Lagaan
filmmaker
Ashutosh
Gowariker
is
venturing
into
television
with
upcoming
show
Everest,
which
is
about
a
daughter's
determination
to
gain
her
father's
acceptance
by
climbing
the
highest
mountain
peak.
The
director
said
his
love
for
the
medium
lured
him
to
sit
on
the
producer's
chair
and
write
the
show.
The
Star
Plus
show
has
been
co-directed
by
Glenn
Baretto
and
Ankush
Mohla.
"The
main
story
is
to
climb
the
Everest.
The
different
camps
at
various
levels,
the
first
frostbite,
the
high
blood
pressure
and
also
the
entry
to
the
death
zone," Gowariker
said
in
a
group
interview.
"We
take
it
for
granted
that
a
male
will
conquer
Everest.
But
through
this
show
I
am
exploring
the
girl
child
issue,
equal
rights
and
how
determination
can
help,"
he
said.
The
director
said
being
used
to
writing
his
movies,
he
found
it
hard
to
pen
a
story
for
television.
"As
a
film
director
I
have
spoiled
myself.
I
wrote
the
story
of
Everest
and
while
finishing
that
I
realised
that
I
wanted
to
produce
the
show
and
I
needed
experts
who
could
direct
it.
"Normally
on
television
when
you
write
a
show,
you
write
for
a
few
episodes
and
then
you
wait
for
the
audience's
reaction.
Based
on
the
reaction,
you
make
changes
and
write
the
rest
of
the
show.
But
for
Everest
I
had
to
write
the
entire
show
at
one
go,"
he
said.
The
cast
of
the
show
is
comparatively
new
apart
from
two
big
names
Milind
Gunanji
and
Rajat
Kapoor.
Gowariker
said
the
main
criteria
for
the
actors
to
be
a
part
of
the
show
was
their
fitness
regime.
"The
first
thing
which
I
looked
into
was
the
age
of
the
actors
and
their
physical
fitness.
All
of
them
had
to
go
through
an
altitude
test.
Because
physically
you
might
be
fit
but
mentally
you
may
not
be
that
strong
in
that
higher
altitude,"
he
said.
The
shooting
of
the
show
took
place
in
Nepal,
Uttarakhand,
Pokhran
and
Jaipur.
It
talks
about
the
ambitions
of
climbing
the
Everest
from
a
female
perspective.
When
asked
about
his
favourite
shows
on
Indian
TV,
Gowariker
said
he
was
a
huge
admirer
of
'Bigg
Boss'.
"I
love
to
watch
television
shows
and
don't
have
any
problem
with
the
Saas-Bahu
genre.
But
my
favourite
show
is
'Bigg
Boss'.
No
one
can
take
away
the
remote
from
my
hand
when
it
is
on.
What
I
like
about
the
show
is
the
changing
personalities
of
the
contestants
every
night.
That
creates
a
characterisation
tool,"
he
said.
PTI