Blood, sweat and tears....

Blood, sweat and tears....

Ever wondered what a typical day in a hospital is like right from the Emergency Ward, blood banks to the kitchen? Or how a post-mortem or critical neuro-surgery is performed? Watch BBC World’s new series Hospital (Tuesdays, 10.00 pm). Set in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), it follows life (and perhaps death) as and when it unfolds. This is a genre of reality television which is being attempted for the first time in India.

‘‘The series will show AIIMS as it is and will capture the real-life drama which unfolds there every day,’’ claims Narendhra Morar, Commissioning Editor, BBC World, stressing that: ‘‘However, it is different from Survivor or Big Brother as it’s observational reality and not artificial, constructed reality.

‘‘This is not an investigative show,’’ he adds, ‘‘And we are not trying to make any kind of value judgments. It provides a straightforward look at a fascinating subject, observing real people in real situations. It is for the people to judge or realise,’’ he clarifies.

On why AIIMS was chosen as the ‘hospital’, Morar says: ‘‘It is a large hospital and a research institute with patients from all over the country. We thought it would be the right choice. Viewers will be able to identify with the feelings and emotions of the characters on screen.’’

But putting together such a series must have been a difficult task? BBC commissioned Miditech (Wheels) to try their hand.‘‘First, it was important to provide continuity to the series for the viewers to follow,’’ explains Miditech’s Niret Alva. ‘‘To make it simpler, the series takes you all over the institution through the eyes of two people Dr Amit Goyal (28), Senior Resident, currently posted in the casualty department and Merrita Sathiabaian (25), staff nurse working in the neo-natal intensive care unit.’’

According to Morar, the toughest part was to tie-up each story for a neat conclusion so that the viewer understands it. ‘‘The television crew knows what is going on, but for the viewer it might get too complicated,’’ he adds.

Alva was worried about the privacy aspect. ‘‘We can’t be intrusive at any stage as the patient is more important and we have to shoot without getting in his or her way. Moreover, we don’t shoot anything without taking prior permission of the patients and the doctors concerned,’’ says Alva, adding that ‘‘as a result, we sometimes missed out on very interesting and beautiful stories. In the Psychology Ward we had a very interesting story, but the doctor didn’t allow us to shoot it.’’

Another problem was the sheer size of the place. ‘‘The most important apprehension is to decide whether to follow this story or not,’’ says Alva. ‘‘AIIMS being such a large hospital it offers a wide range of subjects. But it is up to the crew to decide immediately whether to follow a particular case or not.’’Apart from this, there were many other nitty-gritties to making this ‘reality’ series a reality. Taking permission from the authorities to shoot for the series. Convincing the reluctant hospital staff, were among them.

But being already aware of the camera following them, didn’t the doctors and the other hospital staff put their best foot forward? ‘‘Initially, they were self-conscious, but eventually it has become a part of their daily routine and they behave absolutely normally,’’ says Alva. Some scenes were rivetting. Alva mentions a boy Mohan. ‘‘He is from Faizabad who has become blind. His father regularly goes to the eye bank or the mortuary, waiting for someone to donate their eyes. I am sure after seeing this many people would be inspired to donate their eyes, which subsequently meets our aim.’’

As far as the cost of this project is concerned, Morar is not revealing figures. But, he says: ‘‘It is definitely one of BBC’s high-end projects.’’ Though Morar and Alva are aware that there will be several copy cats, they are satisfied that BBC would be the first to foray into reality television in India. ‘‘As for the future, we might move to some other hospital or maybe to other aspects like prisons or airports,’’ reveals Morar.