Creating impactful stories is my goal', Purnendu Shekhar

The Television industry is doomed by the flavor of Rajasthan with hit shows like Balika Vadhu etc. and the man who introduced the Rajasthani taste to the viewers was Purnendu Shekhar. Like many others, he also had a dream to be an actor that made him reach the Bollywood land, Mumbai back in 1997. But as said, destiny is uncertain; Shekhar became an acclaimed writer and is considered to be the man behind Colors' genre-defining show Balika Vadhu.

After overcoming all the hurdles Shekhar has emerged as one of the exceptional scriptwriters for our television industry. Very recently, Shekhar’s new show Satrangi Sasural went live on ZEE TV and during the launch of the show, Adgully caught up with the one of the oldest script writers, Purnendu Shekhar to know more about his journey and experience working on Satrangi Sasural. 

Speaking about his experience with working on Zee’s new show, he said, “Working with Zee is like coming back to family. The kind of thought process the team has really motivates us for working on different genres of sows.”

On asking about the shift from becoming an actor to now being a writer, Shekhar said, “While struggling with making my presence felt in the Bollywood I realized that I do not fit for those areas and from there on I decided to head back to Jaipur but fortunately I got an opportunity to script for Imitihan which is a teleseries on Doordarshan and that held me back in Mumbai.”
The new show Satrangi Sasural claimed to be distinguished one centers around Aarushi who marries Vihaan Narmada Vatsal, a man raised by not one, but seven very strong and independent mothers.

Speaking about the different concept, he said, “Right from the moment we first began discussing the show with the team at Zee, we were very clear that we did not want just another saas bahu drama. The manner, in which we’ve treated the subject of a mother-son equation and the various aspects of caring and nurturing that each of Vihaan’s mothers embodies and the challenges Aarushi will face as their bahu, makes it the first of its kind on Indian television.”

“The concept lends itself beautifully to presenting a vibrant cross section of contemporary Indian culture and we’ve gone about it in a slice-of-life manner. Fortunately, we’ve been able to sign on some of the most memorable faces of Indian television loved by audiences over the years. Each of them has sunk their teeth into these roles and what we have on our hands is pure magic!” Shekhar added.

With his passion of writing shows that appeals to mass audiences, Shekhar gave a beautiful script for Balika Vadhu, which was the turning point in his career. Adding further, he said, “I love writing stories, which create an impact in the society and Colors provided me a perfect platform to showcase my talent.”

Apart from Balika Vadhu, Shekhar has also written TV series like Jyoti, Grihasti, Saat Phere... Saloni Ka Safar, Astitva Ek Prem Kahani and many more. Passion can make you reach the peak and that’s stays true in Shekhar’s case too. By Aanchal Kohli | Twitter: @aanchalkohli