He denies any comparison with his father whom he considers a saintly figure. And now having stepped into his shoes, Prem Sagar, son of late Dr Ramanand Sagar, is ready to guard the legacy of spiritualism and wisdom left behind by his father.
On his arrival in the city to participate in Ganga Mahotsav organised by Prayag Sangam Arti Samiti, Arail, Prem Sagar was all praise for Allahabad which he mentioned as a light-house guiding the directionless.
He recalled the vision and ideas of his father who was popularly known as 'media mughal'.
"Creating quite a stir, 'Ramayan' was a milestone in the world of teleserials. I salute to the vision of my father who at once decided to make a big leap into the teleserials when he was exposed to the world of coloured televisions. The film pundits criticised his decision as six films made by him had earned a silver jubilee each. But he went on with his decision and created an unforgettable saga Ramayan," said he.
Prem started his career as a director of photography after qualifying for FTII, Pune where he had Satyajeet Ray as his examiner. After earning gold and silver medals, he joined his father as the cameraman of 'Lalkar'. Likewise, he also had opportunity to work with Dr Ramanand Sagar on his other projects such as Aankhen, Charas, Bagawat and others.
{{/usCountry}}Prem started his career as a director of photography after qualifying for FTII, Pune where he had Satyajeet Ray as his examiner. After earning gold and silver medals, he joined his father as the cameraman of 'Lalkar'. Likewise, he also had opportunity to work with Dr Ramanand Sagar on his other projects such as Aankhen, Charas, Bagawat and others.
{{/usCountry}}Actually, the able son of an able father is a blend of talents rolled into one. He is a cinematographer, working as a marketing director for Sagar Group, and also making a mark as a producer and director.
"Sagar Group made so many serials like Krishna, Sai Baba, Hatim, Prithviraj Chauhan, but my first serial as a director was 'Bikram Betaal'. Right now, I am working on my father's dream project 'Durga' which he was planning to make after the completion of 'Krishna'. It will have 52 episodes of one hour each.
Another project is also in the making which will run for 104 weeks and this fantasy-based serial will be aired on Star Plus in July," he said. Prem was quite enthusiastic to discuss the progress of third generation of Sagar family. His son Shiv Sagar who accompanied him, is handling a massive project of 'Nau Dham' or nine venues of pilgrimage. This youngster who exuded immense energy, has already started with 'Gangadham' in Hardwar.
"It will be a sort of theme park with all the gadgets of entertainment but still the entire park will be based on the information about a particular deity such as Gangadham where the people could even buy idols of Maa Ganga which are very rarely found," said Shiv. The entire project will take two years to complete.
"Another movie '1971' is being made by Amrit Sagar which is based on Indo-Bangladesh war. We have always stuck to our brand equity and it is our effort to give some positive message to the audience through our movies and serials," said Prem.