Of old roles and new characters

CID which has been on air for the past 17 years and will soon mark its 18th — has had a loyal fan base for nearly two decades. In an age when shows go off air in a few months when they fail to garner the necessary TRPs, ACP Pradyuman (played by Shivaji Satam) and his team have managed quite the feat.

Ask Satam about their triumphant run and he says, “I believe the reason is that this show is watched by those between the ages of seven to 70! We ensure that each episode is different; not repetitive. If the content is strong the show will run and that’s missing in a lot of shows today. For the audience, we are like family now, whom they look forward to meeting.”

So how has he been playing the same character for 17 years, without tiring of it? “The moment I’m off the sets I turn into Shivaji Satam, a simple, middle class person. Fans think we are larger-than-life characters but they still relate to us. When you receive such love for your role, you can’t be tired of playing it,” the actor replies.

We hear, there’s a new twist in Maharana Pratap. Tarun Khanna’s character Zeher Sakaa was introduced recently but what isn’t revealed yet is that Tarun is playing a double role in the show. Our source says, “Zeher Sakaa has been sent by Akbar to kill Pratap and the two will soon have a huge fight sequence. After that it will be revealed that Zeher and Sakaa are two separate people. So while Pratap will think he has to deal with one enemy, he is unaware that they are actually two people.”