Giving an impetus to the blurring line between the big and small screens, new channel &TV has roped in filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia to lend his expertise to the first look of its ambitious offering "Begusarari". He says he's treated it like a film.
The attempt by the new general entertainment channel (GEC) is to make the show larger-than-life, and it is to that end, that the channel sought the creativity of Dhulia, who has done his fair share of work on TV before making his mark in the Hindi movie industry as a director.
"Begusarai" has Bihar as its backdrop, and is full of quirky characters.
Talking about working on the project, Dhulia said in a statement: "The show brings me back to television after a very long time. What is interesting is that TV shows are now being treated as films.
"The plot of 'Begusarai' was narrated to me like a movie and what really hooked me on was the quirkiness of the characters. My challenge, in directing the first look of the show, was to encapsulate the eccentricities of the characters without any dialogues.
"That's how we decided to shoot at real locations instead of the set to treat it like a film. The show is as good as a movie and I am certain that it will attract audience attention."
Before winning acclaim for his cinematic gems like "Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster" and "Paan Singh Tomar", Dhulia had directed the TV series "Naya Daur" and episodes of "Star Bestsellers".