Decided to direct ‘Aarambh’ because of Vijayendra Prasad: Behl

MUMBAI:  Filmmaker Goldie Behl says he decided to switch to television with “Aarambh” as he did not want to miss the opportunity to work with “Baahubali” writer K V Vijayendra Prasad.

Written by Prasad, the TV show features Karthika Nair and Rajneesh Duggal in lead roles. It will air on Star Plus from June 24.

“I am directing the show and the major reason for that is Vijayandra Prasad, he has written great works like ‘Baahubali’, ‘Magadheera,’ ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’. He is such a talented writer. I got an opportunity to work with him and I did not want to let it go,” Behl said.

The show is a finite series with 65 episodes. The director says they wanted to do justice to the story and hence decided to make a TV show rather than a film.

“The story he (Prasad) came up with was so large that it could not have fitted in one movie. So, we decided to do a limited series.”

Behl, 42, says his aim is to entertain the audience and medium does not matter.

“We are just trying to tell a story and entertain people irrespective of the medium.”

At a time when Indian audience is hooked to international TV shows like “Game of Thrones” and “Outlander”, will an Indian period-war drama like “Aarambh” will strike the right chord?

Behl says while he is not eyeing to compete with shows like “Game of Thrones”, he has tried his best to give an international feel to his work.

“Those are really great examples, we are doing a small tour compared to them, but I have tried to give it an international look and feel. The scenes give a cinematic experience. So, it is in that genre.” (AGENCIES)