Star Plus debuts ‘P.O.W. - Bandi Yuddh Ke’ at Jio MAMI Film Festival

Star Plus has premiered its upcoming show, ‘P.O.W. - Bandi Yuddh Ke’ at the ongoing ‘Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival with Star’. It is for the first time in 18 years of MAMI’s existence that a TV show has made its debut at the event. The 126 episode finite series is set to launch on Star Plus from November 7, 2016 at 10.30 pm and will air Monday-Saturday.

As reported earlier, ‘P.O.W. - Bandi Yuddh Ke’, directed by filmmaker Nikkhil Advani, is an Indian adaptation of the acclaimed Israeli series ‘Hatufim’ by writer and director Gideon Raff. ‘P.O.W.’ is presented by Dabur Red Paste and powered by Tiago from Tata Motors.

The screening of ‘P.O.W. - Bandi Yuddh Ke’ was followed by a panel discussion on ‘Evolution of Storytelling on Television’. The panel included Israeli writer & director Gideon Raff; American filmmaker Cary Fukunaga; Head of Content Studio at Star India, Gaurav Banerjee; and Indian filmmaker and director of the show, Nikkhil Advani. Some of the areas the discussion touched upon included, the scale and scope for nuanced story-telling on television, higher reach and inclusive nature of television vis-à-vis films, how TV entertains not just India but Bharat. It also looked at how television impacts the lives of viewers directly and stimulates change in individuals and society at large.

Gaurav Banerjee noted, “We have been bringing the best from across the world for the larger Indian audience and ‘P.O.W. - Bandi Yuddh Ke’ is the latest in that direction. We believe in experimentation, be it with genres, formats, narratives or the overall viewer experience. We are here at MAMI with a television show amidst international cinema to showcase the potential that storytelling in television holds today.”

“Adapting ‘Hatufim’ to Indian reality was a very interesting experience for me,” said Gideon Raff. “The family structure out here in India, societal and cultural norms of expressing emotions – are somewhat similar to what we have in Israel. So, ‘P.O.W. - Bandi Yuddh Ke’ and ‘Hatufim’ are very similar and very different at the same time.”

‘P.O.W. - Bandi Yuddh Ke’ is Nikkhil Advani’s first directorial venture in television. Talking about the content, he said, “This show brings together two absolutely diverse realities, life in prison and life with family. On the one hand, you have torture of the worst kind and on the other hand, there is family bonding and romantic love. ‘P.O.W.’ covers that and the ground between. I hope the audience connects with this show.”

An untold story of war, ‘P.O.W. - Bandi Yuddh Ke’ is a large scale, high octane family drama set in a thriller mode. Sartaj and Imaan, declared Missing in Action (MIA) after the Kargil war of 1999, escape from a Pakistani prison to return home after 17 years. The narrative focuses on how they reunite with their spouses Harleen and Nazneen and gradually settle back into their interrupted family lives, overcoming the trauma and scars of torture and captivity. Accomplished actors like Purab Kohli, Sandhya Mridul, Amrita Puri, Satyadeep Misra and Manish Chaudhari have teamed up for this project with Nikkhil Advani.

The female protagonists of ‘P.O.W.’ reflect the new brand thought of Star Plus, Nayi Soch. They break free of stereotypical female characterisation, question norms wherever required and face the situation with grit and make choices not because of their circumstances, but despite it.