An exercise in togetherness

A television series aims to change hearts and minds

FROM ISSUE # 181 (January 2011) | IN THIS ISSUE
	REFER TO FRIEND		PRINT THIS ARTICLE

ANUP PRAKASH From left to right: Eelum, Richa Sharma, Abinash Shah, Sauram Tuladhar

Abinash, one of the three talented scriptwriters says: Hamro Team has more than 15 major characters from different backgrounds and ethnicities. Maintaining the differences and uniqueness of the personalities while uniting them in their specific aim was the toughest part of the writing process. However, I really feel like I've grown up as a writer while writing this serial.

A young female football star forgoes an opportunity to move to the US through the diversity visa, choosing instead to coach an all-male football team. A young man returns with a degree from abroad to develop this team and make it successful. Young men from diverse backgrounds come together to play football and to realise their dreams.

If the plot of Hamro Team sounds unusual, it is not without reason. The series scheduled to air on Kantipur TV this January is part of a multi-nation television franchise produced by Search for Common Ground, an NGO focused on peace building with the motto of "Understanding Difference, Acting on Commonalities". "We wanted it to be realistic, but we are also trying to create a society that is the way we want it to be", says Yubakar Rajkarnikar, producer of the series.

To that end, Hamro Team uses the popularity of football and combines it with the appeal of TV, to attempt to transform social attitudes in countries struggling with conflict. Without giving away too much of the story, it has been adapted for the post-conflict environment that we live in right now, the central metaphor being that if we as a country work together to achieve our dreams, then nothing is impossible.

The plot has been successfully adapted and has aired as television series in Kenya, Liberia, DR Congo and Cote d'Ivoire, countries either currently undergoing or recovering from serious conflict. In Kenya, the show attracted an audience of 2.8 million and was aired more than once due to its popularity. It is currently also being aired in Palestine, while in Morocco, 23 percent of the 30 million population are estimated to watch the show.

Research indicates that while television shows may just seem like an accessible and cheap form of entertainment, they can be instrumental in shaping the behaviour of people. In Brazil, a soap called Novelas has been credited with helping to dramatically reduce the fertility rate. Turkish television shows are challenging the role of women in Middle Eastern society, setting off important public debates. In India, villages that watch television shows like Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki give more rights and responsibilities to women than the villages that do not.

In Nepal too, Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya's Raat gave an important reminder about the risks of HIV/AIDS and the roles of migrant workers in transmission of the virus. Chetana, which established Rejina Uprety as an actress in the Nepali film industry, was the most talked about TV show at the time for the way it raised issues of female empowerment.

The problem with public service messaging in regular entertainment forms is that it runs the risk of being too preachy. For this reason, there was a concerted effort from the beginning to give Hamro Team a commercial look, even though it is not a regular profit-making endeavour. Filmmakers and writers such as Deepak Rauniyar, Abinash B. Shah, Abhimanyu Nirabi and Abinashi Poudel were hired to write a realistic script. Bhusan Dahal was then approached to direct the series. "Bhushan has that stylish touch whether it is his music videos or his film, and that brings freshness," says Yubakar.

"I have seen message-oriented production where people spend five whole minutes preparing jeevan jal or washing their hands", says Bhusan Dahal. "That kind of thing is what we wanted to avoid. Hamro Team is a franchise that has been produced in other countries. What sets it apart is that the message is weaved into the plot, and it is spread over 13 episodes. It is made with your viewing pleasure in mind".

"The plot is driven by a message that emphasises teamwork, but apart from that, it has everything else that popular TV shows have: tears, comedy, and romance," says Richa Sharma, who plays the lead as the female football coach Seema. "I definitely think it will make its mark in Nepali television."

The series was shot continuously over the last few months in Hetauda and Kathmandu, but the process of conceptualising the script and putting it on paper took almost a year after the project's beginning in 2009. Then came the hurdle of choosing actors that were capable and available to play the diverse (and numerous) characters in the series.

One of the biggest challenges was finding a female lead who could play a strong (both physically and mentally) leader of a football team, from the singing and dancing sorority of the Nepali film industry. Richa Sharma was finally found two months after the rest of the cast had been selected and started training.

"I have played pretty unique roles in my career. I played a HIV positive character in First Love, and I played a blind woman in my first music video. But playing the character of a footballer who coaches 16 boys was quite something," says Richa. "I enjoy watching football, but the only time I have played football was the WAVE Celebrities vs. Media Kick-off Cup in 2006! So for this role I trained a few times with the women's football team of the Armed Police Force. It was a sight to see. For the first few days, every part of my body that the football had touched was bruised!"

Even though the cast was meticulously chosen, very few of the actors had real football skills. "My job was to make them look like they were actually quite good," says Bhusan. "But the female coach is the unique selling point of this production. I know people will ask me 'why a female coach?' My answer will be, 'why not?'"