Mumbai: Ishika Shahi, the woman behind successful web shows like Heer Sharma Gayi and When Zodiacs Met, believes the audience is looking for shows that they can connect with. She feels reality is a bigger driving force than fiction.
She said, “I’ve seen a shift from escapism to realism. Shows that feel more authentic and grounded in real situations are doing better. Even documentaries are working well. I feel like audiences want to connect with something real and also learn something from what they’re watching. It’s not just about watching for the sake of it anymore.”
When building a web show, she starts with the concept and then moves on to the characters. She said, “But with Heer Sharma gayi, it was actually the conflict. It was about a girl who runs away from her wedding after her boyfriend rejects her, and now she’s left with this dilemma of what to do. And we wanted to explore that through the story. Also, how she understands herself and realizes that sometimes she brings herself into problems.”
“So it really depends, but I haven’t really created a show purely out of a character yet—it’s mostly been the concept or sometimes the conflict,” she added.
Her focus is entirely on creating rather than on the numbers. She said, “I’ve been lucky to have an environment where there’s no pressure or burden about numbers or the business side. So I just focus on the script and the story I want to tell. I’m not really looking at the numbers. Of course, it feels good when you get appreciation, but that’s not what drives me. What matters is that I feel content with what I’ve made.”
“Success is something you can’t really define right now because there’s so much content. But your concept has to be very unique, and your characters have to be very rooted and relatable. If you’re able to connect with the audience, that’s what works. It’s not easy because there’s a lot out there, but I do feel realism is the way forward,” she added.
As for the stories, she wants to create stories; she said they should feel unexpected. Ishika said, “Something that feels out of the box, which I haven’t really experimented with yet. I also love stories that bring out strong emotions. When you watch something and you’re left feeling something deeply, and you carry that with you and can’t forget it—that’s what makes a show stand out for me.”
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