ZEE TV to extend primetime with ‘Service Wali Bahu’
ZEE TV will be extending its original offerings in the primetime band with the launch of ‘Service Wali Bahu’ at 18:30.
The show, produced by Village Boy Productions�۪ Rakesh Paswan, is based in the small town of Jamshedpur. It revolves around a career-oriented woman (Payal) who can support her in-laws with a steady income post marriage. She�۪s ambitious and yet has her family values intact. Having broadened her horizons through education and learning and managed to build meaningful career for herself, Payal has a distinct vision about her husband and his family with whom she will spend her entire life with.
It explores an inspiring journey of ummeed, from being a self-driven, super achieving daughter who has always made her parents proud to falling into a trap of a new-age dowry system where her in-laws look to her as a steady source of family income.
���We were constantly developing subjects for the 6.30 pm slot. We were looking for an exciting drama and a concept that can catch the viewers�۪ attention very quickly. While we were developing the concept, we were also meeting a lot of writers and producers. This is when Rakesh narrated to us a one liner, which just clicked for our 6:30 pm slot offering. We did not have to explain anything to the viewers, the title played its own magic,� says ZEE TV programming head Namit Sharma.
Sharma feels that the story is relevant in today�۪s time and allows the channel for a beautiful socially relevant story telling. According to him the USP of the show is that it delivers a message and makes a statement about how a woman can balance work and home both, successfully despite problems.
The makers and the channel started discussing the show almost four-five months back. ���It is a turnaround show for me,� says Sharma.
He further adds that unlike other shows where ZEE works with multiple writers and collates thoughts, which takes a lot of time, in this show the channel has worked with Paswan as the only writer, which was an advantage. ���Rakesh�۪s strength is that he is a writer and his writing comes very naturally. The rest falls into place quickly. Here, we are writing it with a very clear focus about her journey, tribulations etc,� Sharma says.
Paswan, who has worked with the channel before and delivered shows like Afsar Bitiya and Dulhan, believes that the new series questions mindset that looks to exploit a working woman for her ability to learn. ���The differentiated concept of the show and its treatment is aimed at making the audience sit up and question the motivations with which people approach marriage,� says Paswan.
‘Service Wali Bahu’ launches on Monday 23rd February at 18:30 in India. In the UK, live show ‘ZEE Companaion’ is on-air at the moment, so a telecast time is yet to be confirmed.