PeepingMoon Exclusive: Even Sidharth Shukla hasn't lip-locked before, it's not just the actresses who have a problem with such scenes: 'Broken But Beautiful 3' co-producer Sarita A Tanwar

By Rashita Sahni

on May 28, 2021 04:50:27 PM

Sarita A Tanwar, who has been associated with the entertainment business for two decades, first as a media editor and then as a producer, is now all set to present Ekta Kapoor's Broken But Beautiful 3. The ALT Balaji show that stars Sidharth Shukla and Sonia Rathee in the lead, releases tomorrow (May 29).

As the excitement amongst fans increases to witness the magic of this unique love story, Sarita tells PeepingMoon exclusively what the audience can expect from the upcoming season, presenting a complex series like this one and including intimate scenes in the story.

Excerpts from the interview:

The Broken series takes us through the painful side of love, the aftermath, dealing with reality, redemption and what not. How did you conceive the series? Was it always meant to be a franchise?`

The idea came from Ekta Kapoor, she called me one day and said I think this is your zone, you should make it. I heard the story from the writer Reshunath and I instantly fell in love with it. Ekta, Reshu and I came from the same school of thought - that broken/scratched relationship stories are more interesting to tell than happy mushy love stories and we got together to tell one such story. And it clicked with the audience. No studio or producer plans to make a franchise, its the audiences that decide whether a show will become a franchise when they give it love and make it a success. Broken But Beautiful was loved by the viewers and therefore it became a franchise.

As a producer, how important is it for you to back complex and strong stories like Broken But Beautiful? That too, in a long format?

As a producer, I and my partner Niraj want to tell stories that are entertaining and engaging. Whether it is simple or complex is not the criteria. But the one thing we had decided when we set out, is that we will promote fresh new talent. We cast fresh faces as the leading ladies in BBB Season 1-2 (Harleen Sethi). and Sonia Rathee with Season 3. Not just actors, we have done three shows so far and we have launched three directors, all of who are now working on their first films. Even worked with new writers, DOPs and freshers in other departments. But it's industry leaders like Ekta Kapoor and Tarun Katiyal who deserve credit for having faith in us and backing our new actors and directors. Because ultimately it is the studio that to gives the nod. it's also commendable that Vikrant Massey and Sidharth Shukla, never once said they want an established name and didn't want
to work with a newcomer, which, as is common knowledge, does happen in the entertainment business.

Sidharth Shukla's fan following is known to all but whose idea was it to star newcomer Sonia Rathee opposite him? Did it feel like a risk at first? You could have easily roped in any other big, dynamic name…

Yes, we could have got a big name for Rumi, but the idea was to cast someone who was a good actor, and looked the part, also someone who didn't come with the baggage of an image. t thought Sonia Rathee was our Rumi, even before she auditioned. It was when i saw her intro tape for the first time. This was sometime in July. But not everybody was convinced, and we did over two hundred auditions. Even Sonia auditioned twice. We had three finalists but then Sonia seemed perfect for the role and she finally got it. Casting Sidharth was easy. He was the right choice for the part. We didn't do a single audition for the role. His angry young man avatar in Bigg Boss (i am a huge fan of the show) nailed the part for him. I can't think of anyone else who could have pulled off Agastya Rao. It was written for him, and he has played it to perfection. We were overjoyed that he liked the subject and agreed to make his digital debut with this show.

How are you planning to deal with the comparisons with the first 2 seasons? Considering, this time, the cast is completely new so comparisons are inevitable, even if the stories are different?

There will always be comparisons but the viewers are also ready to embrace new stories. Some will always connect with the previous seasons more..some will love this one more..That's out of our hands. What is, that we tell compelling stories. Broken But Beautiful is not just the name of the show, it is the theme… so there will always be different stories every two or even three seasons, as long as it takes for the characters to reach their version of happy ending. And then move to the next story.

Sonia Rathee recently revealed in an interview with us that at first she was not comfortable with the number of intimate scenes in the show and those were later cut down. While backing a show like this one that needs such scenes, what is your take on the actor's comfort? As BBB3 definitely comes across as the boldest than other two?

Intimate scenes in BBB series are never there for any other reason than to establish the intimacy between the characters. Intimate scenes can be done without any nudity. And that is true of all the seasons. We didn't cut out any intimate scenes, we just shot the scenes in an aesthetic manner, so both of our actors were comfortable. Unlike in the previous season, Agastya and Rumi's story begins on a physical note, it's not love at first sight for either of them, so intimate scenes were unavoidable. But there aren't many, as you will find out when you see the show. Even Sidharth hasn't lip-locked or done intimate scenes before, it's not just the actresses who have a problem with such scenes.