'Buniyaad' laid the foundation

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Monika

@monika.goel

Sparkler

Posted: 20 years ago

'Buniyaad' laid the foundation
By: Aafreen Kidwai
October 30, 2002

THE BUNIYAAD TEAM: From left Kanwaljeet, Anita Kanwar, Dalip Tahil, Alok Nath, director Jyoti Sarup, Girija Shankar, Rajesh Sethi and Abhinav Chaturvedi

Buniyaad was the mother of soap operas when it premiered on Doordarshan in 1985. Based on the Partition, it was one of the earliest TV serials in Indian television history to have lavish sets and overwhelming drama.

Produced by Sippy Films, it was aired twice a week — on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 9 pm. For the one and a half years it was on air, Buniyaad ruled — people would not move out of their houses so that they wouldn't miss the show.

Directors

Ramesh Sippy and Jyoti Sarup (from episode 26 to 47).

Cast

Anita Kanwar, Alok Nath, Kanwaljeet, Kulbhushan Kharbhanda, Abhinav Chaturvedi, Kruttika Desai and others.

Budget

Sarup took over the direction of Buniyaad from Sippy, from episode 27. He says, "When I joined, Buniyaad was being shot on film and they wanted to switch to video. Doordarshan was giving the producer Rs 2.5 lakh per episode, which was hardly anything. They were spending all the money and not getting much return on it. But as soon as we started shooting on video, I cut the costs to Rs 1.25 lakh and profits started coming in."

Inspiration

According to Sarup, G P Sippy having witnessed the Partition himself, always wanted to make a serial like Buniyaad. "And when writer Manohar Shyam Joshi approached him with the story, he immediately lapped it up. Also, since it was the first time Ramesh Sippy — who was very big in the film industry because of Sholay — was doing a TV serial, there was lots of excitement among the audience," he says.

The making

Recalls actress Kruttika Desai, who started her career with Buniyaad, "There were two permanent sets put up in Film City. We had a very tedious shooting schedule — starting at 7 am and packing up at 10 pm. Rameshji was a strict disciplinarian and punctuality was of absolute importance. Things were so professional on the sets that even though two actors in the lead roles, who couldn't get along one bit, would put their differences behind them and work as a team. No one who has seen the show will ever say those two actors can't stand each other. Such was the dedication."

Trivia

Sippy wanted an extension of 104 episodes from Doordarshan which was refused as it wasn't DD's policy to do so. That is why in the last episode of Buniyaad, the characters have aged. "Ramesh wanted to do a jump cut and return with the in-between years. Unfortunately that didn't happen," concludes Sarup.

https://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/television/2002/october /35112.htm