Star Bharat will be known as a channel for Jiji Maa: Jay & Kinnari Mehta

Star Bharat, which has been having a good run as per BARC ratings, has beefed up its early prime time with a new show, ‘Jiji Maa’. Produced by Jay Mehta and Kinnari Mehta under the banner of Jay Productions, ‘Jiji Maa’ went on air on October 9, 2017 and airs Monday to Friday at 7.30 pm. 

The show is being directed by Rohit Raj Goyal (of ‘Diya Aur Baati Hum’ fame). ‘Jiji Maa’ stars two newcomers – Tanvi Dogra and Bhavika Sharma – in the protagonist roles, along with Pallavi Pradhan as Uttara Devi Rawat, Rajeev Paul as Jayant Rawat, Akansha Gilani and Rajesh Balwani in key roles. 

‘Jiji Maa’ is a story of two sisters, Falguni (Tanvi Dogra) and Niyati (Bhavika Sharma). After the death of their mother in tragic circumstances, Phalguni takes up the responsibility of her younger sister Niyati and becomes her ‘Jiji Maa’. 

Shedding more light on the show’s concept, Jay and Kinnari Mehta said, “It is a very unique concept. It revolves between two sisters – Falguni and Niyati, who are the best buddies and live in Jaipur. Falguni, the elder sister is an epitome of love and sacrifice. She is not just a sister but also a mother to Niyati and will take on all conditions laid down by Uttara Devi, who is the antagonist in the show.” 

‘Jiji Maa’ is not a finite series. The show’s producers believe that relationship shared by the two sisters and their growing up years would be able to hold on to viewers’ interest week after week. At the same time, they admitted that it was very challenging to retain viewer interest in the long term. “There are various shows coming up on various OTT platforms, but we work very hard to hold on to our audience’s interest,” they added. 

On launching the show on Star Bharat and not one of the mainstream Hindi GECs like Star Plus or Colors or Zee TV, Jay and Kinnari Mehta said, “‘Jiji Maa’ is a very strong content, and a show with strong content will get noticed far better on a channel which is newly launched. Had it been another GEC channel, where there is already a clutter of so many good shows, it probably would have got lost. I think Star Bharat will be known as a channel for this show.” 

However, Jay Productions overlooked mainstream GECs altogether, with its show, ‘Jeet Gayi Toh Piya More’, currently running on Zee TV. The production house also has two to three shows in the pipeline but felt it was too early to talk about it right now. 

Speaking on casting two relative newcomers in the lead roles, the producers said, “I liked their acting in their previous roles. We have watched Tanvi’s work in ‘Meri Sasu Maa’ and Bhavika’s work in ‘Parvarish 2’ and that was when we decided that they are perfect for the roles.”

Actor Speak 

On how she got the role, Tanvi Dogra said, “I went for Niyati’s audition, but the creative director asked me to audition for Falguni’s role and I got selected. I am very thankful towards him. He is the reason that I am playing Falguni’s character now.” 

Bhavika Sharma, on the other hand, received a call from the show’s producers. She was selected to essay’s Niyati’s character after an audition. Speaking further on her role in ‘Jiji Maa’, Sharma said, “Niyati is a very quirky character, with lots of energy, but at the same time she also loves her sister. Though I am humorous, I had to do a little bit of homework since I have to bring in more quirkiness in the character.” 

Dogra didn’t have to do much homework for her role as she feels she has a lot of similarities with Falguni’s character, who is loving and simple. 

When asked what it takes to not just survive but also thrive in the Indian television industry, Dogra said, “One should always take everything in a positive way and should have patience, because it is important to have patience to stay in this industry.” Sharma agreed with her on this and affirmed, “Patience is a must.”