Relatability is important to get today’s audience invested in TV content: Sonnal Kakar

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Sonnal Kakar, Former VP, Fiction Head at ColorsTV, Viacom 18, speaks about the concept behind Zee TV’s show, ‘Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile’, which is her debut show as a producer. Kakkar has more than two decades of experience in the industry which includes important leadership roles in channel management.

‘Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile’ revolves around the story of two strong protagonists – Reet Chaudhury and Raghav Suryavanshi. It surrounds the aata saata marriage custom that is still prevalent in several parts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, and explores the complex dynamics of relationships driven by family love. Reet, a headstrong journalist chooses to marry not for love, but for her sibling’s happiness.

Could you explain the main concept behind the show Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile, including its unique elements, captivating storyline, and distinctive take on human emotions and relationships?

When I wrote the concept of the show ‘Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile’ and when I was developing the story, I wanted to make a story with a very strong protagonist. I especially wanted something to be woven around a custom or tradition that is prevalent but never shown in that light. So that is why I picked up a custom that is very prevalent in parts of Gujarat and MP as well as Rajasthan.

It's a tradition called ‘aata saata’. It is a tradition of an exchange marriage between a brother and sister in exchange for another brother and sister. Then usually the second girl is kept as a guarantee. That's what we have kept in our show as well. So basically it's all about the sibling love that the protagonists share.

The male protagonist Raghav is doing this marriage for the sister and Reet is doing the marriage to save her brother. That is where the whole concept and two alpha characters are coming together for the first time for anything to do between them, but because of the siblings. So that is why I thought that it's a unique take between two alphas and how a transactional marriage can bloom into true love in an aata saata marriage.

The girl is also an investigative reporter. She is a very independent girl who's taking the responsibility of the house. She doesn't have a father, but yes, how she is evolving and managing everything like a woman of today. I wanted to resonate very well so that whenever the viewers see it, they can see a part of themselves. It's so empowering to see that the girl can manage all the fronts by herself. And talking of the boy, he is also like a temperamental manchild, but he's this great head of a construction business. The story is about when love blossoms between them, how will they manage to have a life? And how will the relationship pan out? That's the onset of the story.

How has been the response received out of the show so far?

It’s getting a very good response in terms of the chemistry shown between the boy and the girl. They're liking the girl's character because of her value system and how she's standing up for a girl of today while you still see the vulnerable side of her, when, of course, it comes to her family.

So, she's got a very good balance, and that is what the audience is picking up. And also, they love the cushion between the two Alpha characters of Reet and Raghav that is resonating very well.

What motivated you to create a show like this?

I wanted to create a story that has a strong relatability factor. I think relatability is a very important question these days, that whatever you see on screen, if you can identify and be able to relate to the character that it's not bizarre. And how could this be possible if it's woven in a world of today where there is a value system of today's time and there is a situation in which the girl has landed, but yet how she will come out of it, that is very interesting to see how her spirit doesn't get bent.

She's still very uptight and she's still ready to take it up in her stride. Like how when we all go through challenges, we overcome those challenges to go to a certain level, but we don't lose the grit or the integrity that is there in our character. So I think relatability was the biggest thing.

And the story has never been told before. Also I feel it is a custom that has never been explored ever.

Given your extensive background in channel management, how did that experience influence your approach to producing this show?

I think that plays a very integral part in helming this project. The 20 years of channel experience that I have headed on top channels, sends down that you have so much experience with how the viewers consume the content. You know, how do viewers see a certain show? Because I have done enough shows of different genres, I feel that if the audience relates to the emotion and the pain of the character or through the journey of the characters, they are invested.

So, that played a very integral role because I understand how the viewer’s mindset works. What do they like, what do they like to see in a protagonist, what kind of romance do they like? What kind of family values do they want to see? And also a fair sense of something that has never been shown before. So that also really excites the viewer. So all my channel knowledge that I garnered in all these years helped me a lot in understanding the viewer and hence making a show that I feel will resonate very well with them because of the relatability of two great Alpha characters that we see today.

The day-to-day topical issues that I have written in the show that I feel will resonate with the audience because the small topics that I have picked are of everybody's household, so that also plays a very important role in the viewer getting connected to the show.

If you Google this also you will see so many articles about the aata saata custom and it is prevalent in many states as I told you before, and it is still prevalent in parts of the country. And how sometimes, this tradition was earlier used, of course, for an exchange marriage. But in the show that we have done, this girl, Reet, is almost kept as a guarantee in order to ensure the other sister's happiness.

That is what the whole core of the show is about. But it's very much still prevalent in parts of India.

How did you feel about stepping into the role of a producer after spending so many years in leadership roles within channel management?

I feel it was a very gradual call for me because I love storytelling, and I love making shows. I love the entire creative process about it. Thus, it was a very gradual and organic transition for me because I wanted to make something that I believe in and I wanted to write something that I would only think about the viewers and I would make it a certain kind of concept because creative storytelling has always been my forte in all my channel years of experience also.

So this was a very organic transition for me because I love telling stories and this was a great way of making a concept and making a story that I believed in and that I feel will resonate well with the viewers.

How do you see the changing landscape of Indian television influencing the kind of content you want to produce in the future? And what are the trends according to you currently in the Indian television space?

 I feel post-pandemic now there has been a certain shift in how the audiences see a particular content. And it may be any kind of content, maybe TV or web content. Especially in this pandemic, post-pandemic years, there is a big shift because OTT has also garnered a lot of attention right now.

A lot of people have access to different kinds of platforms and everything. And in that, I feel any story, be it on the web or on TV, which has a great emotional and relatability portion, will only shine over the top. And unbelievable storytelling, I feel, doesn’t resonate very well with the viewers. Now I think there is a certain believability that they want to enchant. In every show that you feel across that is working on GC or any other platform, the believability portion has gone up.

There needs to be something that is empowering for them. The audiences want to see empowered protagonists. They want to see the women of today standing up on their stage and fighting their whole life. I wanted the protagonist to be one that is not only taking care of herself but once she gets married, she will never leave her family and she will never leave her job also. So the job that she has will always be a very important part of what she is and what she stands for as a protagonist. So I think, yes, definitely empowering stories that bring about a positive change, I feel viewers want to see.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of producing your debut show? And how have you evolved throughout the process?

I think it’s great. It’s been just the second week of the show. But the kind of response and love that I am seeing around for this show is very overwhelming because a lot of people have come and told me that they could resonate well with the character. They love to see a protagonist who is not only interested in love but is managing the house beautifully, managing the sibling's love, and managing every responsibility of her life very well. Also, it's a kind of love story that we were waiting to make because it seems so impossible at the outset that viewers are keen on watching how it will unfold.

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