MUMBAI, November 23: A sentence, a pause. Four words, a pause. Foreheads crease, another pause. Voice modulation exercise on TV? No way. Rather, it is a perfect way to describe any sequence from any episode of Ravi Rai's serials: Sailaab, Thoda Hai Thode Ki Zaroorat Hai or Teacher.

The Pause is just one of Rai's distinguishing characteristics: there's also his weakness for casting the same actors in all his serials and his partiality for emotional dramas. At a time when all serials look alike, irrespective of channels, Rai's are different, boss. When they're not like each other, that is.

Pauses. Why on earth is he so obsessed with them? For Sachin Khedekar, Rai's favourite actor, his lines "need to be spoken with pauses, because their content will not suit a fast pace". Rohini Hattangady giggles in agreement with the `pausomania'. She says it is part of the director's treatment. "To Rai, his serials aren't just stories, they relate man to man. The intensity of his dialogues demands pauses, during which the audience thinks," says Hattangadi. Actor Kuldeep Mallick who has played a loser with a heart of gold, in both Sailaab and Thoda Hai, supports his director. "If his pattern is successful, let it be," he argues.

But doesn't it get monotonous? " Rohini has her own way of dealing with the threat of monotony. "My characters are well-defined and I try my best to vary accordingly," she says. She has to -- what with Rai's liking, not just for pauses, but also for the members of his cast: Rai tends to have the same set of actors in similar roles, again and again. An example: Alok Nath and Rita Bhaduri are man and wife in both Teacher and Thoda Hai... In the former they play Sachin Khedekar's unhappy in-laws; in Thoda Hai, his grieving parents.

Why is Rai so intent on confusing us? "Rai does not repeat actors, he repeats human beings," is the explanation actors offer for his magnificent obsession. Rai has a defense too: "The actors are doing ten other serials. What does anyone have to say about that?" asks Tellywood's master of poetic prose. "I started my TV career with this cast that stayed on for the later serials. I've known Rohini since the time I was an assistant to Mahesh Bhatt,'' he adds, ``I've known the others since Imtihaan (he was the writer of Imtihaan and it's director till episode number 98). ``They're all talented. Why shouldn't I work with my friends who are so talented?" he asks. One of Rai's talented friends is Mahesh Thakur. "We are all bags of emotions. Rai is a man who understands his cast as persons. So he creates the characters according to the nature of the actors," says he.

For example, the character of Avinash of Sailaab was created on the sets itself. Mallick's similar roles in two Rai serials doesn't seem to bother him, either. "It's good for my image," says he. Most people might have missed the obvious -- Renuka Shahane, Sailaab's leading lady is missing in both Thoda Hai.. and Teacher. She was offered Thoda Hai... She was supposed to be Sachin's wife. "I didn't want Thoda Hai.. to clash with Sailaab at all," says Renuka. "There was no role in Teacher." Finally, spare a thought for Rai's feel for feelings. In all his serials, it isn't action that's centrestage, but the heart. "The subjects I'm working on are intense, emotional,'' he says, ``when we talk we must search for words and yet try and be natural.'' And people seemed to have loved Rai's delicate subjects and the even more delicate execution. But doesn't his cast find it tough always being ``intense and emotional''? ``They don't,'' claims Rai in a tone of finality. If there is any confusion, he blames it on Teacher and Thoda Hai being telecast at the same time on different channels. What can we say but, vive la difference!

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.