ITV

Tag: Manish Goyal

  • Saara Akash gets a large pie in the sky

    MUMBAI: First time soap producers, Miditech must be patting their back. On the very first day of launch, Saara Akash, the lavishly produced young and yuppy series, has managed to notch a TVR of 7.3, marking the 16th spot in the CS4+ rankings by TAM. Across all India TAM markets, the average TVR for the soap reads 4.4, putting the series in the 48th spot.
    If television ratings are to be believed, the audience has lapped up the fresh and lively fare being dished out by Star every Thursday night at 9 pm.
    A refreshing break from the kyunkis and the kahaanis, the one-hour-long Saara Akash is positioned as a love story with life in air force as the backdrop. Shot at the Indian Air Force base in Mumbai and Pune, the story revolves around five air force pilots, who have just finished their training.
    Given the warm reception of the serial, all the preliminary changes in the cast that includes big television names like Parmeet Sethi, Kiran Kumar, Manish Goyal, Shakti Anand, Anuj Saxena and Maanav Gohil now seem worth the effort and time.
    Exuberant about the soap’s performance, Miditech creative director Anil Jha says, “The ratings are very encouraging. The publicity by Star TV has evoked enormous response.”


    In early august, before the launch of the soap, Star had run a promotional campaign in Mumbai and Delhi where it managed to collect from men, women, students and senior citizens an overwhelming 150,000 signatures and messages for the Indian Air Force. For every signature collected, Star Plus has volunteered to deposit one rupee in the Indian Air Force Wives Association Fund. The book containing these signatures will be kept at the Indian Air Force Museum in Palam, Delhi.
    The serial, Jha feels, has managed to generate interest because of its unique backdrop and also because people have liked the blend of characters in the story.
    The series surely looks fresh and young and the ratings look good for now. Nevertheless, it may be too early to say whether it’s just initial curiosity or the series can actually sustain interest over the slated 26-episode-run.

    Also read:

    Love in times of Sukoi: Star Plus’ ‘Saara Akaash’

  • Star set to unleash new mega series ‘Saara Akash’

    MUMBAI: After a nearly six-month delay, the Miditech produced Saara Akash finally goes on air on Star Plus on 8 August.
    The weekly, that will replace the action thriller Josh… Aktion Unlimited that winds up after its scheduled 13-week run on 1 August, dwells on life in the air force. Shot at the Indian Air Force base in Pune and in Mumbai, Saara Akash is a love story with air force life as the backdrop, says Star India vice president programming and communication, Tarun Katial.
    The story revolves around five air force pilots, who have just finished their training, three of whom are childhood friends. There is also a brother sister relationship waiting to be explored in the plot. 


    The cast has undergone quite a few changes since the series was first conceived, say industry watchers, and now boasts some big television names like Parmeet Sethi, Kiran Kumar, Manish Goyal, Shakti Anand, Anuj Saxena and Maanav Gohil. Katial says the lavish production is the first of its kind serial on life in the air force to debut on Indian satellite television. 
    Unlike Josh, which had a finite 13-episode run on the channel, Saara Akash is poised for an initial 26-episode run, but could continue if it picks up well. Like all Star Plus’ new shows, an innovative promo campaign is being spun around Saara Akash too, one which in all likelihood will be unleashed in the first week of August. 


    The outgoing Josh, meanwhile, has not lived up to the expectations the channel had from the experimental theme. The Friday night series, recounted the story of an ex-cop (Salil Ankola), ex-conman (Vinod Sharawat) and a former police commissioner (Saurabh Shukla) who get together to fight crime. The series, touted as the ‘biggest thing on Indian television’ however, did not set the ratings afire, managing an average TRP of around three. In the week ended 5 July, 2003, the serial had managed a TVR of 3.7. 
    The channel has meanwhile, lined up a surprise in two episodes of Josh in late July in the form of top model and not so happening actor Aditi Govitrikar. When quizzed about Govitrikar’s reported entry into Josh at the fag end of the series, all Katial would offer was, “Watch it!”


    Govitrikar will be seen in Josh on 18 and 25 July. When contacted, she said, “I thought we would be able to pull it off as a surprise, but I don’t know how you guys get to know everything beforehand.” 
    So what’s her role? “It’s typical action stuff. I step into a new story which would involve two episodes only. I had to learn horse riding and lots of stunts for it, but it was great fun. I shot for the two episodes for nine days. Believe me, I loved Josh ever since it began. The makers have dared to be different, and it’s time television attempts a bit of novelty.” 
    But how come suddenly we see her in a serial? She shot back, “Have I ever stated that I won’t do television? In fact, I am looking at doing quite a bit of work on television, but after some time. There are a few offers even on date, though.”