ITV

Tag: Dheeraj Kumar

  • TV show Shree Ganesh returns to Doordarshan after 19 years

    New Delhi: Mythological shows gained immense popularity among television viewers during the pandemic. After Ramayan’s dream run in 2020, another mythological show – Shree Ganesh is all set to return to the small screen this summer. 

    The show produced by Zuby Kochhar and directed by Dheeraj Kumar was first launched on Sony in 2002. Starting 21 June, viewers will be able to watch the reruns of the show on Doordarshan. 

    “The show gained a peak rating of 3.4 and maintained an average of 2.5 ratings in its original telecast on Sony on Sunday morning slot,” recalled the director of the show, Dheeraj Kumar. “People did not miss a single episode because of thorough research and great content and making. We are glad that viewers will get to see the show again on Doordarshan national network.” 

    JageshMukati played the lead role of Ganesh, Vishal Lalwani as child Ganesh, Sunil Sharma as Shiva, and Priyanka as Parvati in the show. Created by Creative Eye Ltd, the show is a Namah Shivay venture. It will also be re-telecast daily from Tuesday to Saturday at 9 am on Doordarshan.

    In 2020, Ramayan went on to shatter all records when it came to the TRP game and led to a golden, albeit brief, dream run for the state-run Doordarshan channel on which it aired. It managed to beat the worldwide popular series Game Of Thrones to become the most-watched TV show. According to reports, 7.7 crore viewers watched Ramayan, breaking the record of GOT which had 1.9 crore people watching the show together in 2019.

  • Production houses rope in external Covid2019 compliance teams

    Production houses rope in external Covid2019 compliance teams

    MUMBAI: After seven members of Hats Off Productions’ show Bhakarwadi tested positive for Covid2019 and one of them, a tailor present on the set, succumbed to the infection on 21 July, the makers of the show found themselves in a difficult situation.

    The shoot was immediately shut for four days. When shooting resumed on the sets of Bhakarwadi, hygiene and other safety protocols were revisited. Hats Off Productions producer JD Majethia also purchased a UV machine to ensure better screening and the crew was given three vitamin tablets, immunity boosters and warm lemon water daily to boost immunity.

    After these unfortunate incidents, several production houses have hired Covid2019 compliance agencies to monitor the situation. Majethia has also consulted a Covid2019 compliance company called TISA looked after by Manish Popat and Harish Salve.

    Majethia says, “When we resumed shooting, we asked TISA to visit our sets. They joined us on a Zoom conference call with our unit and guided us. They suggested and supplied UV machines. They taught us the right way of wearing a mask too.”

    TISA is also engaged with other companies and shows such as Green Valley Studio, Endemol Shine India’s show Fear Factor, Studio Next’s Ek Duje Ke Vaste, an outdoor shoot happening in Baramati for Banijay India, BBC Studios and is in talks with Amazon Prime too.

    Manish Popat who last worke with Contiloe Pictures and member of  TISA team says, "Our whole purpose of initiating the Covid2019 compliance initiative was from the point of view of "safety as a service ". From the beginning we have been of the opinion that for all to be Covid2019 compliant, presence of a health and safety officer is critical. Trained manpower has to ensure that everyone on set is Covid2019 compliant. All our offering insist on a health and safety officer and we are happy to say that all the clients working with us have believed in us and accepted our solutions lock, stock and barrel.

    In an earlier interaction with Indiantelevision.com, Contiloe Pictures CEO Abhimanyu Singh had mentioned that the studio has hired an external agency called Momentum India to look after sanitisation, fumigation and other safety measures. According to him, it is not the studio’s forte to understand Covid2019 related measures so it is better to hire an outside agency that understands all the nuances.

    Swastik Productions producer Rahul Kumar Tewary highlights that the studio has hired a Covid2019 action team that looks at SOP measures. He has permanently purchased the sanitisation and fumigation equipment.

    He says, “We are rigorously implementing all the guidelines mentioned by the government and we have been fortunate that nothing has happened on our set. They are responsible to look after the number of people who are regularly visiting our sets. They also ensure that the people who are present on the set do not move out or interact with outside people. Access to people visiting from Mumbai is also limited. Even if they come, they have to get quarantined for 14 days. They are responsible for the daily thermal screening and maintaining data. They constantly monitor if social distancing is maintained or not.”

    Tewary’s action team is not involved in any production work. Private vehicles and cars are fumigated once they exit the set. The set is also fumigated after every shoot.

    Creative Eye Limited MD Dheeraj Kumar already has a full-fledged system in place at Kailash Plaza. He is of the opinion that rather than hiring an outside agency it is more suitable to have own people to monitor all the SOP measures.

    Kumar mentions that the protocols are followed at both the production set and office. Kumar has a post-production unit, edit team, dubbing and sound team present in the office. Thrice a week, the entire building and the office premise is sanitised. He too has purchased the equipment permanently and prefers doing the task in-house as the external agency may be neglectful.

    Whether in-house or external, a Covid2019 compliance team seems to be a must for production houses until the pandemic recedes. 

  • TV producers back on sets with safety protocols

    TV producers back on sets with safety protocols

    MUMBAI: After a long hiatus of three months following the nationwide lockdown, the entertainment industry is finally back on track. After resolving the outstanding issues IFTPC (Indian Film and Television Producers Council), FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees) and CINTAA (Cine and TV Artistes’ Association) have agreed to work in unison.

    Among television shows, Colors’ Shakti-Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki, Choti Sarrdaarni, Barrister Babu and Dangal TV’s Pyar Ki Luka Chuppi have already begun shoots.

    Hats Off Productions founder and Indian Film & Television Producers’ Council (IFTPC) chairman TV wing JD Majethia is ecstatic to start work. In a special interaction with indiantelevision.com Majethia said that it was a long-fought battle that has been won. He played an active role in bringing together television producers, broadcasters and trade associations to resume shooting.

    “It was a long chase because seeking government permission, coordinating with broadcasters and other trade unions was very challenging. Finally, we have come to common terms,” he says.

    He mentions that IFTPC has agreed to provide two sets of insurance coverage i.e., death cover of Rs 25 lakh due to Covid2019 and also hospitalisation cover of Rs 2 lakh uniformly across all hierarchy of the cast and crew. After a detailed discussion with broadcasters a decision was taken to reduce the period of credit for cast and crew from existing 90 days to 30 days for at least the first three months.

    Majethia has resumed the shooting of his show Bhakarwadi in Mira Road almost after 100 days. As per the government directives Majethia had called only 40 people on the set including original cast of Bhojani, Akshay Kelkar, Akshita Mudgal, Paresh Ganatra and few technicians. However, the strength of 100 crew members has now been reduced to 40.  

    As a safety measure, separate lockers have been installed at the entrance. Before the cast and crew members enter the set, they have to remove their footwear and wear the pair of slippers provided by the production house. Majethia has a unique solution to maintain social distancing, he has provided umbrellas that everybody walks around with in the premise. He highlights that there is a designated marked position for everyone, and the actors and crew members will have to sit only in the allocated areas. There is a nurse available on the set who checks everyone’s temperature before letting them in. It is mandatory for actors to wear masks and gloves when not filming a scene. But other crew members have to sport them all day long.

    He explains, “Earlier, people would share gutkha, other nicotine products and smoke on sets. We have introduced a concept called share a sanitiser. Now, exchange of any nicotine products or chewing gum is strictly banned; they are only allowed to share sanitisers. At lunch, the unit was served packed food thus avoiding crowding.”

    As far as travelling is concerned, actors are using their private vehicles to travel and crew who are travelling from far have been asked to stay on the set. Also a separate make-up kit has been allotted to each actor. Sanitation and fumigation are done twice a day.

    Sphere Origins founder Sunjoy Waddhwa has resumed shooting for his show Singhalagna in Kolkata. As per the West Bengal government guidelines, all safety measures and protocols are strictly followed. However, he will start shooting in Mumbai only after September.

    Creative Eye Limited MD Dheeraj Kumar explains that the production house is in the planning mode and shooting will be started in the next ten days. He is currently working on a show for Dangal. Preparations involving sanitisation, other SOP measures gathering technicians has been done.

    Rashmi Sharma Telefilms founder Rashmi Sharma shared a glimpse of the shooting for her show Pyaar Ki Luka Chuppi on Instagram. She was among the first few producers to start shooting in Mumbai. The show is filmed at Naigaon.

    Shashi Sumeet Productions’ shows Barrister Babu and Shubharambh have also started shooting.

  • TV producers on restarting offices with safety measures

    TV producers on restarting offices with safety measures

    MUMBAI: On 8 June the Maharashtra government allowed all private offices to operate with up to 10 per cent of full staff strength or ten people (whichever is higher). Production houses are still waiting for permission from Film City and district collectors to start production in Mumbai and Thane. In the meantime, certain producers have restarted their offices, while others are waiting for things to get normal.

    Famous Studio MD Anant Roongta who resumed office on 8 June thanked his team for their constant effort. The company is currently working with less than ten people. However, it has introduced a shift system to manage the workflow. There are no more than five people per floor. The studio has five facilities and across the entire facility, 35 to 40 people are working.

    Apart from that, the office space is sanitised on a regular basis. It is mandatory to wear surgical gloves while working on any equipment to stop the mitigating virus. Social distancing is followed by providing separate rooms to each employee. As far as visual reality is concerned people are working in the extreme ends of the room. Most employees are also given separate stations to maintain the social distancing norm. For travelling, employees are using private vehicles or sharing a car with no more than two people.

    Creative Eye has also re-started its office. Its managing director Dheeraj Kumar says, “We are functioning as per the permission granted by the government. We have already started working on a project that was supposed to happen before the lockdown. We have booked the set, paid advances and realigned 15 scripts.”

    In the last few days Kumar has shifted his focus to operational issues. As a service provider Kumar highlights that the company works on a project basis. If needed, it has close to 100 people on the set. For now, the permanent staff consists of 50 employees and only those who are close by are coming to the office in their private vehicles. People who live far off are still working from home.

    The teams required in the office are the ideation and creation teams. They include CEOs, CFOs, head of departments, general managers, operational team, studio manager, executive secretary, administrative manager, housekeeping staff and kitchen staff. Apart from that, editors are permanently also living in the office.

    Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege makes it clear that it will not be starting its office any time soon. Employees will be working from home for the next six months at least and even after that work will resume in a shift system.  

    He adds, “The key change will be the number of people coming on the set and how they behave. What can be done to maintain social distancing, and other necessary guidelines.”

    On a similar note, Hats Off Productions founder J D Majethia is also not planning to restart his office. Firstly, he wants to ensure that everything is in place in terms of SOPs and safety and then he will think of restarting. Until then all the employees will continue working from home.

    Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

  • Production houses plan for return after lockdown

    Production houses plan for return after lockdown

    MUMBAI: As lockdown restrictions ease across the country and state governments start handing out approvals to resume shooting, production houses are gearing up to get back on track with requisite precautions and safety measures. Tasks like an SOP plan will be on top of the priority list and this means added costs for production houses.

    IFTPC chairman TV wing and Hats Off Production founder J D Majethia is optimistic that Maharashtra will start shooting in June itself. Anticipating that the pandemic will run longer he has bought a temperature check kiosk, sanitisation stand and other necessary equipment rather than rent them. He also mentioned that insurance policies will become a necessity that will cover workers, technicians and artists for the SarsCov2 virus. 

    “On ground, our focus is crew safety and thereafter following the right protocols. We are preparing to implement SOPs on ground. We want to ensure that the number of people is less. Our focus is not just on what the government has advised but we also want to keep things under control from a safety perspective,” says Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege. However, he says that their shows will commence production only by August.

    Even though Endemol is waiting for shoots to resume here, other regional areas have commenced where permissions have been granted such as Tamil Nadu. Going forward, the company will work in a shift system, so that at any given time required crew members are present. Maintaining distance and required people on the set will be the big change. He, too, added that employee health insurance will be imperative.

    Currently, Rege is working on only new shows. “We are trying to figure out ways where we don’t compromise on our script and yet deliver good content,” he says.

    Famous Studio MD Anant Roongta, who is ecstatic about re-starting his work, thanked his team members for their constant support. Famous Studio re-started studio work from 8 June. During lockdown, his 50 employees were able to work on pending projects remotely because of its previous efforts in upgrading technology. Even artists came up with techniques to work from home.

    While mentioning hygiene and sanitisation measures Roongta says, “We have seven action areas, for all the employees and clients who are coming in our studio. We have a self-declaration form that is mandatory to fill before entering the studios. It is a list of 20 to 30 questions which includes their travel history, any possible symptoms, if they live in a containment area and much more.”

    Once people fill the form, they go to the sanitisation stand outside the office. Post that, their temperature is checked and it is mandatory to wear a mask. The studio is sanitised and disinfected every morning. Surgical gloves are provided to people who are working on equipment. As people are working on separate wings and rooms, social distancing is also taken care of. Everyone has to enter and exit from one point to avoid overlapping.

    The staff follows a dedicated SOP which included appointing housekeeping for deep cleaning before opening up the office. On the insurance front, he says “Most of the people we work with are consultants and not employees, so they are individually responsible for their own insurance policies.”

    Creative Eye Limited MD Dheeraj Kumar says that they too resumed work from 8 June. He adds, “I am waiting for broadcasters to give us the green signal to start fresh projects as well as pending ones. But even if we want to shoot, we will need a minimum of 25 days time in our hand to do all the preparation which was lost in three months.”

    Their precautionary measures include thermal infra-red guns at the entrance to check the temperature and will be written in a physical register. Whoever enters the premises will have to provide their contact details and home address. After entering the building, people must sanitise their hands with a stand that’s operated by the feet. He is also providing tailor-made in-house masks and gloves. In the past ten days, the entire Creative Eye building and office has been sanitised thrice. About 100 Creative Eye employees have also been covered under an insurance policy.

  • Industry needs to handhold to come out of this crisis

    Industry needs to handhold to come out of this crisis

    MUMBAI: The film and television producers are gearing up to restart shooting in the wake of guidelines issued by the Maharashtra government and the easing of lockdown restrictions. Film and TV post-production activities in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Telangana have also resumed, albeit with restrictions.

    Indiantelevision.com reached out to leading TV producers to understand their plans in the days ahead.

    Shakuntalam Telefilms founder Shyamashis Bhattacharya said, “People are eager to work; getting them on set is difficult but getting them to work is easy. We have new challenges before us like sanitisation and social distancing, but we will strictly adhere to all the norms.”

    But how production houses with lower budgets will work with added costs of sanitisation and other procedures? According to him, Hindi GECs would be able to sustain and work as soon as the government gives permission. Budget constraints, however, will pose challenges to regional channels. In that case, they might take more time than others to think of suitable measures. He said that broadcasters and production houses are already in talks to find out if there can be deduction in production budgets.

    Producers already have plans to start fiction shows with a lesser number of crew. Non-fiction shows, however, will be on hold as they require larger crews. According to him, broadcasters are also under pressure as there haven’t been any advertising revenues for many months.

    Optimystix Entertainment founder-MD Vipul D Shah suggests, as a measure of social distancing, that editing rooms will require redesigning. A separate space will be allotted to editors with one in one room. Most preferably, they will be asked to work from home.

    Makeup artists and hairdressers are constantly required to be with actors. But, to maintain social distancing, actors will now have to work without makeup artists at least for a few months. However, all these measures are still on paper; one has to wait till shooting starts to test the efficacy of their implementation.

    Indiantelevision.com reached out to Vaishnave Media Works Ltd MD-chairman Kutty Padmini to understand how things have progressed in the Tamil industry.

    She said, “Full-fledged shooting has not yet started in the Tamil industry as not more than 15 to 20 people can work together at a time. So, we have requested the Tamil Nadu government to grant permission for 40 people.” She adds that 30 people can be present inside the set and 10 outside; they will include drivers, generator operators and the rest.

    She said that the pending post-production works like dubbing, CJI, and VFX have started.

    According to Padmini, the Tamil Nadu government decided to resume shooting with 20 people after someone suggested that in Hollywood the shoot is happening with just 22 members. She says that this scenario is not relevant to India.

    “Resuming shoot with minimum people is possible for me as I do my own scripts and everything else, but it might not be possible for other people. It is not quite difficult also. Today, the technology is so advanced that we do not need so many lights or technicians like in the black-and-white era.”

    Padmini made it clear that she is planning to resume shooting only after 15 June. Currently, she is busy creating content for her YouTube channel.

    On creating a bank of certain episodes, Padmini says that now broadcasters allow the creation of banks of only five episodes. Story narrations might change in accordance with other factors like change in TRPs. And then there are many other factors like availability of actors, who come from Karnataka and Kerala.

    During the pandemic, a lot of production houses had to lay off employees, but the situation has been different for Padmini as she preferred to hire people based on projects.

    Padmini is utilising this lockdown period to create scripts which are doable with lesser crew. She is currently working with MSN, Amazon Prime, Dangal and Aha Media in Hyderabad.

    Creative Eye founder Dheeraj Kumar is positive that soon Maharashtra will also start post-production works like other states. Kumar’s 20-year-old show Shree Ganesh will make a comeback on Star Plus. The show will premiere on 2 June and air from Monday to Sunday at 6:30 pm.

    “The show is going to start but I have to do some additions, promos, and post production works. So, I am giving whatever technological help that is required through constant communication with editors and technicians. Basically, my problems are very immediate. The bigger challenge is we cannot start our post-production works until and unless we follow all the guidelines imposed by Maharashtra government,” he added.

    Kumar has his own studio, pro-cut machines, tools, equipment for mixing and sound. Apart from this, he regularly sanitises his studio building. He is bringing in place sanitise tunnels to effectively disinfect offices and equipment. In order to maintain social distancing norms Kumar has enough rooms that could be allotted to the technical staff.

    Kumar is also going to implement an odd-even formula in terms of staff to begin shooting. He believes broadcasters and producers will have to support each other in these troubled times.

    “Going forward we will have to think very carefully with regard to logistics and finances. Necessity is the mother of invention. We will have to learn to work with less crew and a tight budget. Industry needs to do the handholding to come out of this crisis,” he concludes. 

  • SAB TV extends original programming, launches 7:30 pm show

    SAB TV extends original programming, launches 7:30 pm show

    MUMBAI: For years, SAB TV has been the standout, lean, fit, channel from the Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) stable. However, the Hindi GEC space has being seen competition hotting up with new launches over the past year or so and existing leaders such as Star and Zee extending original fictional programming to seven days a week.

    The SPN management has been taking corrective action to help SAB TV retain its edge. Among the tacks it has been taking is improving distribution and increasing the hours of original programming it airs. Two weeks back it unveiled a new show Khidki, which has begun getting some traction from its viewrs. Come 26 July and another fiction series is slated to make its debut at the 7:30 pm slot on weekdays.

    The show is produced by Dheeraj Kumar’s Creative Eye and has Anirudh Dave in the lead with Rakesh Kapoor and Malini Kapoor essaying pivotal roles. It will track the journey of Y.A.R.O, (Your Aptitude Remote Operator) a humanoid, who is on the path of self-discovery. Created by super genius scientist Govardhan Aggarwal (Rakesh Bedi), who considers it his own son and has programmed the robot – with a human heart – to feel and behave like a 22 year old human. The story takes an interesting turn when Y.A.R.O starts interacting with people around him and how he eventually forges a strong bond with them. He learns the essence of life, love and above all humanity and he soon embarks on an adventurous journey with his family and friends.

    “We have added Y.A.R.O at the 7:30 pm slot for two reasons: most channels are doing well at that timing, and second we are increasing the original programming hours we air to gain parity with others in the Hindi GEC space,” explains SAB TV executive vice-president and business head Anooj Kapoor. “There are two ways to extend our prime time. Go late prime time or early prime time. Since we have a core family audience watching our shows, we felt the 11 pm slot was too late, and chose early prime.”

    Kapoor believes the show’s concept is young and refreshing and is in keeping with the channel’s strategy to differentiate through innovation. “It has a light hearted feel but Y.A.R.O Ka Tashan will help us see relationships with our family, friends, in a new light. Since Y.A.R.O is blissfully unaware of the rules of human society, he would experience the essence of love and humanity and in turn we would learn virtues of selflessness and generosity through his innocence,” he adds.

    SAB’s new show is pitched against Colors’ Sasural Simar Ka, Star Plus’ Saath Nibhana Saathiya, Zee TV’s Meri Saasu Ma and Life Ok’s Rishto Ka Saudagar Bazigar.

    “Even as everyone was relying on dancing and reality shows on weekends, we launched two silent comedies, GuturGu and Rumm Pumm Po back to back on Saturdays and Sundays,” details Kapoor. “Extending the same logic Y.A.R.O is completely differentiated from other shows that are well established and some of them are running for a long time and some fatigue may have set in. ”

    “The subject seems different definitely,” says a media observer. “How the audiences will react to Y.A.R.O will be decided by the treatment and execution by Creative Eye and SAB of the robot with a human heart. Watching the promos of Y.A.R.O Ka Tasha one feels that while the comedy is in the right direction, the visual effects could definitely be improved. However, the comedy could overshadow the VFX and engage viewers. Let us wait and watch.”

    Kapoor is playing a wait and watch game himself and says he is not willing to speculate how the show will do and what ad rates it could attract. “The factors that decide the ad rates are the TRP and audience composition,” he explains. “If the audience is attractive to advertisers and even if the ratings are less, the channel may get a good rate. Some times if the rating is more but the audience is not that attractive the channel may get less. Hence, a decision can be taken once the show is live. This exposes not only the ratings but the composition of the audience.”

    Two weeks back SAB TV had launched a first of its kind show Khidki which revolves around stories sent in by TV viewers.. Some of these select stories are being adapted into mini-series of episodes for the small screen.

    “Not only did the show open well but, in its second week, the ratings have gone up. In the first week, on Friday, ratings were 0.4 and this week from Monday it’s 0.6. It has grown and it’s a good sign for us,” says the ever optimistic Kapoor

  • SAB TV extends original programming, launches 7:30 pm show

    SAB TV extends original programming, launches 7:30 pm show

    MUMBAI: For years, SAB TV has been the standout, lean, fit, channel from the Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) stable. However, the Hindi GEC space has being seen competition hotting up with new launches over the past year or so and existing leaders such as Star and Zee extending original fictional programming to seven days a week.

    The SPN management has been taking corrective action to help SAB TV retain its edge. Among the tacks it has been taking is improving distribution and increasing the hours of original programming it airs. Two weeks back it unveiled a new show Khidki, which has begun getting some traction from its viewrs. Come 26 July and another fiction series is slated to make its debut at the 7:30 pm slot on weekdays.

    The show is produced by Dheeraj Kumar’s Creative Eye and has Anirudh Dave in the lead with Rakesh Kapoor and Malini Kapoor essaying pivotal roles. It will track the journey of Y.A.R.O, (Your Aptitude Remote Operator) a humanoid, who is on the path of self-discovery. Created by super genius scientist Govardhan Aggarwal (Rakesh Bedi), who considers it his own son and has programmed the robot – with a human heart – to feel and behave like a 22 year old human. The story takes an interesting turn when Y.A.R.O starts interacting with people around him and how he eventually forges a strong bond with them. He learns the essence of life, love and above all humanity and he soon embarks on an adventurous journey with his family and friends.

    “We have added Y.A.R.O at the 7:30 pm slot for two reasons: most channels are doing well at that timing, and second we are increasing the original programming hours we air to gain parity with others in the Hindi GEC space,” explains SAB TV executive vice-president and business head Anooj Kapoor. “There are two ways to extend our prime time. Go late prime time or early prime time. Since we have a core family audience watching our shows, we felt the 11 pm slot was too late, and chose early prime.”

    Kapoor believes the show’s concept is young and refreshing and is in keeping with the channel’s strategy to differentiate through innovation. “It has a light hearted feel but Y.A.R.O Ka Tashan will help us see relationships with our family, friends, in a new light. Since Y.A.R.O is blissfully unaware of the rules of human society, he would experience the essence of love and humanity and in turn we would learn virtues of selflessness and generosity through his innocence,” he adds.

    SAB’s new show is pitched against Colors’ Sasural Simar Ka, Star Plus’ Saath Nibhana Saathiya, Zee TV’s Meri Saasu Ma and Life Ok’s Rishto Ka Saudagar Bazigar.

    “Even as everyone was relying on dancing and reality shows on weekends, we launched two silent comedies, GuturGu and Rumm Pumm Po back to back on Saturdays and Sundays,” details Kapoor. “Extending the same logic Y.A.R.O is completely differentiated from other shows that are well established and some of them are running for a long time and some fatigue may have set in. ”

    “The subject seems different definitely,” says a media observer. “How the audiences will react to Y.A.R.O will be decided by the treatment and execution by Creative Eye and SAB of the robot with a human heart. Watching the promos of Y.A.R.O Ka Tasha one feels that while the comedy is in the right direction, the visual effects could definitely be improved. However, the comedy could overshadow the VFX and engage viewers. Let us wait and watch.”

    Kapoor is playing a wait and watch game himself and says he is not willing to speculate how the show will do and what ad rates it could attract. “The factors that decide the ad rates are the TRP and audience composition,” he explains. “If the audience is attractive to advertisers and even if the ratings are less, the channel may get a good rate. Some times if the rating is more but the audience is not that attractive the channel may get less. Hence, a decision can be taken once the show is live. This exposes not only the ratings but the composition of the audience.”

    Two weeks back SAB TV had launched a first of its kind show Khidki which revolves around stories sent in by TV viewers.. Some of these select stories are being adapted into mini-series of episodes for the small screen.

    “Not only did the show open well but, in its second week, the ratings have gone up. In the first week, on Friday, ratings were 0.4 and this week from Monday it’s 0.6. It has grown and it’s a good sign for us,” says the ever optimistic Kapoor

  • Mukesh Bhatt re-elected as Guild president

    Mukesh Bhatt re-elected as Guild president

    NEW DELHI: Eminent filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt has been unanimously re-elected as president of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India., while Dheeraj Kumar, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Manish Goswami and Vijay Singh have been named vice presidents.

     

    At the first meeting of its newly constituted Guild Council of Management, which was held immediately after the 61st Annual General Meeting in Mumbai, the other office bearers re-elected as part of the Guild Management Team are Ashim Samanta and Srishti Arya as treasurers.

     

    Kulmeet Makkar will continue to manage the affairs of the Guild as its CEO.

     

    In his opening speech, Bhatt said, “Throughout the past three years, our management team has embarked on the path of my illustrious predecessors and worked with dedication, determination and intensity on embellishing and brightening the image and reputation of the Guild.”

     

    He said Makkar had reinvigorated and revitalised the approach and modus operandi of the Guild. “We continue to engage with State and Central Governments over several issues concerning the film and television industry. There have been many fresh initiatives undertaken by Guild such as waiver of all the charges pertaining to Publicity clearance and Titles registration to make the system more transparent and provide enhanced value to the members, release of first edition of the Film incentive Guide which provides processes and incentives in detail to benefit Indian producers for shooting in 12 countries apart from other reports such as Make in Maharashtra, Film tourism, GST way forward,” Bhatt added.

     

    The other members of the newly elected Council of Management of Guild are Ramesh Sippy, Manmohan Shetty, Ashutosh Gowariker, Rakesh Roshan, Karan Johar, Farhan Akhtar, Ekta Kapoor, Vishal Bhardwaj, Sushilkumar Agrawal, Ratan Jain, N P Singh, Madhu Mantena, Hiren Gada, Sabbas Joseph, Kiran Shantaram, Randhir Kapoor, Amit Khanna, Kamalkumar Barjatya (member emeritus) and Rajkumar Kohli (co-opted member).

     

    In addition to these, Subhash Ghai, Ritesh Sidhwani and Guneet Monga along with eight more Guild members and representatives namely Prem Sagar, Asitkumarr Modi, Sneha Rajani, Ajit Andhare, Sameer Nair, Apoorva Mehta, Aashish Singh and Vipul D. Shah were nominated as special invitees.

     

  • Sab to launch new comical adventure – ‘Betaal Aur Sinhasan Battisi’

    Sab to launch new comical adventure – ‘Betaal Aur Sinhasan Battisi’

    MUMBAI: Sab TV is all set to launch a new comical show, which has elements of a mythological fantasy. Called Betaal Aur Sinhasan Battisi, the show is created by Creative Eye Ltd and produced by Dheeraj Kumar and Zuby Kochhar. The new series will launch on 10 March at 7.30 pm.

     

    The show has been shot on grand looking sets and will have majestic special effects to do justice to the characters. 

     

    Sandeep Anand (Betaal) and Siddharth Arora (Raja Bhoj) will feature as the main protagonists in the daily show.

     

    The twist that the show will add to the legendary story of Bhoj’s struggle and determination to possess the throne of Vikramaditya is the unreasonable challenges that Betaal’s character will present to him.

     

    The show’s key comical character will be portrayed by Betaal, the self-appointed protector of Vikramaditya’s Sinhasan Battisi. The series will see various attempts made by Betaal who would use his wit and harmless deceit to ensure that the Sinhasan is not given to anyone by Mahamaya and the Putlees. Thus, possessively protecting the sinhasan from Bhoj. Betaal Aur Sinhasan Battisi will be a hilarious amalgamation of situational comedy, jealously and perseverance.

     

    Sab senior EVP and business head Anooj Kapoor said, “The unique proposition has always been differentiation through innovation. Betaal Aur Sinhasan Battisi show is a wholesome family entertainer which showcases a comical dimension to the challenges faced by Raja Bhoj courtesy the ever-troublesome Betaal.”

     

    Producer Kumar added, “The show shall surely tickle your bones and the historical, mythological, fantasy story shall make you travel in a world of creative dimension and magnificent visual.”