Executive Dossier

“Television needs a censor board”

Published

23 years ago

May 19, 2003

It is unlikely that any Indian is unfamiliar with the name Asha Parekh. One of the top heroines of the 60s, she started her career as a glamorous, dancing star. Later, with movies like Chiraag, Kati Patang and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki, she proved her mettle as a serious actor.

While she might have retired from the silver screen, she never retired from the scene. During her tenure as chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification of India in 1999, she raised several issues and was always in the public eye. Besides, unlike others, she has silently being doing her part for society, from funding a hospital to donating money for various causes.

Meanwhile, she also donned another hat, that of a producer-director. Under her production banner Akruti Films, she produced her first show Baaje Payal for Doordarshan, but that was a long time ago. She came back in the 1990s to direct Kora Kaagaz for Star Plus. The unusual devar-bhabhi love story went well with the audience. She then produced and directed a second show for Star Plus – Kangan. Though the show got off to a rousing start, it could not repeat Kora Kaagaz’s magic.

With her latest serial set to air on Sahara, Kucch Pal Saath Tumhara, she is keeping her fingers crossed for the show where she has deviated from her previous bold, women-oriented serials.

Sitting in her new office in Juhu amidst the pre launch excitement of KPST, she spoke to indiantelevision.com’s Trupti Ghag.

Firstly, why did you choose television rather than films?
Simple, it is a smaller headache (laughs). Plus with the current rage of big budget movies, it is not really my cup of tea.

You have always been offering stories about strong women characters; the women in your shows have always had author backed roles. Will ‘Kucch Pal Saath Tumhara’ adopt the same trend?
For a change, it is not going to be that strong. But it is a powerful role where the ultimate choice is going to be in the hands of the girl. It is essentially a love story, which sounds nice and touches your heart. And yes it has a vamp in it, the usual clichéd one….

Seems like you are not keen on adding the vamp…
People love vamps! Ultimately, you have to cater to an audience, so you have to put in such characters.

“Amitabh Bachchan will be on the screen for as long as he wants, not because he is Amitabh but because he is a dedicated actor”

There is a lot of talk going about women being portrayed as retrogressive in television but despite this, the same stuff is being churned out over and over. Now even you seem to adopt a softer stance. Why?
It is very funny. I spoke to some of the women who watch these serials and they say it’s just a pastime for them. But when you give them something meaningful, they just refuse to accept it.

Take the case of Dhadkan on Sony. What a marvelous story! It offered authentic depiction of the medical profession; even the characters were so well etched and aptly chosen. But look at its fate. On the other hand, look at Sanjivani. It started off trying to balance itself between being a story about doctors and their relations with patients, but look at it now. ‘The medical boon’ is an out and out love story now and people love it.

What is the real issue here?
Those dreaded things that they call TRPs… 3000 people decide what the rest of the country should be watching. We can’t really do anything. With the channels on a constant lookout to rope in more advertisers, the TRPs seem to clinch the deal. Look what happened to my own production Kangan.

It started with a TRP of nine but plummeted to two. And it is not as if we were offering the same run-of-the-mill story. We had a very strong male character and an interesting story. I went to the TAM office and the people showed me charts of how it fared. I was quite shocked looking at it.

There was yet another show about a man who gets married to a woman half his age and keeps her as a property, neglected. Later, when he has to get his daughter married he chooses a groom barely a few years younger than her mother. The guy falls in love with the mother instead. I thought it was beautifully scripted as well as enacted but there were no audiences for this show as well. Maybe, people aren’t really ready for meaningful shows. All they want is visual relief. I am disgusted with this attitude but I will keep trying to improve it.

Getting back to KPST, the basic story line gives a sense of déj? vu. Isn’t it quite similar to one of the story tracks in Aditya Chopra’s ‘Mohabbatein’?
You are right. And I am not saying that we were ‘inspired’ by the story. We have taken the story and adapted it to television.

Is there a lot of channel interference in production?
Not really, but the times are bad. Like I said earlier, they have to include these certain elements to ensure that their show is appealing. While flicking through the channels the other day, I saw a magenta bedspread in a room painted magenta. Gory was the word to describe it but later during the day I went to my set. The wall were painted blue, green and yellow… positively all the gaudy colours. Sadly, that is what sells.

Your last two projects, ‘Kora Kaagaz’ and ‘Kangan’ have been for Star Plus. Is there a specific reason why you didn’t approach Star Plus for KPST?
Star Plus either has dailies or one-hour weekly slots. Initially, I wasn’t supposed to direct but later I decided to. Since it would be too taxing for me to direct a weekly, I thought it safest to stick to Sahara. So I never approached Star Plus.

You have been on the other side of the camera for a long time and been quite successful at it too. As a vetran actor, what do you think are the shortcomings of present day actors?
They aren’t quite different from the older genereration but I have noticed that youngsters, nowadays, want instant gratification . Acting, not money, should propel the actor. It needn’t be charity work but it definitely shouldn’t be all about money. Actors lack discipline and dedication. Talent can be cultivated, but if you aim to survive on mediocrity you won’t last long. Also, they should have their feet firmly planted on the ground.

Even in our days, there were lots of actors debuting on the screen but only a few lasted. Amitabh Bachchan will be on the screen for as long as he wants to, not because he is Amitabh but because he is a dedicated actor. Actors like him and Shashi Kapoor were hard workers.

“I would never like to show my actresses half-clad. Even if the ‘script demands’ let’s leave something’s to imagination please”

What is your view about the mushrooming acting classes? Do you think they help?
They might offer the actor some confidence and contacts but there are no short cuts. Nothing helps like groundwork. It is only with experience that actors can grow.

What kind of homework do you expect actors to do?
Both my leading ladies of Kora Kaagaz and Kangan took back home a script. When they came to the sets, they already had an idea of what they had to do. I just had to explain a few key points. There were few others whom I had to work hard on, but they were all willing to learn. That is what I am looking at… willingness to learn.

Is there a diffrence between the modus operandi of male and female directors?
It is hardly a surprise, but women directors can handle emotions quite well.

Your stint as the chairperson of the Censor Board had its own share of controversy. What was the real issue there?
Vijay Anand wanted to market X-rated movies. I wasn’t against it but I wanted to know who would be policing it and how. That is all what it was about.

Do you think that there should be a censor board for television as well?
Yes, absolutely. Television needs a censor board. I am appalled by the lack of decency. Just take a look at the music videos our kids are watching. Don’t get me wrong here, I don’t want to see women wrapped in six yards of sari but I want the programming to be a bit more tasteful. Even the so-called serials that showcase Indian tradition and culture are full of extramarital affairs. And since parents aren’t doing the screening, there should be somebody to police it.

“People love vamps!”

What is the essential difference that you find between television and film?
Their shelf- life. People will remember Kora Kaagaz for say 10 years but a movie stays on forever.

What is your comment on the current copyright issue that’s Sahara’s ‘Karishma’ is embroiled in?
I don’t know the specifics so I cannot comment.

But I find disregard for other people’s hard work a very disturbing trend. If you are using somebody’s work, the least you can do is give the person his due credit. Music industry has, of late, laid down some rules but the film and television industry need to work on it.

Prior to my tenure with the Censor Board, I had been involved with it. There are quite a few people working on it, so solutions should be around the corner. What I was also looking at is bargaining for actors’ share if the show is re-telecast.

As a director, what is the one thing that you would never compromise on?
I would never like to show my actresses half-clad. Even if the ‘script demands it’, let’s leave somethings to imagination please.

Is there a dream project that you want to work on?
There was this story about Ahemdabad’s cart-pullers, I had talked to Kajol about it, besides other big names in Bollywood. It was about a young girl and her illusions. But it took a long time and now there are no cart-pullers, there so no point in pursuing it.

In a lighter vein, all your serials start with ‘K’. Any numerology connection?
No. They just happen to be that way. But yes, we have consulted a numerologist for the latest, the extra ‘c’ in ‘Kucch..’ is the testimony.

Executive Dossier

Game on, fame on as Good Game hunts India’s first global gaming star

Published

1 month ago

January 27, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Game faces on, pressure high India’s gaming ambitions are levelling up. Good Game, billed as the world’s first as-live global gaming reality show, has officially launched in India with a bold mission: to crown the country’s first Global Gaming Superstar.

Blending esports with mainstream entertainment, the show brings together competitive gaming, creativity and on-camera performance in a format that tests more than just joystick skills. Contestants will be judged on gameplay, screen presence and their ability to perform under pressure, reflecting how gaming has evolved from pastime to profession and pop culture currency.

Fronting the show are three high-profile ambassadors: actor and entrepreneur Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Indian cricket star Rishabh Pant, and gaming creator Ujjwal Chaurasia. The winner will take home Rs 1 crore ($100,000) among the largest prize pools for any Indian reality show along with the chance to represent India on a global stage.

Backed by a planned annual investment of up to Rs 100 crore, Good Game is also courting brand partners, promising a minimum reach of 500 million among India’s core youth audience. The creators position the show as a bridge between entertainment and interactive culture, offering long-format content, community engagement and commercial scale.

Auditions are now open to Indian citizens aged 18 and above, inviting amateur and professional gamers, creators and performers alike. Shortlisted candidates will be called for in-person auditions in Mumbai on 14 and 15 February, and in Delhi on 28 February and 1 March 2026.

With big money, big names and even bigger ambition, Good Game signals a shift in how India views gaming not just as play, but as performance, profession and prime-time spectacle.

Digital

SpotDraft hires new CMO and CFO to fuel global push for its AI contract platform

Published

3 months ago

December 3, 2025

indiantelevision.com Team

INDIA: SpotDraft has strengthened its senior ranks as it gears up for faster global expansion, naming Alon Waks as chief marketing officer and Amit Sharma as chief financial officer. The appointments follow the firm’s $54 million Series B round earlier this year and mark a push to scale across the Americas, EMEA and India.

The AI-powered contract-lifecycle-management platform has posted 100 per cent year-on-year growth in customer acquisition, counting Apollo.io, IPSY, Mixpanel, Oyster and Panasonic among its global clients. The firm processes more than one million contracts annually, with volumes up 173 per cent and nearly 50,000 monthly active users.

Waks, a veteran of Kustomer, Bizzabo, CreatorIQ, LivePerson and ZoomInfo, will steer global marketing and category positioning as legal teams adopt AI-driven tools. Sharma, who has led finance across scaling tech firms since 2016, will guide financial strategy, investor relations and market expansion.

Both hires aim to sharpen SpotDraft’s bid for a larger slice of the fast-growing legal-tech market, expected to exceed $63 billion by 2032. Co-founder and chief executive Shashank Bijapur said the company is focused on scaling go-to-market operations in the Americas, deepening leadership in EMEA, and accelerating AI capabilities for general counsels and legal-operations leaders.

Clients report shorter deal cycles and better alignment between legal and business teams. “What used to take weeks now happens in days,” said Abnormal Security senior legal operations manager Susan Koenig. DeepL head of legal operations André Barrow, said SpotDraft has helped reframe legal “from a cost centre to a generator of revenue”.

Executive Dossier

Outdoor Ads Get Smarter as LOC8 Shifts OOH from Visibility to Attention

Published

3 months ago

November 28, 2025

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Out-of-home ads were once the wallflowers of marketing seen by everyone, noticed by few. But in an age where attention has become the world’s most fought-over currency, even billboards are getting a brain upgrade. Enter LOC8, OSMO’s AI-powered attention engine, quietly reshaping the old OOH playbook by measuring not just who could have looked at an ad, but who actually did. The shift is subtle but seismic: impressions are out, impact is in and data, not gut instinct, is calling the shots.

In a landscape where marketers question every rupee spent outdoors, LOC8 is turning lampposts, flyovers and traffic islands into precision-mapped attention laboratories. By crunching dwell time, visibility zones, perceptual size and real-world obstructions, the platform is dragging OOH into a future where creativity meets computer vision and where the best ideas aren’t just eye-catching, but eye-measured. From automotive facelifts to FMCG novelty and real estate trust-building, the message is clear, outdoor has stopped shouting and started listening. Indian Television Dot Com explores more about it in an Interview interview with OSMO co-founder Nipun Arora.

On how OSMO is shifting outdoor advertising from a visibility-led medium to an attention-led one through LOC8.

Traditional OOH has long been measured by visibility and impressions i.e how many people could see an ad. OSMO, through its proprietary AI platform LOC8, is shifting that narrative more towards likelihood of being noticed. Using computer vision and machine learning, LOC8 analyzes real-world video data to measure visibility zones, obstructions, dwell time and perceptual size; bringing precision to how attention is quantified outdoors. It moves the focus from mere impressions to quality of impressions, making OOH a data-verified, attention-led medium comparable to digital in accountability.

On how marketers can use LOC8’s dwell-time, visibility and perception insights to craft more effective, emotionally resonant OOH campaigns.

LOC8 helps brands understand how people truly experience outdoor media how long they look, from what distance, and under what conditions. By quantifying dwell time, visibility duration, and perceptual size; marketers can plan campaigns that align with real human viewing behavior. This empowers creative and strategy teams to design emotionally resonant storytelling where messaging, visual hierarchy and placement are optimized for how people actually notice and process OOH creatives.

About what LOC8 has revealed through campaigns like Renault Triber and Namaste India on how categories such as auto, FMCG and real estate use attention metrics to drive outcomes.

Each category uses attention data differently but all share one common goal: to convert outdoor visibility into measurable engagement.

• Automotive | Renault Triber

For the new Renault Triber facelift, bold creative met data-led planning through LOC8. By analyzing on-ground video data, LOC8 measured real audience attention across placements factoring in visibility zones, obstructions, traffic speed and perceptual size. This enabled Renault to identify corridors that delivered maximum reach, saliency and engagement, optimizing media efficiency and ROI.

• FMCG | Namaste India

In OOH, innovation is the hook and assets are the bait. But bait often hides the hook. With Loc8’s attention metrics, we ensured the bait wasn’t a hurdle, rather it became the perfect stage for innovation to deliver its full impact! The insight proved that creative novelty, when validated by attention data, drives deeper engagement and measurable brand lift.

• Real Estate

For luxury and real estate campaigns targeting HNI/UHNI audiences, attention patterns differ especially between front and rear passengers, who are often the core audience segment for premium sites. LOC8’s ability to distinguish rear vs. front visibility plays a critical role here. It helps identify sites that offer longer viewing windows and stronger perceptual dominance from the rear seat where decision-makers are most likely seated making it a key differentiator for premium and trust-led categories. Together, these insights prove that auto optimizes for impact, FMCG for recall, and real estate for trust visibility showing how attention metrics adapt to category goals while ensuring measurable outcomes.

On how attention analytics will shape the future of brand storytelling and media planning as OOH becomes more digitised and data-driven.

As outdoor digitizes, attention analytics will inform not just where to advertise but how stories are told in public spaces. This evolution transforms OOH from a static broadcast channel into a dynamic attention ecosystem, where creativity is optimized through evidence-based insight.

On how LOC8’s data-led framework helps marketers quantify OOH impact and make outdoor a more accountable, ROI-driven medium.

LOC8 bridges the gap between intuition and evidence. By quantifying metrics like visibility duration, attention opportunity index, and visual saliency rank, it allows brands to benchmark site performance and justify investment. This data-led approach brings transparency, comparability and ROI measurement to a medium historically driven by perception.

On how OSMO ensures AI and computer vision enhance creativity rather than reduce it to numbers.

OSMO believes that technology should enhance creativity, not overshadow it. LOC8’s attention models reveal what naturally draws the human eye helping creative teams refine design cues, contrast, and visual hierarchy for greater impact. By merging art and science, LOC8 empowers creativity with intelligence.

About the creative best practices and design cues LOC8 has uncovered regarding what truly captures consumer attention outdoors.

LOC8’s visual cognition analysis has surfaced clear patterns across campaigns:

• High contrast and minimal messaging outperform cluttered designs.

• Motion cues draw significantly longer dwell times.

• The first two seconds are critical, creatives must establish focus instantly.

• Contextual alignment between the creative and its environment increases attention by over 30%.

These learnings offer a scientific foundation for creative effectiveness helping brands design OOH that’s visually magnetic and emotionally memorable.

On how attention metrics will integrate into omnichannel planning where OOH, digital and social work together for unified brand impact.

Attention can become the unifying KPI across OOH, digital and social to creates seamless storytelling continuity, where outdoor triggers digital engagement. The future of omnichannel planning lies in attention-led integration ensuring that campaigns don’t just reach audiences everywhere but truly capture and hold their focus.