There are eleven cameras that keep track of Dia Mirza’s movements during the shoot of her television debut Ganga- The Soul of India . Yet it’s the first time in her career of 16 years in the entertainment industry that she is being just herself; with nothing of what she’s speaking on the show being scripted. “It’s wonderful that the audience is getting to see the way I’m off-screen,” she starts off.
Her debut on a television was a well considered one. Speaking of the wide reach of television and her decision to choose this assignment, Dia says, “The medium allows you to convey a lot, communicate well. The format of this show allows you to discover, explore, meet people and travel. Spread across a span of eight weeks with each episode lasting a good 45 minutes, the length was also just right.” .
Last seen in her home-production Love Breakups and Zindagi , Dia says “People presume that I’m not doing anything else when I’m off-camera. I run a film company, Born Free Productions, have scripts to read, work on the content for websites, it’s humungous! I’m also associated with three wonderful NGOs. I act, travel if and when I feel like. Saying this, I’m still a bread-winner and a working woman, but the nature of my job allows me to explore, enjoy and do things at my will.”
When we ask if Indian television has extended its definition of entertainment over the past decade, she shares some gyaan on what the word means to her. “Entertainment should make you laugh, feel angry, highlight social and political concerns. It needn’t be bereft of depth or intelligence. There are so many layers you can explore in the ambit of a narrative. Filmmakers and television producers are making incredible choices to do so.”
Dia had to do a lot of homework on the Ganges and its history prior to this adventure travel food documentary. Some learning also happened on the sets, as she travelled and met people of multifarious backgrounds. Dia mentions, “There were so many aspects to explore, the mythological side, the social relevance, the fashion-sense and multiple invasions. I could see cultural influences of settlers and what not!”
During her travels, she got to be alone in Gangotri, witnessing the river in its pristine form. There were instances where she cried on the Banaras. “The river sustained millions of lives in the past and will continue to do so for another hundred years,” she says, adding that she is also considerably affected by the extent of contamination and reports of the Ganges drying up.
Dia is thoroughly aware of the other side too. “I got to see spots where people even lost their eye-sight as they were bathing in the river. Some of the areas are in abject apathy. There are industrial effluents all over, the industries, people and governmental authorities contributing to the scene. Only once you love something, you can protect it and we need to understand the relevance of the river in terms of its cultural significance.”
She’s happy with the way the young generation is realising the value of environmental conservation and has met such a group during this stint. “People were throwing filth in places in areas that were being cleaned. I saw a young group, all in their late teens, leading a cleanliness campaign across the river; who were just unaffected by this and doing their job out of love. They could have watched movies, studied abroad and led a fun life elsewhere, but they were doing their bit for society.”
It was this social aspect that proved critical in bringing her on-board this show. Dia, who’s a huge fan of David Attenborough’s work with television says, she couldn’t have ever done the typical naach-gaana Bollywood stuff on TV. She rather cites examples like Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, who’ve managed their cinema and television careers with respect. “They were making dreams come true and were valuing human stories.” She winds up the conversation with a reminder that the show premiers on Living Foodz channel, this Sunday at 12 pm.
