Those bygone days

Through Ruskin Bond’s stories in the DD's “Ek Tha Rusty”, Shubhadarshini Singh tries to capture the beauty of old time Musoorie and its people

Writer Ruskin Bond Photo K.R. Deepak

The public service broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) has geared up to meet the challenges of the market to maintain its position as the largest broadcasting organisation in India.

This was clearly spelt out by Tripurari Sharan, Director General (DG), DD, at the press conference in New Delhi for the launch of the serial Ek Tha Rusty III (ETR III) , produced and directed by Shubhadarshini Singh. Said the DG, “We have been sourcing programmes through a variety of modes and zeroed in on two, namely, revenue-sharing and advertisement funded. These entail consistent and complete involvement of the producer at all the stages of the software, from creation to the marketing and to telecast.” Saran complimented Shubhadarshini on having opted for producing ETR III through revenue-sharing mode. He gave the example of the serial Pavitra Bandhan which also is aired under the same arrangement.

Based on well-known writer Ruskin Bond’s stories, the 52 episodes of the serial is on air from July 10 onwards on DD National at 7 p.m. and will be telecast on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

ETR-I and

II by the same director were telecast in 1995 and 2013 on DD; both were commissioned programmes. The series draws from stories including “Love is a sad song”, “Sensualist”, “Dead Man's Gift”, “Last Time I saw Delhi”, “Hanging at Mango” and “At Green's Hotel” — all shot in Mussoorie. The author's 2012 sensation novel “Maharani” also forms a part, which will be shot in Vishranti, a forest resort in Dehradun.

Addressing the media gathering, the director said, “The serial has elements of romance, revenge, betrayal, mystery, murder, fun and laughter” and hence no longer confined to children only but all age groups. “At times, I have slightly changed things, but I have kept to his (Bond’s) storyline,” said Shubhadarshini while thanking him profusely for his “assistance and inspiration”.

“I must acknowledge that he has helped me tremendously by answering my questions regarding anything: the sets, the characterisation, the costumes, etc.” Giving an example, Shubhadarshini said, on her suggestion to change the name of the place ‘Shamli’ in order to avoid confusion with the city located in western Uttar Pradesh, Bond suggested Hopetown.

The director said the episodes will be a “treat for those who know about 1960s and also those keen to be informed about that era” and added that the production has been kept as realistic and authentic as possible. “The clothes worn by the characters are identifiable with the region and appear to be well-worn; old bungalows have been used as locations for shooting,” she said. At times, it was difficult to procure items of that period, like a vintage car, a wooden tennis racquet, etc. though the antique shop in Mussoorie was of great help.

For the first 26 episodes, Bhanu Uday plays Rusty with Vipul Gupta taking over the remaining ones with Ayub Khan essaying the role of Keemat Lal. The cast also includes two Sikkimese actors and one from Punjab. The producer has written the screenplay and dialogues with music by Sharat.

Shubhadarshini, who has made serials for DD and other Government ministries earlier, was all praise for DD’s policy of “non-interference” and added, “Once the script is cleared, I did not have anyone breathing down my neck.” She is eagerly looking forward to the results of her revenue-sharing decision. The DG said that offline and online methods would be utilised to promote the series. These included social media sites like facebook, twitter, youtube besides hoardings, print advertising, etc. along with the producer too pitching in on her own. He also hinted that after reviewing the content of various children’s channel, the Government is keen on launching a kid’s network of DD. One hopes the winds of transformation not only continue but blow with greater gusto.