My ultimate desire is to see Indian, Pakistani artists on same set: Zindagi's Shailja Kejriwal

New Delhi: Fresh from the success of the Pakistani show Barzakh, Zindagi’s Shailja Kejriwal says her “ultimate desire” is to see writers and artists from India and Pakistan on the sets together. After all, the way forward for the industry to flourish is to be “more open and inclusive”.

Kejriwal, chief creative officer, special projects, Zindagi, from the Zee stable, said she realised very early in her career the importance of such collaborations.

"My ultimate desire, I don't know whether it will happen or not, is that we collaborate… writers and artists from both sides should be on a set together. I am trying to follow that path. Hopefully, we will be able to do something because we flourish more if we are open and inclusive," Kejriwal told PTI in an interview.

It has been a journey of one step forward, two steps back for the producer who was instrumental in making Pakistani actors Fawad Khan, Sanam Saeed and Mahira Khan household names in India by showcasing dramas such as Zindagi Gulzar Hai and Humsafar through the Zindagi platform launched in 2014.

Ten years later, she has brought back Fawad and Sanam, both with a huge fan following in India, in Barzakh. The supernatural family drama is being streamed on Zee5 and Zindagi’s YouTube channel.

“I felt my work would be incomplete if I didn't have a role in bringing these artists back,” Kejriwal said.

The years till the Zindagi produced Barzakh were challenging.

After the success of the Pakistani shows, Fawad went on to star in the big ticket Bollywood films Kapoor & Sons, Khubsoorat and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil while Mahira played the lead opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Raees.

Then came the Uri attacks of September 2016. Pakistani artists were banned and Zindagi eventually closed down only to be relaunched in 2020 on the streaming app ZEE5 and as a YouTube channel.

In its second iteration, Kejriwal started producing projects in collaboration with Pakistani directors. The big successes have been Churails and Qatil Haseenon Ke Naam.

She is hoping the buzz around Barzakh, written and directed by UK-based Pakistani filmmaker Asim Abbasi, is the beginning of a new phase.

"Nobody liked what happened at the time. It is never a pleasant experience when you have to shut down something. It has happened to me twice. It ('Barzakh') seemed like a completion for me," she said.

Kejriwal recalled that she faced a similar situation during her stint at Star in 1998.

Tanha, the show she produced at the time, was the beginning of her love affair with Pakistani content. Written by famous Pakistani writer Haseena Moin, it featured artists from both the countries.

"It was a family drama and then political stuff happened and the show had to be curtailed. I have been at it since then," she recalled.

Kejriwal cites the example of Kalki 2898 AD to make her point. The film, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Kamal Haasan and Prabhas, the biggest stars of the Hindi and the southern film industries, has emerged as a true pan India film. And that has happened only because it moved past the north-south divide, said Kejriwal.

"... My ambition is to go a step further from pan India... Why can't it be South Asians and Asians," she said.

Kejriwal points to the success of Indian actor Priyanka Chopra in Hollywood.

"She has made an effort and the industry there has recognised her talent. She comes with 1.5 billion people behind her who will watch her stuff. The industry there is more inclusive because it is better for the business. Similarly, for our industry to grow, we can't be confined to just between Juhu and Bandra." Admitting that it's challenging to restart something, she credits Punit Goenka, CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, to start Zindagi after her stint with Star and then again in 2020 when it was relaunched.

"It was great for me to do it again but it was because of the backing that I could move ahead," she said, adding that while business sense is essential, it is important for people working on producing content to tap into their artist self.

"What we managed and I am very proud of is that when we brought Zindagi shows, every household was watching it. I think it changed their opinion because earlier you didn't know much. I think Zindagi led to the non-demonising of the other," she said.

Abbasi has been a close collaborator and Kejriwal admires the discipline with which he handles high concept dramas such as Churails and now Barzakh.

The story of Barzakh was born out of the anxieties they both faced during Covid when Kejriwal was alone in Mumbai and unable to visit her family, while Abbasi also had a tragedy in the family.

"We were like 'Let's do a story of family reunion in a single location’… Asim and I were discussing a lot of literature. My background is literature and Asim is into cinema but reads a lot. We kept talking about these things. Gabriel Garcia Marquez.... He is my favourite author." Kejriwal said they again plan to work together on a project that's much bigger in size and scale and probably "will have people not only from Pakistan and India but other parts of the world" as well.

"Also writing something with Fawad in mind. Let us see what the circumstances are for films... There are difficulty levels in terms of collaborations and one has to overcome those and that takes a bit of time," she said.