Ajai Sinha tells Jyothi Venkatesh that a maker is judged by the number of votes that he gets because of the number game played by the channels.

How would you describe your show Ghar Ek Sapnaa?
Ghar Ek Sapnaa is the story of a family of six children. Each has his own story, his own dream of having his own home because a home is not made of just four walls.

Is it true that the channel asked you to reduce the number of actors in your show?
Yes. The channel did ask me to edit out the characters played by Harsh Chhaya, Lata Sabharwal etc in my serial Ghar Ek Sapnaa. I have no objection as long as the channel wants to keep on experimenting by removing X actor for some time from the serial, since Ghar Ek Sapnaa has a lot of characters and they wanted to reduce the number of actors playing the characters. I feel that it is their prerogative as long as they do not interfere creatively with the directors.

You have always been very loyal towards your actors!
I have always tried to utilize the maximum number of my regular actors in my projects. The moment I buy a new car, shouldn't I remember my previous driver?

How do you view today's scenario as far as TV serials are concerned?
Today TV serials have become designer products. They have become 100% commercial like say McDonnell's Burgers or for that matter Domino Pizzas, unlike in the past when we used to make quality serials. Today serials revolve around a false world where there is absolutely no reality. Colors and Sahara One are the only channels which make an attempt to make some real shows. I feel that it is quite sad that we have lost the belief that we can make good stuff, if the TRP's are not good.

Why do you no longer make hard hitting shows like Hasratein or Astitva?
Though even today I am known because of Hasratein, which I had made over a decade ago, it is a tragedy that the moment your show goes off air, no one remembers you or your show. Not only the channels but even the audience is responsible for this state of affairs. It is a pity that today no one wants to be jolted out of their wits with a shocking serial like Hasratein or for that matter Astitva

Was it a cake walk to make Hasratein?
The thought of Hasratein was twenty years ahead of today's times. I narrated the concept of Hasratein to Subodh Lal of Zee TV. He did not waste even a minute and straightaway asked me to make it.

To what extent, has your wife Sangeeta helped you climb the ladder of success?
My wife Sangeeta has always been my biggest support system. It is to her credit that she saw what I had when she married me though my in laws saw what I did not have at that stage of my career when I was just a nobody.

Isn't your latest Ghar Ek Sapnaa actually a rehash of your own Samay?
Frankly Ghar Ek Sapnaa was thought in terms of yet another serial of mine called Samay, which I had made several years ago. In Samay, my protagonist could be a mother like Surekha Sikri whereas today the protagonist has got to be a bahu or a beti or else the show will be rejected.

Can you elucidate?
It is sad but true that today no one wants to see a mother as the protagonist in any show, because today the protagonist cannot be a 45 year old or a 70 year old, unlike in the past, but a sixteen or a seventeen year old, whether you like it or not. Hence I have to sugar coat my serial Samay as Ghar Ek Sapnaa. Today when the protagonist of a show is lapped up when she is just a nine year old like in Balika Vadhu, you just cannot set out to make a show like Samay.

Why do you opt more for serious subjects than comedies?
Besides intense shows like Hasratein, Samay and Astitva, I have also made an out and out comedy like Gudgudi. It is wrong to jump to the conclusion that people who make intense and serious serials cannot make comedies. Didn't Gulzar make comedies which made you laugh your guts out?

How difficult is it today to make a daily soap these days?
It is quite difficult to direct a daily soap these days. Jaladh Sharma is directing the serial Ghar Ek Sapnaa, which has completed almost 500 shows till date. I am greatly indebted to Sahara One for encouraging me by backing a show like Ghar Ek Sapnaa, keeping confidence in my credibility, however big or small the range of visibility of the show may be, in terms of the TRPs that it is generating.

It is quite a long time since you have directed a serial!
I feel that practically no topic has been left untouched today. I am keen on making a show called Kabhi Kisiko Muqammal Jahaan Nahi Milta on a subject which no one has touched. I am confident that it will turn out to be my best show on television, in spite of the fact that the audiences today like thin stories which are stretched and hence contribute to the increase in TRP's.

Do you try to play safe as a maker when you set out to make a show?
Today it is not the makers but the audience which wants to play safe. The scenario has changed greatly of late. In the beginning when TV was nascent, we were free to have titles because at that time the director could take a call. Today the decisions are made entirely by the channels. Because of the number game played by the channels, you, as a director, are judged by the number of votes that you get.

How inclined are you to make reality shows?
Reality TV is not my forte. I am a man of drama and fiction, as far as emotional subjects are concerned. I do not at all feel comfortable with the various dramas connected with reality shows.

How would you evaluate your growth on television?
I was a civil engineer with MMRDA. I left my job and dabbled in acting in serials like Mahbharat, Bane Bigadthe, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi and Bahadur Shah Zafar before I launched Hasratein. I feel that my growth as a director has been finished in television and I feel stagnated now. I love TV but am practical to confess that I cannot give my entire life for TV

Why?
I feel that it is ironical that quality reigned supreme earlier when lesser number of people used to watch TV. The class audiences which used to watch serials like Hasratein, Astitva, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Hum Log etc at one time is extinct now. The section which used to watch TV earlier now does not watch TV now with the advent of the multiplexes. I have seen people confessing that they have stopped watching TV after Astitva.

How keen are you to make your presence felt in Bollywood?
Not many are aware of the fact that I had actually made my debut with a film called Stop three years ago. Though the film did not run, no one said that he did not like the film. I had also made The Bachelor with Raima Sen and Riya Sen, but for reasons best known to the producer, the film is still in the cans. I am now contracted to do a film which will revolve around the relationship between a father and his son, for PVR Cinema. -Sampurn Media