Thinking out of box

The story of the Indian super hero, Nagarjun- Ek Yoddha was trending at Number one position on Twitter, the day it started airing on Life Ok. Television production house ‘Beyond Dreams’ founder Yash Patnaik seems to have his fingers on the pulse of the audience

Journalist-turned-television professional, Yash Patnaik is brains behind the production house ‘Beyond Dreams’. And it has certainly created enthusiasm in youth to dream beyond. The production house has four shows on air and they are garnering good response.

What is the story behind the name of your production house, Beyond Dreams?
I thought out of the box. Beyond Dreams matched the philosophy I believe in so we zeroed it on the name. It has positive vibrations.

How do you pick up a show for your production house?
The idea should appeal to me creatively. If the concept note engages me and I can visualise it into a TV show realistically, I pick up the idea. I don’t like to repeat ideas. I always pick up unique stuff.

Tell us about your show ‘Nagarjun- Ek Yodha’?
It’s a fantasy show. It touches the reality of life too. People are connecting with the content. Nagarjun... is a daring dream. When I thought of doing a superhero series, many cautioned me.

People asked me 'how can you do a superhero on TV and how will you sustain 5 days a week?'

I saw that as a challenge to be taken. Fortunately, we managed to get a supporting channel like Life Ok that believed in our vision. It took us two years to get the show on the air. We did almost one year of pre-production for it. We started creating VFX properties about eight months in advance. I am blessed with a great team, which stood by my madness for a year.

The show started trending on twitter when it aired, what was your reaction when you came to know about it?
It was overwhelming. We have heard about Arnab Goswami trending on Twitter but a TV show trending like this nationally and internationally is almost unbelievable. It had four million unique reaches and 35 million impressions, it was unthinkable.

I kept getting news of ‘Nagarjun’ trending from 8 pm. onwards. It opened at fourth in India and climbed up to number one by 9.10 pm. By the time the telecast ended we were 31st in the world. Hundreds of fans were uploading pictures with their TV sets playing Nagarjun. I must thank the audience for the support.

What is so special about your other show ‘Jana Na Dil Se door’? Its content and casting both are talked about.
‘Jana Na Dil Se Door’ is a show, where we are playing drama in many layers. At one level it’s the story of two half-brothers Atvara and Ravish (Vikram Singh Chauhan and Shashank Vyas). At another level it a love story of two very different people Atharva and Vividha (Shivani Surve). There is also the conflict of two strong headed women (Shilpa Tulaskar and Nausheen Ali Sardar) who share the same man in their lives. No moment is a dull moment in ‘Jana…’ We have many strong characters and strong actors in the show like Vineet Kumar, Pankaj Dhir, Aradhana Uppal, and Bhavini Purohit

Beyond Dreams has four shows on air. How does it feel?
It’s a great feeling. We have many responsibilities. 2016 has been a great year. More than the number of shows what is interesting is that all four shows are from different genres and have different target groups. ‘Nagarjun…’ is a superhero series, whereas ‘Sadda Haq’ is youthful romance. ‘Jana Na Dil Se Door’ is a drama and ‘Kuchh Rang’ is a slice of life. This is very satisfying.

By: Abhyudaya Karamchetu