A ll of us have experienced those critical junctures in life when we get help or guidance from strangers we may never meet again. Those are occasions when we feel the force of destiny. Amrita TV has celebrities talking about such real-life incidents that touched their lives. ‘Aaro Oral’, the show, premieres on April 19 at 9 p.m. It has been conceptualised and directed by Sudhimohan who has produced the shows ‘Marikkatha Pranayam’ and ‘Kathirippu’ on ACV. Excerpts from an interview with Sudhi who also anchors the show:
The concept
Many of us have had those special moments or situations when we get help from unexpected quarters. It is as if you are destined to meet that person at that particular moment. It is not about any supernatural power. But definitely there is something mysterious about the whole incident. The audience gets to listen to such true stories. When our guest talks about the incident, we fictionalise the situations.
Guests on the show
Our first episode features R. Sreelekha, Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP). When she was Superintendent of Police in Pathanamthitta, she was investigating a case in which a six-year-old girl was raped. The officer was working hard to get a lead. One night she dreamt of a woman telling her about a person she could interrogate. Sreelekha did the same and the case was solved. However, later, whenever she investigated complicated cases, she hoped to have such a dream, but that never happened.
Then we have writer George Onakkur talking about a girl, Saira, whom he met during his trip to Israel in 1982. She took him around the country and even expressed her desire to come to India. But she never came to India and years later when he went back to that place and enquired about her, nobody seemed to have known her.
In another episode, lyricist Vayalar Sarathchandra Varma talks about his father, Vayalar Rama Varma, who came in his dream at a critical juncture of his life. We have also shot episodes with actor-director Madhupal, and composer M. Jayachandran.
We plan to feature writer M.K. Ramachandran, Nedumudi Venu, K.S. Chitra and many others in the forthcoming episodes.
Thought behind the show
I have had some personal experiences. More than that I have read and heard about such instances in the lives of other people. One inspiration was the Himalayan travelogues by M.K. Ramachandran in which he talks about a caretaker who saved him from freezing to death, but disappeared mysteriously afterwards. Balachandran Chullikad, in his Chidambara Smaranakal , talks about a woman whom he met on Shanghumugham beach who gave him the money to go back home. Sreelekha and Onakkur sir had also written about their experiences. I have been working on the show for the last two years.
Were your guests forthcoming?
Initially most of them were quite apprehensive about talking about it in front off the camera. They were not sure how the audience would take it.
Expectations from the audience
The programme is different from the run-of-the-mill stuff on television.
Entertainment programmes rule the roost and I know there will be a limited audience for the show. But it can definitely establish an emotional connect with the audience.
Amrita TV airs ‘Aaro Oral’ on Saturdays at 9 p.m.
