Ketan Mehta, the director who gave us Maya Memsaheb, Bhavani Bhavai, Mirch Masala and Oh Darling Yeh Hai India is shooting in a flat at South Avenue near the Rashtrapati Bhavan for Pradhan Mantri. A serial about a Prime Minister taking over the reins of the nation, Pradhan Mantri's protagonist is untouched by the winds of corruption blowing around him. The story unfolds against the backdrop of a defence scam, which involves the highest of decision makers. A case of fact overtaking fiction?

"Yes, the uncanny resemblance to the revelations unleashed by the Tehelka tapes was not planned. We began working on the serial four months before the tapes came out in the public. The storyline was conceived after discussions with MJ Akbar who had an insight into the world of politics and journalism. The first time I heard about the tapes was when Akbar called me up from Delhi to say, 'Ketan, your serial is on a news channel,'" recalls Mehta.

When Mehta launched Pradhan Mantri, the storyline was meant to create an agenda for the future. "We wanted to create a yardstick for politicians, and to trigger some hope for a nation which has been waiting since independence for a PM who will rise above the trappings of power and the deep-rooted corruption surrounding our polity," explains Mehta. K K Menon, who plays the prime minister, was chosen after screening hundreds of actors. "He has the intense energy and earnestness which we were looking for." Former Delhi model Malavika Tiwari, who also dabbles in stained-glass, plays the PM's wife.

The fact that a rival channel is also coming out with a Hindi translation of Yes Prime Minister does not bother Mehta too much. "The two can't be compared. What they are trying is a spoof and what we have thought of is a serious political drama. In fact, the similarities between our screenplay and the real life defence scam were so high that we had to condense our first four episodes into one, in order to avoid a repetition of the real life events!" exclaims Mehta.

An Economics graduate from St. Stephen's, Mehta is in familiar terrain while shooting in the city. "Delhi is the nerve centre for our polity. Powerplay is something which is intricately linked to our popular consciousness," he says. On the one hand, the real-life happenings might help the serial get more viewers. On the other hand, says Mehta, they might be counter-productive. "It might be a case of audience fatigue helped by an media overkill," he reasons. So where does Mehta go after Pradhan Mantri? "To Manas, a science- fiction movie, without the gadgetry which marks similar forays in Hollywood."