MUMBAI: Bollywood’s youngest superstars Parineeti Chopra and Sushant Singh Rajput joined the Charity concert held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor stadium in Delhi for the flood victims of Kashmir and Assam. A total of 35 Zee channels will simulcast this initiative on 26 October. Also, Zee Marathi, Zee Kannada and Zee Telegu will air the event on 2 November. This fund-raiser campaign, “Hum Hain… Umeed-e-Kashmir” is an initiative to raise funds and awareness for flood-stricken Kashmir that has devastated and unhinged the lives of many leaving, many casualties and loss of homes, property and livelihoods in its wake.
This evening, 18 October, Hum Hain…Ummeed e Kashmir was hosted by the Zee TV’s Jamai Raja; Ravi Dubey and the charming Sameer Kochchar at the Indira Gandhi Indoor stadium in Delhi and featured a veritable who’s who: Farhan Akhtar, Amir Khan, Shaan, Shantanu Moitra, Mohit Chauhan, Anupam Kher, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Neha Dhupia, Aditi Rao Hydari, Vivek Oberoi, Daler Mehendi, Neeti Mohan, Aditi Singh Sharma and Harsheep Kaur to perform and appealed to viewers to donate graciously to rebuilt Kashmir.
Send your donations to www.zeetv.com/humhain/
Category: GECs
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‘Hum Hain… Umeed-e-Kashmir’ says Zee TV
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“I will take this Mannat to Delhi!” says Shah Rukh
MUMBAI: Everyone knows that Shah Rukh Khan’s sprawling, sea-facing mansion ‘Mannat’ – where he stays with his family – is his prized possession and a point of envy for countless others! But a young contestant named Mannat took the King Khan by surprise when she came to perform at the Ahmedabad auditions of Zee TV’s tour in search of India’s happiest dancer – Dil Se Naachein Indiawaale. All of six years old, Mannat is the youngest contestant on the show! She mesmerized the panel of celebrity judges aka the ‘Agents of Happiness’ the moment she set foot on stage. Cute Mannat captivated the audience and the judges alike with her act on song “Manwa Lage Re”, which left SRK & Deepika spell-bound!
So taken was Deepika by this young one’s cuteness that Mannat was practically seen sitting in Deepika’s lap throughout the remaining half of the show. In sharp contrast to the previous contestants – a group of old ladies who made Deepika their bahu and even had her touching their feet, Mannat clearly called out to Deepika’s maternal instincts. She looked visibly heartbroken when she had to let go of Mannat.
Even as the celebrity panelists raved about the li’l wonder Mannat’s flawless ‘Dil Se’ act which touched everyone’s hearts, SRK mentioned sweetly “I will take this Mannat to Delhi” where the show will reach its exciting grand finale.
Having scaled the pinnacle of brilliance in aesthetic and skillful dancing with DID, Zee TV has recently introduced India to yet another home-grown format … a genre of dancing that calls out to every Indian to brush aside considerations such as technique and training, just forget about their inhibitions and dance straight from the heart! Partnering with India’s biggest superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment & ZEEL’s creative and production studio Essel Vision Productions Ltd, Zee TV brings viewers the biggest Diwali entertainment extravaganza with the hottest celebrity panel ever – Dil Se Naachein Indiawaale. The show will be India’s first ever multi-city dance tour in search of the happiest dancer! Conducted through a joyride on a special ‘Happy Dancing’ bus, the tour has started off in Mumbai, has made pit-stops at Ahmedabad, Indore and will head to Delhi in the coming days with a star-studded panel called the ‘Agents of Happiness’ comprising none other than Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Farah Khan, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani and Vivaan Shah.
To jump on to this joyride, stay tuned to ‘Maruti Suzuki Alto K 10 DilSe Naachein Indiawaale Co-powered by Askmebazaar.com & L’Oreal Paris Fall Repair 3X’ every Saturday and Sunday at 9 PM, only on Zee TV.
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From IPL to BCL, Sony continues its love for cricket
MUMBAI: Cricket is nothing less than a religion in India and when mixed with a high-dose of glamour and drama, it serves as the ultimate form of entertainment.
So, what happens when reality television meets the passion of the nation, cricket?Giving viewers the combination of both, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is all set to launch India’s first ever sports reality show – Box Cricket League (BCL).
However, this is not the first time that Sony is associating itself with cricket. Who can forget the launch of Indian Premier League (IPL), which saw entertainment and cricket getting hitched? However, the host Mandira Bedi’s noodle-strapped sari blouses made more headlines than the pre and post match show.
“Everyone criticised us and we did not receive good responses for the same. I was there at Sony at that point in time and today after 14 years, we are back at it but with a twist,” says SET SVP and business head Nachiket Pantvaidya.
For Pantvaidya, the show conceptualised by Marinating Films and produced by Balaji Telefilms, is like coming back full circle. When he heard the concept, he immediately locked it. “Cricket toh sirf bahana hai (cricket is just an excuse), there is a lot more than just cricket,” he says.
BCL consists of eight teams, comprising of 120 popular television celebrities, who will compete against each other, playing a total of 19 matches of 14 overs each. The teams would be divided into two groups, A and B.
For Ekta Kapoor, who will make her debut in reality with BCL, sports has alienated itself from women, so with this she wants to get all the bahus and girls get into the game and play with the boys. “I have never touched reality shows. So today I am doing a combination of both. Kudiyon ka zamana hai, cricket toh sirf ek bahana hai,” laughs Kapoor.
Marinating Films director Sunny Arora aims to deliver a very good product. In the month of April, it had conducted a trial season with more than 100 actors and received a good response. He believes that cricket is seen for entertainment and played for entertainment.
“We had organised a trial to understand how the format will work. Men and women playing together, what are the flaws…so now we have come up with a concrete plan. We have just increased the scale,” says Arora.
He further believes that the major reason why it worked in the trial was because of the presence of female players.
Matches will commence with a face-off between the two playing teams, where they will perform signature moves on their team anthem. Giving the mundane coin toss a skip, BCL has introduced a ‘filmy toss’ with options like ‘Jai or Veeru’, ‘Basanti or Dhanno’. Upping the glam quotient will be two BCL titlis, Noorin Shah and Vrushika Mehta, who will perform acts during time outs and the ball change.
Making the game more entertaining, viewers will also get to see behind the scenes action, locker room gossips and some extremely creative awards like Gentleman of the Match and Most Stylish Player of the Match amongst others.
While the spirit of cricket remains intact, the introduction of new twists in the game is sure to keep the audience entertained. To step up the excitement, during the sixth and tenth overs, the batting captain will challenge the bowling captain to hit a certain number of runs in a single over with a particular bowler.
If they manage to hit the number of runs they have challenged them for, then they earn double the runs. If not, they will lose the number of runs they challenged the bowling team. The seventh over will also see a ball change procedure where the players can strategise their next game plan.
Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair shares the genesis behind the entire concept of the show. “When Ekta first heard about it was through a friend of her who owns a team and Marinating Films, she wanted to buy a team with the marinating team boys. Then she thought, why to buy a team when we can invest in the league.”
Balaji Telefilms has a joint venture with Marinating Films and have invested in the company. “Cricket is India’s most popular sport. Daily soaps are most popular form of television entertainment and the marriage of these two promises to be quite electric and exciting,” believes Nair.
The shoot for the series will start from 20 November and will take place in Filmcity, Reliance Studios.
So how does one qualify to be a BCL player? “Out of 11, nine have to be actors. How do you qualify as an actor? There is a bible to it. For example, depending on the number of shows he/she has done. And if one is a non-actor, he/she has to be either a director or a producer. The selection is done by the individual team captains and the owners. They should have experience,” answers Arora.
Apart from the formal announcement, the channel has not started any marketing activities yet. According to SET SVP marketing head Gaurav Seth, eight teams have created their own anthems and he plans to pitch it in a different way. “The series is six weeks away. We have some interesting ideas in our heads and will soon execute them when the right time comes. In this country, you can never be short of celebrities. Fans will come to see the fights, victories, high and low moments.”
Digital will be a special focus for Seth considering the amount of fan clubs each of the celebs own on the digital platforms. “One star will tweet, others will pick it up. There will be war, fights but at the end it’s all about entertaining viewers,” he says.
Initially the project was pitched to Sony Six, but Sony realised the power of the concept and thought it will be apt for a GEC channel. “The moment we came to know it would be aired on a GEC channel, we had to change the entire look and feel to ensure that it’s up to the mark,” states Arora.
The promos of the series will go on-air from end November. Though the date is not finalised yet, it will run for four weeks and be a weekly property.
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Colors launches ‘Hauslon Ki Udann’ campaign to enhance consumer engagement
MUMBAI: After registering number two position at the TAM TV ratings chart, Colors is leaving no stone unturned to further engage with its viewers and generate awareness with its initiative called ‘Hauslon Ki Udann’.
Ever since its launch, Udann has created a stir across the nation with its issue of bonded labour prevalent in India even today.
Reaching out to its viewers across various cities, with this interactive campaign, the channel aims to go beyond building social awareness and focus on inspiring young minds to understand the value of freedom by expressing their ideas through art. The campaign will culminate into a special Children’s Day episode of Udann which will air on 14 November.
The campaign will be implemented over two phases. The first leg of the campaign will be flagged off through an on-air contest wherein children aged between 7 to 14 years will be invited to paint their understanding of freedom and send in their respective entries.
The on-air campaign will be extended on-ground through a School Contact Program which will be spread across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh covering more than 29 cities including metros like New Delhi.
During the course of the on-ground leg of the campaign, special vignettes from Udann depicting various aspects of Chakor’s (the lead character) journey will be showcased before children to be used as inspiration to paint and present their interpretation of freedom.
‘Hauslon Ki Udann’ will not only be targeted at young children, but also their parents in order to engage the entire Indian diaspora and urge them to take a stand against the issue. While a Certificate of Appreciation will be presented to all participating children, the best entries will get an opportunity to interact with Chakor and other pivotal artistes from the show and also be a part of a fun-filled episode integration whilst celebrating Children’s Day.
Commenting on the initiative, Colors marketing head Sapangeet Rajwant said, “As a socially responsible broadcaster, this campaign is a step towards creating awareness and also engaging with our audiences on ground. While Chakor has captivated viewers with her innocence, we look forward to make Chakor an inspiration to many more kids by giving them a chance to let their imagination soar though this activity. With the help of both on-air as well as off-air mediums we’ll try and reach out to as many towns as possible to put a smile on the faces of little children and give them an opportunity to feature in this special episode of Udann.”
The campaign will launch on the channel via a special creative starting 20 October till 25 October, while inviting active participation from viewers across the country. The best entries selected will be announced after every episode of Udann. One will also see the campaign pan out across print and broadcast mediums which will also be promoted on digital platforms across social media outlets.
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‘Everest’ will break the clutter like ‘Mahabharat’: Nikhil Madhok
MUMBAI: A regular girl’s struggle to win her father’s acceptance is a story which we have all seen on television screens, but what differentiates this one from the others is the treatment.
Set against extraordinary background of the magnificent Mount Everest, the upcoming show, ‘Everest’, on Star Plus aims to create history.
Star India CEO Uday Shankar believes that the channel has always aimed to bring audiences, innovative content that takes the Indian television viewing experience to the next level and Everest is another big leap in that direction.
He says, “We are proud to have partnered with a visionary like Ashutosh Gowariker who is one of the most adept story-tellers of our country. ‘Everest’ is a stunning visual delight and an attempt at presenting something never-seen-before to our viewers. I am sure that the story of our protagonist Anjali will resonate with millions in India and inspire them to conquer their own Everest.”
In the same not, the channel’s general manager Gaurav Banerjee adds, “The series will re-define how television is made in this country considering its visual appeal and the way it will be presented.”
Produced under Ashutosh Gowariker Productions (AGPPL) banner, the show is in line with the number one GEC’s strategy of offering innovative and differentiated content, it has been conceptualised, shot and presented on a scale never seen before on TV.
With the use of a lot of heavy technical equipments like GoPro cameras, 4K technology and a lot more, 90 per cent of the show has already been canned in locations like Jodhpur, Mount Everest, NIM and Mumbai.
The concept took shape in Gowariker’s mind about two years ago where he was confused between two themes. “First was about a girl child, about women empowerment and the other theme was about a sport that was not much talked about (mountaineering). I was not getting anywhere in terms of both the scripts. Then I thought why not to combine the two themes into one.”
He further says that the whole idea of the show actually began with an insight that what are you willing to do for your dreams? A project of this scale demands a cast who will do complete justice to the roles endowed on them and Gowariker hand-picked the actors for each role after an extensive search.
The series has brought together some of the finest artistes from both Bollywood and the Indian television industry. The show launches Shamata Anchan as Anjali Singh Rawat, the gutsy girl who is willing to climb Mt Everest in order to win her father’s love and respect. The two male leads of the show are Sahil Salathia as Arjun Sabharwal and Rohan Gandotra as Akash Joshi. The stellar cast also includes Suhasini Mulay, Mohan Kapoor, Milind Gunaji, Rajat Kapoor, Kishori Shahane and Manish Choudhary.
And hence, the channel is pulling all its marketing muscles out to create buzz for it. The show emanates from a belief that everyone has a personal Everest they aspire to conquer, however the question is how far are they willing to go to conquer it?
Keeping this in mind it will launch a campaign asking viewers, #WhatsYourEverest. “We want to make this show feel very relevant to the audiences. People should not feel that this is a show about a mountaineering expedition,” states the channel’s SVP marketing Nikhil Madhok.
The on-air promos talk about cancer patients winning over their Everest as they fight the disease, sports personnel making into the Indian team as they overcome their Everest. “This is the thought that we are building and we have activated this thought in digital and radio to establish to people that while the show is about Anjali’s journey, it is relevant to everybody,” answers Madhok.
For the first time on television, a two and half minute theatrical promo has been made for a television series and while this will play on Star Plus at 7.58 pm on 18 October, it will also break in theatres with Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Happy New Year’.
The channel has tied up with some of the outlets of Costa Coffee and has created an ‘Everest’ zone there wherein the temperature would be at just 5 degrees and waiters will serve the customers cold coffee wearing jackets. Customers will also be given a jacket when they enter the coffee shop and will find snow on the ground. Starting from 22 October, the activity will take place throughout the day for couple of weekends across various cities. “Basically the idea is to make sure that people get an experience of how Everest feels like,” says Madhok.
It has also tied up with Fair and Lovely foundation and through the course of the series the channel will invite people, especially young women to write about an Everest in their life and will help them in conquering it.
“That assistance could be anything – be it in terms of counselling or monetary assistance. It could be in face of education, somebody wants to get money to become a doctor, somebody wants to actually climb Mount Everest but don’t know how to fund the course. So, we will help them in these things,” reveals Madhok. For a certain set of lucky winners, the channel will help them achieve their Everest.
The extensive 360 degree marketing campaign includes not just the entire Star Network and 30 other channels, but also activations on radio, outdoor innovations including 3D hoardings. It will be aggressively available in print as well and a huge presence on digital including the YouTube masthead and page takeovers in MSN and Yahoo.
The new series will replace the on-going Sooraj Barjatia’s show – Pyaar Ka Dard Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara, which has been constantly delivering good ratings at the TAM ratings chart and will air at 10 pm.
Both Madhok and Banerjee believe that the last year has been good for the channel. “Most of the slots that we operate are the slot leaders. Wherever we would have put this show, it would have replaced a well-performing show,” says Madhok.
Agreeing to Madhok, Banerjee adds: “At 10 pm, what we felt was that some of our iconic shows in the past have come at 10 pm and all the shows have worked wonders for us.”
Madhok goes on to say that it did not do so much of number crunching and analysis because between 8-10 pm the audiences available are very similar. “Differences that you see are in very early prime time and LC1 markets are bigger. Those audiences sleep off at 10.30. Outside of that for us, all the slots are very viable.”
The channel wanted to launch the show around winter and Madhok is confident that with winters coming in, people will enjoy the series more.
Star Plus has got Fair and Lovely on-board as its title sponsor. It is co-powered by Godrej Ezee while Vinod Cookware has signed up as an associate sponsor.
Talking about the ad-rate per 10-second slot, Madhok reveals that the cost of the show is significantly more expensive than anything else on the channel. “As sponsors have demonstrated, this is top quality television produced by an iconic filmmaker so people are happy to be associated and pay the premium required,” adds Madhok.
He hopes that one of the things that ‘Everest’ will do is like ‘Mahabharat’, it will break the clutter. “It will look and feel different on television. And anything that breaks the clutter is something that brands want to associate with and are also happy to pay premiums.”
“The first important thing when the show goes out is it should break the clutter and it should help in taking television agenda to the next level. Second thing is it should find a good strong loyal audience base,” responds Madhok.
Though Madhok refused to divulge any numbers, media planners feel that the ad-rate for the new series will be four times more than the average regular rates that a fiction show demands. “Rates differ a bit depending on which show and at what time. For example, a show like Diya Aur Baati Hum will be much more expensive than a show like Suhani Aisi Ladki which airs at 6.30 pm,” states a media planner.
Talking about the marketing spends; planners believe that in terms of share of marketing it will not be different from what Mahabharat demanded. Out of the total budget, planners estimate that 20 per cent would be spent on marketing.
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Q2-2015: ZEEL reports 7 per cent growth in ad revenue
BENGALURU: The Subhash Chandra led content and broadcast player Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) reported a 7.3 per cent hike in advertising revenue in Q2-2015 at Rs 625.94 crore versus the Rs 583.30 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year and a negligible 0.6 per cent more than the Rs 622.10 crore in Q1-2015. The company’s ad revenue in HY-2015 reported at Rs 1248.04 crore is 12.1 per cent more than the Rs 1133.37 crore in HY-2015.
Note: 100,00,000 = 100 Lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore.
According to the company, due to mandatory accounting changes necessitated by change in content aggregator regulation by TRAI, the current quarter’s subscription and TIO figures can’t be compared with the figures of last year.
ZEEL’s subscription figures stood at Rs 424.45 crore in Q2-2015 with domestic subscriptions of Rs.337.3 crore and international subscription figure at Rs 87.2 crore. Subscription figures for Q1-2015 was Rs 412.13 crore while Rs 458.12 crore for Q1-2014. HY-2015 subscription revenue has been reported at Rs 836.58 crore versus Rs 882.19 crore in HY-2014.
The company reported PAT at Rs 227 crore (20.3 per cent of Total Operating Revenue or TIO) in Q2-2015 which is 7.8 per cent more than the Rs 210.57 crore (19.4 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 crore and 3.9 per cent less than the Rs 236.31 (21.5 per cent of TIO) crore in Q2-2014. HY-2015 PAT at Rs 460.18 crore (21.2 per cent of TIO) was 5.3 per cent more than the Rs 437.04 crore (21.2 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.
Let us look at the other Q2-2015 and HY-2014 reported by ZEEL
The company reported other sales and services income (other income) of Rs 67.43 crore in Q2-2015, which is 3.24 times the Rs 20.83 crore in Q1-2015 and 12.7 per cent more than the Rs 59.86 crore in Q2-2014. Other income announced by the company for HY-2015 at Rs 88.26 crore was 11.8 per cent more than the Rs 78.97 crore in HY-2014.
ZEEL’s TIO in Q2-2015 is at Rs 1117.82 crore versus Rs 1085.70 crore in Q1-2015 and Rs 1101.28 crore in Q2-2014. In HY-2015, the company reported Rs 2172.88 crore TIO and Rs 2074.53 crore for HY-2014.The company’s Total expenditure (TE) for Q2-2015 at Rs 810.75 crore was 1.8 per cent more than the Rs 796.10 crore in Q1-2015 and 1.4 per cent more than the Rs 799.89 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015 TE was 5.8 per cent more at Rs 1576.21 crore as compared to the Rs 1490.31 crore in HY-2014.
Q-o-q, the company’s operating cost went up 8.4 per cent to Rs 470.03 crore in Q2-2014 from Rs 434.02 crore. The operating cost for this quarter was 6.7 per cent lower than the Rs 504.11 crore in Q2-2014. HY-2015 operating cost is 4.5 per cent lower at Rs 873.68 crore versus Rs 914.87 crore in HY-2014.
Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) for Q2-2015 announced at Rs 107.96 crore was 3.4 per cent less than the Rs 111.71 crore in Q1-2014 and 8.8 per cent more than the Rs 99.19 crore in Q2-2014. EBE for HY-2015 at Rs 219.67 crore was 12.8 per cent more than the Rs 194.82 crore in HY-2014.
ZEEL chairman Subhash Chandra said, “We expect the media industry to benefit from the improvement in the overall economic environment. TV spends are likely to improve and we expect television media industry to grow faster than the recent past.”
Commenting on the second quarter earnings, ZEEL managing director and CEO Punit Goenka said, “It has been a mixed quarter as far as television advertising is concerned. Even though overall economic sentiment was positive during the quarter, it translated into increased advertising spends only during the fag end of the quarter. Our expectation is that advertising spends will continue to increase during the rest of the year. Our performance in the quarter reflects the industry wise trends.”
“On the subscription front, the transition of distribution of channels from MediaPro to Taj Television is now complete, and we continue to grow in high single digits,” he added.
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‘Maharakshak Aryan’ to strengthen Zee’s weekend offering
NEW DELHI: In a move to strengthen its weekend slot, Zee is set to launch a fantasy trilogy. The trilogy, which will commence with ‘Maharakshak Aryan’, is about an unassuming boy-next-door.
Zee business head Pradeep Hejmadi said, “With shows like Neeli Chhatri Wale, Dil Se Naachein Indiawaale and now Maharakshak Aryan, we’re fortifying our weekend line-up with content that engages every family member. Aryan adds a new flavour of fantasy to our line-up, attracting diverse sets of viewers. Our current fiction line-up is robust and is only poised to get stronger”.Starting from 1 November at 7:00 pm, the show will air on Saturday and Sunday. Hejmadi expects the show to become a slot leader during weekends as it was a programme that would appeal to both adults and children.
In the series, Aryan is played by debutant Aakarshan Singh, who is chosen to save the earth from the Triloki -the ultimate embodiment of evil – essayed by the talented Vikramjeet Virk better known as Mahmud of Ghaznavi. Triloki is trapped in the centre of the earth under various layers surrounded by molten Lava. He wants to bounce back to power and rule the world but the only way he can do so is by reclaiming the ‘mani’ (magical jewel) which is the ultimate source of energy available in the world. Triloki will send his super villains – Vishkanya, played by the svelte Reshmi Ghosh, Challa played by the popular Mishal Raheja, and Kumbha played by acclaimed actor Deepak Bhatia amongst others to defeat the protector Aryan who finds himself gifted with some superpowers.
Zee programming head Namit Sharma said the aim was to show that every person has some strong elements in him and it was only a question of using them. “Maharakshak Aryan is one of our most ambitious projects and aims to set a benchmark in the fiction thriller genre, as this kind of programming has earlier only been seen on the large screen.
The show will be very different from any of the content we currently have on air. The ability of a superhero series of transporting viewers into an exciting world of fantasy, slick, cutting-edge superhero series is remarkable.”
The channel will put 15 to 20 per cent of its expenditure on marketing and publicity of the trilogy. The show is powered by PC Jewellers but Hejmadi is positive about more sponsors coming on board as talks are on with others.
Hejmadi said that though the series, which is already being promoted on Zee channels, will now be promoted on other channels; he did not feel that on-ground events give much scale during the festive season.
He said, “In view of the top-class visual effects, this kind of programme could only be promoted well on television.” And added that the website created for it was already very popular.
Essel Vision business head Akash Chawla said the new series had taken six months of research and another six months of production in view of the high quality VFX involved. “Indian audiences have not seen an original superhero series for a fairly long time and Maharakshak Aryan will be the first from EVPL in this genre. A lot of meticulous research has gone into creating a world of fantasy that forms the canvas of the show. We have taken our time in scouting for the right talent and we have an interesting ensemble of actors playing the key roles. The show with its slick production values, innovative visual effects and ingenious cinematography will raise the bar for action thrillers and the fantasy genre on Indian television. ”
The series has the involvement of the art director for films like Saawariya, Black and the director of Mary Kom, Omung Kumar for the production design and Hardik Gajja, the popular visual effects designer for the graphics of the show, and Majid Khan as the creative producer.
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Colors ‘Sasural Simar Ka’ achieves the millennium mark
MUMBAI: After enthralling viewers for over three years, Colors’ most-loved family drama Sasural Simar Ka has now achieved the 1000-episode milestone. The completion of this landmark marks a hattrick for Colors whose shows like Balika Vadhu and Uttaran have also reached the million mark.
Celebrating this achievement, the team of Sasural Simar Ka has joined hands with Hong Kong Tourism Board to present a special shoot and audience engagement initiative which brings about an incredible twist in the lives of the lead protagonist Simar and her estranged husband Prem. The 1000-episode festivities commence on the channel starting 13 October0 at 7.30pm.
The series has received constant ratings since the show first launched in April, 2011. The show has raked in an average of 4.6 TVTs with 86 weeks as the leader in the 7.30pm time slot. The success of the show has ensured that the show has been syndicated across domestic and international markets in over 10 languages.
To thank the audience for their endless support, the channel has introduced a contest that promises to enhance viewer engagement. The contest questions will be put forth before viewers during the 1000 episode celebratory week. The winner will win an all-expense paid trip to Hong Kong courtesy Hong Kong Tourism Board.
Speaking about reaching the millennium mark, Colors weekday programming head Prashant Bhatt said: “The response that Sasural Simar Ka has received consistently over the past three years from viewers across the globe has been gratifying. We have focused our efforts on identifying the pulse of the audience who have showcased their support through the spectacular ratings that Sasural Simar Ka has garnered. The show started off as the journey of two endearing sisters and has today become an iconic property that forms the learning ground for family values. The show’s success reiterates our belief in our partners, for not only Sasural Simar Ka but also Balika Vadhu and Uttaran, whose faith in us has paved the way for some blockbuster television offerings.”
As the Sasural Simar Ka team heads to Hong Kong along with the lead cast members Simar (Deepika Samson), Prem (Dheeraj Dhoopar), Surbhi (Neha Iyer) and Vikrant (Aadesh Choudhary), they have shot in the most scenic and exotic locales which promise to create magic on the small screen.
Some of the locations that the team has filmed at include Hong Kong Airport, Park Hotel, Harbour Grand, Times Square, Virgo Cruise, Big Bus, Victoria Peak and Lantau Link Viewing Platform among others. What transpires during their sojourn in Hong Kong promises to increase audience anticipation while raising the quintessential ‘Will They? – Won’t They?’ question amongst viewers.
Speaking about their experience while hosting the team of Sasural Simar Ka, Hong Kong Tourism Board spokesperson said, “We are absolutely thrilled to host the team of Colors’ leading show, Sasural Simar Ka in Hong Kong as they celebrate the advent of a new journey while completing 1000-episodes. We would like to congratulate the team and thank them for allowing us to partake in the special milestone. Hong Kong is the ideal family destination for tourism and business and through our association with Sasural Simar Ka, we would like to showcase the best of both worlds to Indian travellers.”
Adding to this Rashmi Sharma Telefilms producer Rashmi Sharma said: “Since the time Sasural Simar Ka first launched, the show and its characters have become household names. We are grateful to see the support that the audience has showered us with that continues to keep us among the top-rated shows on television even today. As the story shifts focus to Hong Kong, we hope to continue bringing quality entertainment to viewers as the lives of Simar and Prem, and Roli and Siddhant experience more twists and turns.”
The show’s rise to the top has led to the growth in popularity of integral characters such as Simar (Deepika Samson), Roli (Avika Gor), Prem (Dheeraj Dhoopar), Siddhant (Manish Raisinghani), Mataji (Jayati Bhatia), Sujata (Nishigandha Wad), Manoranjan (Nimisha Vakharia) and Vikrant (Aadesh Choudhary) among others.
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Sony Pal extends primetime with ‘Yeh Dil Sun Raha Hai’
MUMBAI: Achieving a growth of 30-40 per cent key markets within a month of its launch, Sony Pal (the newest channel from Multi Screen Media slate) is definitely leaving no stone unturned to mark its position in the GEC space.
But Sony Pal and Sab senior EVP and business head Anooj Kapoor believes that it still has a long way to go. “From the ratings perspective, we still have a long way to go. We don’t want to compare ourselves with any other channel within the space, but our main agenda is to showcase quality content that our TG can sample,” he says.
The channel which went live on 1 September targets women, mostly housewives in the age group of 15-34 years, in SEC BCDE markets. With the tagline ‘Yeh Pal Hamara Hai’, it claims to have content which empowers and that showcases positive aspects of modern India, while presenting the traditional aspect.
The channel currently has three hours of original content on-air which airs from Monday to Saturday between 7:30 pm-10:30 pm and two hours of original content on Sunday evening. In order to expand its prime time, it has joined hands with Balaji Telefilm’s Ekta Kapoor to present an intense love story ‘Yeh Dil Sun Raha Hai’ from 16 October onwards at 7 pm.
This show is Ekta Kapoor’s first association with Anooj Kapoor and Sony Pal. Moreover Ekta Kapoor says that it was a challenge for her and the team as they have usually restricted themselves to urban set ups. “I don’t have any friends and relatives staying in non metro cities. It was a challenge for all of us, we did our own research, visited that place, observed the culture and modified the storyline accordingly,” she says.
Set in the city of Patna, Anooj says that it wanted to break into the Hindi heartland and create something different.
The show charts the journey of Poorvi (played by Aparna Dixit), the daughter of a senior government employee and Arjun (played by Navi Bhangu), the spoilt son of the local coal mafia. Initially, Poorvi and Arjun can’t see eye to eye, but steadily get drawn towards each other and eventually, go on to combat all odds and family antagonism for their love. Unfortunately, both are destined to be apart. It is thus the story of two star-crossed lovers, their journey of adoration and hatred.
About the slot decision, Anooj revealed that mostly 80 per cent of housewives find it very convenient to watch shows at 7 pm. “This is because sometimes husbands haven’t arrived home yet and the kids are out playing and the dinner duty hasn’t started yet,” he says.
He further goes on to say that in the north where winter sets in from next month, it becomes very late after 9:30 pm, so, in that case 7 pm slot is very ideal from all these points of views. “Moreover, at 7 pm in the current GEC space you don’t have too much of competition,” he adds.
Anooj agrees to the fact that there are shows like Saathiya on Star Plus which is doing well and delivering good ratings. According to him there is lot of potential but not much competition.
If the show does well, the audience will be propelled to the 7:30 pm and other slots because women will know what to expect from the channel and they would sample the promos of other shows in that half an hour.
A 360 degree media campaign across TV, out of home, print and social media will be rolled out soon. TV is used to introduce the show concept, characters and premise. Other mediums like outdoors and print are used to reinforce the message and remind viewers to tune in.
The campaign is led by intensive TV advertising on the network’s channels and other channels to cover the HSM, supported by extensive outdoor visibility in key markets across the Hindi heartland. The message is being reinforced by regular print ads in the run up to the launch across leading dailies.
Media planners believe that though it is a good move doing a show at 7 pm slot, the channel will take some time to win the hearts of the audiences. “It all depends on content. If that manages to hold on to enough viewers to the show, the channel will automatically see growth in terms of viewership as well as reach.”
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Satyamev Jayate’s impact on digital
MUMBAI: Amidst sporting resurgence, budding talent and encouraging medal hauls, India’s talk show `Satyamev Jayate’ (SMJ) returned for a third season on Star Plus, highlighting the need for holistic improvement in India’s sporting field – a call that won backing from none other than the Sports Minister.
In an unprecedented show of support to SMJ, Minister of youth affairs and sports Sarbananda Sonowal live-tweeted three times during the screening of episode one of season 3, calling for more suggestions to improve the culture of sports in India. “I promise not to leave any stone unturned to make sports a way of life,” the minister had tweeted.
Sonowal’s tweets were among the more than 200 million impressions created in a single day on 5 October in an overwhelming show of positive sentiments to SMJ. More than 2 million people responded through missed calls to support the show’s initiative.
Star, as part of the `Mumkin Hai’ (change is possible) initiative, separately organised a live dial-in with SMJ’s host Aamir Khan in Chandigarh on the d-day that saw Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar dial-in to share about his initiative called ‘sports4all’ and how sports should be reinforced at the grassroot level.
“Aamir’s @satyamevjayate episode was a déj? vu for me, sports4all will change country’s future #MumkinHai,” Tendulkar said via Twitter afterwards.
Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev also joined the live show and expressing his views, he said, “It is extremely encouraging to see how people in our country today are taking much interest in sports and paying attention to it in so many ways – whether it is in the form of discussions or even making blockbuster movies!”
Sonowal and Tendulkar were joined by the likes of politician Naveen Jindal, former top cop Kiran Bedi, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in praising the show.
“Felt very good watching prog of @aamir_khan on #MumkinHai on sports! He has spread out for sports what @PMOIndia did for #SwachhBharat,” tweeted Bedi.
“Are authorities at sports federations responsible for the deteriorating conditions of sports in India?”Arvind Kejriwal retweeted Satyamev Jayate’s tweet.
“Satyamev Jayate has done what it does best – initiate a debate and inspire people to aspire for the better,” said Star India co-creator and CEO Uday Shankar. “The overwhelming response shows the thirst for change and that change is possible.”
Over the last three seasons, SMJ’s journey has been remarkable. Unlike shows that fade with time, SMJ has grown to become a positive change agent that continues to grip people from across the length and breadth of the country with issues that concern each and every Indian in the daily life. This can be validated by the immense viewer engagement that the show has received in the past and continues to, even in its third season.
Cricketer Yuvraj Singh was part of the live dial-in held in Chandigarh. He wrote afterwards on Twitter: “Just finished a show with @aamir_khan 4 @satyamevjayate wth kapil Dev. Gr8 topic, Sports builds character n creates a healthy mind n body.”
The show trended for 24 hours in India at No. 1, 2 and 3, and also trended worldwide at No. 1 on Twitter, demonstrating the mass support for the show’s message on sports. SMJ also received huge support from top celebrities on social media including from eminent personalities such as Harsha Bhogle and Virat Kohli.
“Wonderful, moving episode of #satyamevjayate. Never know where champions are coming from, just need to empower more people,” wrote Bhogle on Twitter.
Inspired by the show, Kohli tweeted, “Saw @satyamevjayate yesterday. Hope every school now starts to focus more on sport. Well said @aamir_khansport is education!”