Producer Sonali Jaffar on juggling three hit TV shows: Don’t see it as multitasking, for me it’s storytelling, plus audiences’ support drives us.
Aapki Nazron Ne Samjha is having a good time. Sonali Jaffar thanks everyone for their support. According to her, the goal of Full House Media, which she co-founded with Amir Jaffar, is to “surprise the audience with something new” with each show. The show tells the storey of a talented photographer who loses his ability to see. However, he never let this flaw affect his work.
“Aapki Nazron… is based on a popular Bengali show called Sanjher Baati. The story is very interesting and somewhere we knew that if done well this will connect with the audience. Thankfully everything fell into place. Thankfully, I have a good team of writers, who come up with new ideas and good at adapting good shows as well. Sometimes I do oversee the writing,” says Jaffar, who is also a writer.
Presently, apart from Aapki Nazron Ne Samjha, the production has two more shows running, Tujhse Hai Raabta and Qurbaan Hua. One wonders if it is difficult to multi-manage.
“All these three shows are interesting in their individual ways and loved by the audience. After all, we make shows for our viewers so their support drives us. Also, I don’t see it as multitasking but as storytelling that I enjoy. It’s an absolutely wonderful and creative process,” she adds. As talks veered towards TV content, Jaffar feels that there is an improvement, and a major reason for this change is the digital boom.
“Web series are here to stay. They are doing good with the kind of content they are creating, which is drawing a maximum number of audiences to various platforms. It’s their content and way of functioning that has led to many shoemakers on TV to pull up their socks. Many are ready to move beyond the run-of-the-mill hit shows and formulas and are ready to experiment. If you want to stay in the game, you need to move with time. It is something now one must understand,” she explains adding that she feels both TV and OTT will co-exist.
So what are the future plans for Full House Media? “We aim at creating more and more fascinating content that would definitely suit the taste of our viewers. We don’t want to repeat ourselves; we enjoy experimenting and understanding what the audience wants. And it’s not just about the story, but also about casting, direction, presentation, makeup, dialogues… we put the best team together to come up with the best result. We will never compromise on quality,” she answers.
From being a journalist to writer of popular shows to turning a producer, Jaffar herself has had a fascinating journey so far. All these years and dabbling into different things taught her a lot. “I was 21 when I became a journalist and at 31 I was into writing shows. I never thought of shifting gears but things happened and I took up all the challenges to my stride. We all have one life, why not make it big? Why not try everything that we can, so that we don’t regret it later. That’s what I did. Now as a producer too I am enjoying my stint. I am happy and indebted to how things turned out. If I get the opportunity to try a few more things in the coming time, I would embrace them as well,” she wraps up.