http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_story.aspx?Section=Movies&ID=ENTEN20100161268&subcatg=MOVIESINDIA&keyword=television&nid=68667
New TV serial shows both sides of Mandal divide
Indo Asian News Service
Friday, November 26, 2010 (New Delhi)
What happens when a girl who lost her brother in the Mandal Commission
protests of 1990 - against reservation for the backward classes -
falls in love with a Dalit boy? That's the backdrop of the new series
Armaanon Ka Balidaan Arakshan.
"The anti-reservation issue is the backdrop of the story. But the
narrative is in the form of a love story," explained Saurabh Tewari,
head of fiction, Imagine TV.
"We are trying to show two sides of the coin - how some lives got
spoilt by the decision of reservations, and how some lives were
enriched. It is still a roaring debate and an issue like reservation
needs to be discussed. We hope the show opens the debate," Tewari told
IANS.
The show goes on the air Monday on Imagine TV.
In 1989, the one-man Mandal Commission submitted its report,
recommending quotas for backward classes in government jobs and
educational institutions. Then prime minister V.P. Singh tried to
implement it, leading to protests across the nation in 1990. Many from
the upper castes felt the quotas would sideline merit. Several
instances of self-immolation by students followed.
Armaanon Ka Balidaan Arakshan traces the life of Kamlapati Misra and
his family, who belong to the higher social strata and how their lives
are changed by Mandal.
Their son commits self-immolation to protest the Mandal Commission
recommendations and years later their daughter falls in love with a
Dalit boy, who benefits from the quotas and grows up to be a district
magistrate.
"Some political parties tried to gain mileage through the issue at
that time, but for many youngsters it is still a matter of career and
life, and for us, it is a privilege to highlight a cause of national
concern," he added.
Armaanon Ka Balidaan Arakshan will have 60 percent entertainment, and
the rest of the content will be devoted to the reservation issue.
"The reservation issue is the backdrop. But we have tried to weave it
into an interesting narrative. Otherwise it would only be fit as a
documentary. We are in the business of entertainment, but we do
realise that entertainment is not our only purpose. So we are trying
to hit the right balance with meaningful content that makes the
audience think," said Tewari.
The uproar over reservations was heard loudly in the northern belt of India.
"I have spent 22 years of my life in Uttar Pradesh. I have seen in
real life how upper class people criticised the government's decision
and how it helped the lower caste people in carving a niche.
"I was 16 or 17 years old when the agitation against the
recommendations of the Mandal Commission began. I have lived in that
atmosphere...so my experiences were the point of research for the
show," said Tewari.
The outdoor shoot took place in Hoshangabad near Bhopal and the rest
will be filmed on the sets in Powai, Mumbai.
The show has also been in the midst of a legal battle with filmmaker
Prakash Jha over the title as his next film is titled "Arakshan",
which too deals with student politics and reservations.
"We are still discussing and debating the issue. So we would not like
to comment on it for the time being. For now, we are going ahead and
will include 'Arakshan' in our title," Tewari said.
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