Writer-producer Shailja Kejriwal is happy that her endeavour to showcase stories from across the border has been received well

Mona

Content must move beyond entertainment, believes writer-producer Shailja Kejriwal. She is the woman behind two very interesting projects – Zindagi and Zee Theatre. As Zindagi, which brings stories from across the border, enlists its fifth platform, Shailja opens up on her love for stories, zeal to push the envelope and continue to be a game changer!

All of that, but first the beginning. Calling Kolkata home, a student of comparative literature, Shailja was all set to be a teacher when on a Christmas holiday to Mumbai, on the insistence of her friends, she thought of writing for the entertainment industry. She landed a job of a commissioning agent for a channel, and 22 years on, she’s busy doing what she loves.

Zindagi and the theatre initiative is her way to give back to the industry that has been kind to her. “It’s been 75 years of our Independence, also 75 years of when a line was drawn, making us split into two,” says Shailja. “I was bothered by the news channels and the discourse they propagate. Masses don’t have the access to know what’s on the side of the border. My interest in literature made me explore some stories and shows and it’s so wonderful to see that their stories are our stories, their love feels like ours, and there is so much apanapan,” she adds.

Given the volatile equation the two countries share, Shailja knew that it would be two steps forward and half-a-step backward kind of a journey. “We knew this wasn’t just another channel, it would have a different roadmap and we were willing to invest our time for that long.”

Shailja is happy at the response she has got, and strangely enough in the times of cancel culture, she has not even been trolled. “I am baffled that the feedback is all positive. We started with one and today we are on five platforms—Tata Play, Dish TV D2H, Airtel, and ZEE5.

To make theatre mainstream was Shailja’s desire. “Cinema has replaced plays. Many towns today boast of a cinema or two but no place to stage plays. Add to it, today viewers expect entertainment to come home and I promised that I would bring it to them,” says Shailja.

An endeavour that has only left her pleasantly surprised. “My intent was to preserve theatre and its forms – Bhavai, Theyyam, Therukoothu and Yakshagana. To find so many takers has been an amazing experience,” says Shailja.

Anything that bothers her, she isn’t the one to watch from side lanes. Her aversion to deep-rooted corruption made her write and produce the film, Madaari, which was led by Irrfan Khan. She worked with Irrfan again in Qarib Qarib Singlle.