‘CID is a badge of honour’: Dayanand Shetty, Aditya Srivastava on reviving the show after 6 years

Daya darwaza thod do is a dialogue that is forever etched in our minds For almost 21 years the cast and crew of CID have been entertaining the audience In 2018 when the crime show went offair fans complained and requested to bring ACP Pradhyuman Shivaji Satam Daya Dayanand Shetty and Abhijeet Aditya Srivastava back on the small screen Six years later the makers heeded fansrsquo demands Shetty and Srivastava caught up with midday on the set to discuss the crime show the plots theyrsquove upgraded and plans to connect with GenZ while keeping the authenticity and quirks of the show intact Edited excerpts from the interview What was it like when you learnt that the show is shutting down in 2018 and starting again in 2024 Aditya Srivastava When we came to know that the show is shutting down it was shocking It has been a long journey with the CID unit and wersquove operated like a family for over 20 years We had see each otherrsquos faces as soon as we woke up so when that was getting over it disappointed us When we learnt that the show is coming back in 2024 we couldnrsquot believe it until we reached the set and the camera began rolling The sixyear gap felt like it never happened Dayanand Shetty Between 2016 and 2018 the show changed its timings a lot so we had an intuition that something was happening with it We were disappointed when the call was finally taken in 2018 While we felt bad about it it felt worse knowing that the unit would suffer Theyrsquove been isolated from the rest of the industry for 21 years while doing this show We worried about what would happen to them We would still be able to manage and find other work but for them to acclimatise with another unit would take time We did feel that within six months or a maximum of a year the show would be back because people still liked the show they wanted it back A lot of personalities supported the show So we were positive that CID would come back but it didnrsquot happen until now Did you ever fear about figuring out what to do next AS No not really As an actor Irsquove looked at CID as a job During that time I added about 20 to 25 films to my career graph I never even thought of or felt fear I believe it is a journey and wersquove been lucky I think itrsquos the grace of the audience that wersquove managed to come back I have always picked up opportunities that came my way I donrsquot think too far ahead thatrsquos my attitude What was the highest point in your career in these six years DS COVID I cannot forget those two years at home where I enjoyed and pampered myself Those two years were almost the best time of my life After that when work came I felt reluctant to go out again The skies were clear birds were coming home I had started seeing sparrows I had some good moments at that time Did you wish to make any changes in CIDrsquos new season AS The writersrsquo team was discussing this In the sixyear break people have seen a lot of content and the audience has upgraded their content I believe we should upgrade the presentation The GenZ terms have also been included in this season As an actor we try to get ready on all aspects In TV you get the script in the morning you have to prepare and deliver so we intend to keep doing that to the best of our ability The show does look more glossy now Have there been any changes in the characters of Daya and Abhijeet AS The show has been going on 20ndash21 years As actors we try to change our approach which is sometimes possible because of the story Sometimes the change is actionwise or in relationships within the show Of course doing one character for so long is challenging for any actor but we try to keep it different If we have questioned someone in the previous episode we change the attitude the next time although it is very difficult because of the exposure the show has been getting We make small changes as actors DS These characters are embedded in peoplersquos minds that is why the show was brought back The characters are popular for certain things in the show like kids liked seeing ACP Pradhyuman moving his eyebrows and questioning criminals so those things will still remain What we can improvise is the technicality through the cameras We had outdated cameras before and in these six years wersquove upgraded those We use gimbal cameras that can go anywhere Of course we have to improve on the script too It cannot be that we solve all the crimes by triangulating the cell phone connection The audience will not enjoy the simplicity and predictability of these things Wersquove used AI in the coming episodes CID is like a thali you have to have comedy action emotion and drama Was it difficult to get back into character after the gap AS It was only difficult to get everyone back together because everyone had gotten busy with their respective lives However once we reached the set saw the same faces and camera we were charged We didnrsquot even realise that there was a gap How did you realise that fans missed CID AS The show had shut down but wherever we travelled people would approach us and tell us that they watched our show just a day before A lot of people didnrsquot realise that the show had gone offair Maybe they caught up with the shows online or the repeat telecast of episodes Or they watched it on the apps So according to them the show was still going on DS Recently I was standing in a queue for something Before me was a family who had a fouryearold child with them The father turned to me and said that his kid is a big fan of Daya I was wondering if they were trying to fool me How can a fouryearold child be a fan of a character who has been offair for six years The kid aggressively turned to me and said ldquoMe CID Bagtordquo I was surprised I realised they were watching the old episodes on YouTube or SonyLIV It felt nice to know that even though the show is offair we were still relevant Of course ardent fans complained saying theyrsquove seen the old episodes 25 times and demanded new ones How long is the new CID going to run for DS Maybe till a fouryearold child becomes 40 years old We may do this in our dentures too laughs What have you learnt about yourselves through CID AS As an actor we are lucky to get a show that the audience loved The aim of any actor is to have a connection with the audience and they get accepted We got that from this show Other than that it is like a job for me DS I came to know that I am a good human being laughs For 21 years wersquove worked with one team The people are so good we carry a middleclass attitude in food to how we manage everything There are no stars on set everyone is only an actor People outside consider us as something big but on set we are like everybody else We donrsquot even want to know about our star status we are the labour kind of actors who come at 9 am and leave by 10 in the evening People are surprised to see us being down to earth AS Itrsquos because our seniors have created that atmosphere Satam sir 74 belongs to theatre and has done a lot of work Wersquove always looked up to him He doesnrsquot throw any tantrums he is extremely devoted So when new actors come on set they get inspired If Satam sir is not asking for packup despite his age how can anyone else ask for it Itrsquos the culture wersquove created on set Previously yoursquove written a few episodes Can we expect some in this season too DS I canrsquot write I can only visualise a story and create a concept And that happens randomly and after two days it fizzles out So I call Christabelle DrsquoSouza who is a creative on the show to discuss a story She then develops on it The makers are kind enough to give me credit but I am not a writer Do you feel that your characters on CID overshadow your other work DS It is a badge of honour for us AS Sometimes when I meet people whorsquove seen me in Satya Black Friday Super 30 or Bhakshak they recognise me TV audiences recognise our CID characters and the reach of the show is quite vast