell stories that are different and original. Recently, he expressed his desire to resume his acting stint and said that he was on the lookout for opportunities that satisfy the performer in him.
In a candid chat with IWMBuzz.com, Sandiip talks about TV shows, the need of the hour for television to grow in strength and also about his near and dear ones.
Read on.
Why is it that shows on TV are winding up in just a few months? As a creator, how do you feel?
As a Creator, I feel extremely suffocated. I don’t think we are making enough original content. Mostly, TV is making remakes. If the numbers are coming, we are very happy. If we don’t get numbers, we just shut the show. I don’t think television is giving audiences anything new or different. Earlier, every show was different from the other. The perfect examples are Humlog, Buniyaad, Hasratein etc.
I don’t know why we have to always show a poor girl getting married into a rich palatial house. The boy and girl always have a tashan followed by falling in love. Eventually, they solve problems. Every show follows the same pattern. The girl’s character changes, she is tall, fat, dusky, widow, poor, but the stories remain the same. This is what the broadcaster wants, so Producers do not have any say in it.
Is it too much of content or the viewers’ choices that prompt the broadcasters to end shows?
I think it is the same content coming over and over again. Of course, the audience is smarter these days. And yes, the options are also many in today’s time. But the trend of having similar content should change.
What next on your platter?
There is a new Marathi show coming. There is Aboli going on. It is one of the only shows on Star Pravah which is not a remake. It is an original and that makes me proud. Aboli is now being remade in Telugu, that feels very good. There are a few things in the pipeline. If they come up they will be very different concepts.
You recently announced that you want acting offers coming your way. Do you think it was rather bold of you to let makers know so?
Acting has always been my first love. Even when I was producing I was working as an actor simultaneously. I was last seen in the film Tu Hai Mera Sunday which is on Netflix It came in 2016. When I see OTT, I see a lot of characters that I think at my age, I can play. I am just trying to restart my acting journey. I would love to keep the actor in me alive always. Thanks to the Instagram post, I am already doing a project for OTT. At the moment, I cannot reveal anything about it. I am currently in Chandigarh shooting for it.
Who do you prefer more, Sandiip the actor or Sandiip the producer?
For creative satisfaction Sandipp the actor, and for financial satisfaction, Sandiip the Producer.
You are always a friend’s man. Tell us about it.
Yes, I enjoy being with friends. Recently, during Friendship Day, I was in Delhi. I met up with a friend of mine and went to Bangla Saab. We had lunch together and shopped too. We watched Rocky aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani together. Most of my friends are people who genuinely love me. We are always there for one another. They are extremely special to me. They know who they are.
We don’t go around looking for friends. Friendship is something that just happens. Patience and listening to one another are the best attributes one needs in friendship. When you accept a person as a friend, you accept the person with all his flaws.