Udaya TV’s, Doddamane Sose, airstonight. The serial, which starts today, will be telecast on weekdays at 9.30 pm. The story revolves around a large family (doddamane), where the daughter of the house returns as the daughter-in-law.
The serial launches two new faces — Gagana and Swaroop — in the lead roles and is produced by SN Rajkumar under the banner of Skanda Creations. It is directed by Balavalli Dharshith Bhat, who comes from a small village in Uttara Kannada Jille, Honnavara Taluk. Dharshith says he was supposed to “be a temple priest but ended up being a director”. The young man, who had “no inclination towards films and direction” says he was drawn towards the medium because of Shankar Nag and his works as they both share the same home town.
Dharshith adds he has watched all Shankar’s works and still watches his Malgudi Days.
The director talks to Metroplus about his new serial Doddamane Sose.
Excerpts:
This is also a family drama. What would you say is different about it?
Normally, a family drama always includes a story about a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. But Doddamane Sose has no such story. Nor is it about any friction between the characters. It is about a big household, where 20 to 25 people live in a house. The family has its history and its struggles, which no one is aware of. The story is about how they solve those troubles within themselves. The suspense is also about how a girl returns to home as the daughter-in-law.
Why are serials always immersed in family drama?
Some may not like politics, while others dislike horror. But everyone likes a family drama as families watch television. Every family goes through its tribulations. So such topics are close to their hearts. Most of our viewers are women, who work at home, taking care of their families. I am talking about rural families here. For such a woman, this may be the only entertainment in the day. This may be her only time to forget her challenges. That is one of the reasons, I feel we try and look for different angles when it comes to a family drama.
Tell us about the challenges of directing a TV serial. Some of them go on for years...
Directing for television is indeed a challenge. Till about four years ago, if the suspense was maintained in the last shot of the last episode of the last day of week, it was enough. That would maintain the popularity of the serial for a whole week. But, not so now. With so many channels, serials and reality shows, the challenges are more. There is an overdose of showmanship. Now we have to think about every segment, every break and work towards getting the viewers’ attention. I feel directing a serial is more challenging when compared to a cinema where you can tell a story in a few hours. There you also have fight sequences and songs. If we have songs, we have to use them in such a way that the viewer does not get bored nor gets to see repeats.
Doddamane Sose begins tonight and will be aired at 9.30 pm on Udaya TV on weekdays.