ITV

Tag: Nikhil Madhok

  • Will ‘Everest’ be able to climb the peak?

    Will ‘Everest’ be able to climb the peak?

    MUMBAI: It all began nearly two years ago, when the numero uno channel Star Plus started brainstorming to develop a content which can break the clutter and should help in taking television to the next level.

    To do so, it joined hands with one of the finest filmmakers – Ashutosh Gowariker to produce a series set against an extraordinary background of the magnificent Mount Everest.

    Produced under Ashutosh Gowariker Productions Private Limited (AGPPL) banner, the show – ‘Everest’ is in line with the GEC’s strategy of offering innovative and differentiated content. It has been conceptualised, shot and presented on a scale never seen before on TV.

    The channel re-defined television when it brought a talk show that spoke about social issues in Satyamev Jayate (SMJ) in 2012, and 2013 saw its mythological series Mahabharat. According to Star Plus general manager Gaurav Banerjee, ‘Everest’ is the next step.

    With the first episode telecast on 3 November, indiantelevision.com spoke to people from the industry to know their views on the concept of the show and whether it will re-define television the way shows like SMJ and Mahabharat did in their respective genres.

    According to Havas Media managing director Mohit Joshi believes that Star has taken the right step by going youth with shows like Airlines and now Everest. For Joshi everyone wants to cater to the youth today and traditional housewives’ viewership is not going to be something on which it can sustain for coming years.

    “With the new age viewers being the way they are, I think it is very important to engage with them in multiple test parts and that is what Star is doing through the show. Audiences today are looking for content, doesn’t matter if Star is delivering it or MTV.  With mobile phones in their hands, it only takes a minute for them to switch between devices. So if you give them promising content to watch, you are the king.”

    Agreeing with Joshi, Maxus managing partner north and east region Navin Khemka believes that right from the production quality to the look and the feel, the show seems extremely well done. He further goes on to say that as more and more such programmes launch, the ratings increase, acceptability increases and the channels will be left with no choice but to increase the production quality level and engagement level with the viewers.

    Penned for about 110 episodes, almost 90 per cent of the shoot was canned before the telecast of the show in locations like Mount Everest, Jodhpur, NIM and Mumbai. It has also used a lot of heavy technical equipments like GoPro cameras, 4K technology and a lot more.

    Joshi feels the concept is enterprising and coming from the AG portfolio with big names, it will be able to garner decent amount of visibility. However, he further reasons that overall the viewership has gone for a toss. “The overall fragmentation has led to a lot of drop as far as viewership is concerned which is why all the shows are not performing at the level they used to perform a couple of years ago,” he says.

    He cites an example of SMJ and says that nowadays numbers are not important, but content and the traction from social media buzz plays a major role. “Like for SMJ, more than the numbers it was social media buzz that showed that the program was a hit.” Joshi feels the way SMJ is activating all the social media platforms on television, the channel has done for Everest as well. At present, on Facebook, SMJ has six million likes and Everest has more than 2,000 likes.

    Khemka states that Star has always been a leader in terms of content they provide to the viewers. He presents the example of shows which airs on sister English GEC Star World such as Homeland which is at par with any Hollywood movie. “A similar transition will happen in India. And as more and more channels started investing in content which is of the standard of Everest and as viewers gradually start accepting it, channels will have no option but to change their programming content,” he narrates.

    The series is presented by Fair and Lovely and co-powered by Godrej Ezee while Vinod Cookware has signed up as an associate sponsor. Joshi is confident that the channel should be able to get good mileage from the advertisers’ side too.

    Talking about the ad-rate per 10-second slot, Madhok earlier revealed 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,” he said.

     

  • Star’s youth-turn

    Star’s youth-turn

    From Tulsi to Sandhya to Yo Yo Honey Singh, the country’s oldest general entertainment channel (GEC), Star Plus, is definitely keeping pace with the changing tastes of viewers.

    A gamble for News Corp executive chairman Rupert Murdoch, when launched in 1992, has been churning out content, which has created enough and more loyalists. Be it the 2000 revamp, which saw the launch of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ and the ‘K’ series led by ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ and many others or the current array of hits like ‘Diya Aur Baati Hum’ and ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’.

    So what is the secret ingredient for its success? “It’s the stories we tell,” says Star Plus general manager Gaurav Banerjee, who took charge in 2010 when the channel went through a second revamp.

    Star, over the years, has changed the way GECs told stories and made the characters a household name. Families sat together to watch the story of Tulsi and the Virani parivar. However, as the stories stretched, people’s interest diminished, giving birth to newer channels to proliferate and reasons to the strong team to move on.

    It is at this time that the channel again repositioned itself with ‘Rishta Wahi, Soch Nayi’ in 2010, which saw the birth of new characters and different and interesting stories.  In the last decade or so, viewers have evolved; as more women stepped out of their homes to work, the thinking changed as well. Keeping pace with this, the channel brought in the new “progressive bahus” of television.

    The most popular of them being Sandhya of ‘Diya Aur Baati Hum’, which went on air in 2011 and tells a story of a girl with aspirations married to an illiterate halwai and conservative in-laws. Banerjee believes that the channel has always come up with some of the biggest ideas. “It was ‘Kyunki…’ 15 years ago, today its ‘Diya aur Bati’.”

    Some of other shows launched with the new philosophy of the channel were ‘Pratigya’, ‘Sasural Genda Phool’, which died a natural death, while some like ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’ continue the successful run.

    “The times are changing, but even today the role of a family, especially the relationship between a saas and a bahu is an integral part of our society,” says Banerjee, who feels it would be wrong to call the channel, a saas-bahu channel. “In our stories, relationships are important but the characters are stronger.”

    In 2012, with ‘Satyamev Jayate’, the channel once again shook the industry by revamping the Sunday morning slot which no one dared to experiment with, after the success of ‘Mahabharat’ and ‘Ramayan’ on Doordarshan. The weekly show created and hosted by Aamir Khan highlighted social issues prevalent in India and discussed possible solutions.

    Star India CEO Uday Shankar has gone on record to say that he had called up James Murdoch and told him about the risk associated with SMJ because of the investment and he told him ‘we would live.’ The channel had invested Rs 4 crore per episode in season one, the amount unheard of then for a reality show. The series is now in its third season.

    As we move towards the end of 2014, the channel still continues to enjoy its number one position in the TAM TV ratings with a huge margin. In the week 42 of TAM TV ratings, it witnessed a huge hike and clocked 600,523 GVTs while Colors recorded 436,422GVTs.

    A year back, with shows like ‘Veera’, ‘Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara’ and more recently, with ‘Yeh Hai Mohabbatein’ and ‘Ek Hassena Thi’, the channel has moved its programming strategy towards youngsters. The same was also donned by the actors and actresses during the 2014 Star Parivar Awards, who wore ‘modern’ outfits while thanking the channel going ‘younger’.   

    And now with the four new shows – ‘India’s Raw Star’, ‘Airlines’, ‘Nisha Aur Uske Cousins’ and ‘Everest’ – the channel is once again changing its programming strategy.

    Is Star Plus going younger?

     “Why shouldn’t we?” comes the prompt response from Banerjee who feels that with consumers’ tastes evolving, the channel which entertains the youngest democracy in the world, needs to change as well.

    The continuous effort to do something new and different has once again made the channel take a step forward to cater to the younger audiences. The now Balaji group CEO Sameer Nair, who is credited for the 2000 revamp of the channel, believes that if Star is moving towards catering the youth, then it is good. “One needs to move with time and Star has always been aiming to give the viewers what they want,” he adds.

    The channel, which has a strong in-house research team and associates with various agencies, is continuously conducting researches across the country to know what the viewers want. The recent studies tell that there is a certain section of youngsters who want to watch different stories, something that won’t put off the elders and can be enjoyed by the whole family.

    The research emphasised on today’s women who want more financial freedom and want a career; though marriage is important but that is not a priority anymore. It also highlighted that GECs weren’t reflecting that desire in their content.

    The channel informs that as per TAM data, 50 per cent of the total television viewership comes from women and only 10 per cent of this comes from the age group of 15 to 24. “We are already higher in this category as 16-17 per cent of our audience comes from within that age group, but we think there are still a number of women who don’t watch enough of Star Plus and we want to cater to them,” says Star India SVP Nikhil Madhok.

    The 10 second ad slot for the weekend properties ‘India’s Raw Star’ is touted at Rs 3 lakh while ‘Airlines’ is anything between Rs 80,000 and 1 lakh. The daily soap ‘Nisha Aur Uske Cousins’ is Rs 50,000 plus.

     “The viewers are giving us direction and as market leaders we have to lead that change,” says Banerjee.

    However, media planners say that though Star isn’t averse to experimenting and state the example of ‘Satyamev Jayate,’ they point out that GECs work on loyalty and Star Plus enjoys a huge following, but somewhere the shift is to tap in the youth segment so that the revenue doesn’t get impacted.

    Planners state that sometimes for a brand, ratings don’t matter but the TG does. Hence, they opt to be associated with channels or shows which are talking to that TG. They give the example of Tata Safari and ‘24’ on Colors.

    Banerjee dispels the argument and firmly says that the channel doesn’t need to change to woo advertisers. “We are not under any pressure, but we wish to change as the country is young.”

    But do planners believe that the change will impact Star’s brand equity? Maxus MD Kartik says, “I don’t think the move to go younger will impact the channel’s image or brand value because the core of the shows is still entertainment. They are not moving away from the brand’s identity.”

    On the other hand, brand consultant Harish Bijoor thinks that while the brand will alienate a set of its older viewers, the big segment to harvest is the young. “Indian demographics today do not necessarily go hand in hand with channel viewer profiles today. The audience is young. If one is to grow, one needs to harvest young viewership. Star Plus should go young in slots. A 50: 50 skew would work well for it.”

    The process of bringing out the best content isn’t simple. After numerous meetings with the best in the business as Banerjee says, pilots are shown to viewers to get their feedback as it is very important, so much so, that sometimes numerous set of viewers watch a particular pilot to tell the right story.

     “Fiction is our greatest strength and we make sure that we get all the elements right apart from the story. The settings, the actors all need to fit the story and it takes time before we put out a show for consumption,” says Banerjee. For instance, the channel worked on the finer details and concept for years on ‘SMJ’ and ‘Mahabharat’.

    Weekend programming head Ashish Golwalkar says that people have grown up watching their serials, but with time one needs to look at the current lot of youngsters. “Today a lot of youngsters think of Star Plus as a ‘mummy’ channel and if we didn’t change now, five years down the line nobody will be watching us,” opines Golwalkar.

    Banerjee along with his team, which consists mostly of 30 years-olds, put in a lot of effort to bring a variety on the channel’s platter. Research is an important part, but the team also depends on its understanding of the consumer as well as learning gained from its previous hits and misses.

    He doesn’t shy away from admitting the shortcomings of the channel. For instance, he agrees to the fact that with no innovation, the channel’s dance reality show, ‘Nach Baliye’, will not be able to grab the eyeballs in the future. Same goes for ‘MasterChef’ where the channel experimented with ‘Masterchef Junior’ and was able to make some headway. Banerjee proudly boasts about the channel’s biggest bet with mythological show, ‘Mahabharat’ which was aired in the 8:30 pm slot giving tough competition to Sab’s ‘Tarak Mehta ka Oolta Chashma’.

    For Madhok, while content on the channel has seen a change, the marketing too will soon have a changed approach. “Our main communication is our promo which gives us enough leeway to widen our approach and position. Also, since the TG (women between the age group of 22-25) which we are focusing on are very active online, hence, that will be our major catchment area,” says Madhok.

    It is very clear that Star Plus  doesn’t want to overlap with its youth channel, Channel V. “We want to cater to young women, not girls, therefore, the content will talk about marriage and relationships but the theme will resonate what is priority for these young women,” adds Madhok. In the past couple of years, the channel has already increased its digital spends from 5 per cent to 20 per cent.

    On social media, the channel lags behind Colors, which has more likes on Facebook and followers on Twitter. The channel has 6,233,082 likes on Facebook while Colors has 7,652,409 likes, Zee has 3,620,047 likes. On Twitter it has 335K followers while Colors has 395K and Zee has 153K followers.

    At the recently concluded MIPCOM 2014, 21st Century Fox co-chief operating officer James Murdoch said, “If we continue to innovate and lead in India, it will prove to be a game changer for us.” And moving ahead with this is Star India which is now gearing to lure the women in business suits.

  • ‘Everest’ will break the clutter like ‘Mahabharat’: Nikhil Madhok

    ‘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.

     

     

  • Star Plus’ ‘Yeh Hai Mohabbatein’ gets dual time slot

    Star Plus’ ‘Yeh Hai Mohabbatein’ gets dual time slot

    MUMBAI: Star Plus and Balaji Telefilms relationship goes way back. The shows from the production house’s banner captured almost all the slots and made the channel flourish on the TAM TV ratings chart.

     

    Currently, Yeh Hai Mohabbatein (YHM), which was launched on 3 December 2013, had hit the television screens at a dead slot (11 pm) where no other broadcaster dared to experiment.  

     

    But the channel decided to take the bold move and was confident that one day the show will succeed. And today, if one goes as per the ratings, it ranks number four on Star Plus leaving behind even the older shows. In the week 37 of TAM TV ratings, it garnered 5,245 TVTs, down from 5,730 TVTs.

     

    From 22 September, the show will occupy a dual time slot and will air six days a week at both 7:30 pm and 11:00 pm. The series will replace Saraswatichandra which has been struggling with low numbers at the ratings chart.

     

    Star Plus SVP marketing Nikhil Madhok explains the reason behind the move. According to him, the move was made after audiences’ feedback that a certain section of viewers found the 11 pm slot too late in night.

     

    He adds, “It has a very loyal audience with the highest time spent on Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC). The show is really popular but a lot of people kept telling us, especially youngsters, that it was too late for them to stay awake and watch considering they have their schools and colleges the next day.”

     

    Madhok believes that prior to this, time slot movements were done by GECs usually when it wanted to shift a non-performing show to a competitive big show or early evenings or afternoons. But this is for the first time a top performer show is being shifted primarily to gain more viewership.

     

    The channel feels that the advantage of doing this is twofold. One, a lot of people who were not able to watch the show at 11 pm can now watch it at 7:30 pm. And secondly, audiences who love YHM get two opportunities to watch the show.

     

    “This was a show where repeat viewing the next day or viewing on online digital medium is very high. So the dual airing will not only help the existing viewers who love the show to watch it twice but also add a whole new set of viewers,” states Madhok.

     

    The channel underwent a research where it stated that at 11:00 pm, the number of people available is far lesser than 7:30 pm and contributes only 60 per cent of the overall audience in the community.

     

    Madhok and the makers are confident that since the content will remain same at both the slots, it will garner good ratings at both time slots. YHM has got India Gate Basmati Rice as its title sponsor.

  • Star Plus to its viewers: ‘What’s your Everest?’

    Star Plus to its viewers: ‘What’s your Everest?’

    MUMBAI: It was in 2012 that Star Plus brought uncomfortable realities to television screens with Satyamev Jayate, then in 2013 the biggest mythological series with Mahabharat and keeping with the trend, the number one rated channel is back in 2014 with Everest.

     

    Bringing to the viewers a great blend of drama, adventure and inspiration, Star Plus and celebrated filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker have come together to present this finite series. The show is produced under Ashutosh Gowariker Productions (AGPPL) banner and has music by A R Rahman.

     

    “I wanted to tell a story on television, but films kept me busy,” says Gowariker who previously had made television shows like Fauji, Circus and Kachchi dhoop.  He further goes on to say that the journey with Star Plus began two years back when they first met and started ideating about the project.

     

    According to Star Plus general manager Gaurav Banerjee the decision was critical to its strategy thought ‘Rishta Wahi Soch Nayi’. “For a channel like ours which is always working on getting new ideas onboard, it takes a lot of time to execute any idea to perfection. One really has to gear up the story telling environment and shape an idea into certain direction.”

     

    Banerjee adds, “Youth focus is something that we are consciously working on from past one year and Everest was on our horizon.”

     

    According to the channel’s SVP marketing Nikhil Madhok what appealed to them was Gowariker’s innovative unique ambition and the vision behind the concept. “Two years ago we were toying with the idea of what is going to be the next big thing for us, and then Gowariker came onboard.”

     

    Madhok believes that this is a show that the youth will relate to and also find resonance in the large population of the country.

     

    Why Gowariker decided to make television series and not a film? “There are many sides to this story, which I wanted to tell, as each character has its own tale,” he says while adding that if he had to make a film on the subject then it would end up being a 15-hour-long movie.

     

    The story is about a 21-year old Anjali, who aspires to conquer her own personal Everest. She gets a rude shock when she discovers that her father, who is her hero, never really wanted a daughter. Faced with the biggest conflict of her life, she is forced to question her very own existence. To redeem herself and find a place in her father’s heart she decides to accomplish his unfulfilled dream.

     

    A project of this magnitude and scale, which demands extreme physical and mental strength, required a world-class crew to do complete justice to the concept. The core team consists of Joh Jeeta Wahi Sikandar and Akele Hum Akele Tum fame directors Glenn Baretto and Ankush Mohla, screenplay for the series (writer) is done by Mitali Mahajan, who was also the assistant art director on films like Swades, Jodhaa Akbar, Munna Bhai MBBS and many more.

     

    Episodic screenplay has been done by Bhavani Iyer (her first film as a screen writer was Black), dialogues penned by Preeti Mamgain, makeup design by Vikram Gaikwad who has won four national awards for movies like The Dirty Picture, DOP is by Mahesh Aney (he won the national award for best cinematography for Swades), Alphonse Roy (has worked with Oscar winner DOP, Conrad Hall Jr for an American film ‘Oka Amerikee’) and Piyush Shah (worked on films like Salaam-E-Ishq, China Gate and etc), stunt director Amar Shetty who has worked on movies like Om Shanti Om, art director Aparna Raina who has worked on films like Khosla Ka Ghosla , Namesake and etc and costume stylist Preeti Sharma who has done movies like Fashion, Bombay Talkies, Paying Guests and many more.

     

    For cameramen, shooting was the most crucial part considering unfavourable climatic conditions. Aney says, “The weather was so unfavourable to shoot. We had to test the cameras every now and then. While shooting at the top of 12,000 and 15,000 ft, we had to fight a lot of hurdles like light, batteries draining out etc. However, safety was always a priority for us.”

     

    “The cold really hampers the number of hours one can shoot. Everybody in the crew lost tons of weight. They have really climbed the Everest,” laughs Banerjee.

     

    Gowariker further reveals that while shooting a lot of heavy technical equipments were used for the first time like GoPro cameras, 4K technology and a lot more.

     

    Technology has been a big enabler for the makers. It was there to help and make it easier believes Banerjee. “The show has been masterfully crafted by Gowariker.”

     

    Madhok further says that if you are able to take out 20 minutes of content in regular studio conditions, one will barely get one minute of content in the mountains considering its climatic conditions.

     

    As per the nature, usually a show starts three months before the telecast but this is a show that came into being almost two years before. “A show like this requires a completely different financial model where you are committing to a large monetary resources not really knowing when the show will see the light of the day,” says Madhok.  

     

    With the shoot almost on since last December, almost 90 per cent of the episodes have been canned in locations like Jodhpur, Mount Everest, NIM and Mumbai. For extremely dangerous sequences, the channel had created a set in Naigaon.

     

    What was the reason behind not signing famous faces for the show? “We wanted to be very real in terms of casting. And we wanted our characters to be 21 years old because young faces brings a lot of energy,” reasons Gowariker.

     

    Talking about the marketing part, the communication line of the marketing campaign is going to revolve around the thought “‘What’s your Everest’? ‘Hum Sabki life Mein Everest Hota Hai Jisse Hume Jitna Hota Hai’.”

     

    “We feel that by doing that people will be able to connect with it and make them think, ‘even I have a challenge in life, so let me watch this girl’s story and how she overcomes it’,” states Madhok.

     

    Though Star officials refused to divulge any financial details regarding the production cost per episode, sources from the industry believe that it ranges anywhere between 30-35 lakhs per episode.

     

    “If we decide to shoot 90 episodes before the telecast, it is going to be expensive. The fact that we have shot in different locations, none of them is cheap. We have been careful that we have resourced it well,” concludes Banerjee.

     

    Though the time slot has not been locked, the show is slated to hit the television screens two months down the line and is going to be a weekday property (Monday – Saturday) and will run for less than six months.

  • 500 episodes on, Star Plus’ ‘Veera’ claims story line maintained

    500 episodes on, Star Plus’ ‘Veera’ claims story line maintained

    MUMBAI: In an age when peers play a more important role than the family, Ek Veer Ki Ardaas…Veera, a show on Star Plus tells a different story. The show is about a pious relationship of a brother-sister duo.

    While brothers and sisters are usually always fighting, the makers of Veera adapted a different route. It started off showcasing a beautiful bond between the duo featuring talented kids Bhavesh Balchandani and Harshita Ojha as the lead pair touching the hearts of audiences and getting them hooked to the show. For Star, this was a big risk as it was replacing a popular show Pratigya.

    Moreover, the slot it was launched at- 10:30 pm, was one with intense competition from shows like Bade Achhe Lagte Hain on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) and Punar Vivaah on Zee TV.

    Produced by Beyond Dreams Entertainment, the show was flagged off on 29 October 2012 and completed successful 500 episodes on 18 August 2014.

    On the celebration mode, producer Yash Patnaik feels younger with every 100 episodes. “People say when you complete 500 episodes, it feels old. But we are getting younger with Veera. We have many stories to tell now,” he says.

    Patnaik is happy the way Veera is panning out. Star Plus SVP marketing Nikhil Madhok and Patnaik believe that the USP of the show has been that it is character neutral. “We have many well defined characters that viewers can relate to. So we never run out of stories. Fortunately, for a show like this, it is not dependent on a central character,” says Patnaik. Apart from Veera and Ranveer, characters like Baldev, Ratan and Gunjan have an equally important role to play.

    Madhok believes that in the first year, the main premise of a brother and sister who were not related by blood caught the fancy of a lot of older audiences. “They could relate to the emotion of the mother who had to deal with one child who is biologically hers and another one who is not. It had very mature emotions,” he says adding that the writer Purnendu Shekhar took it to a complete different level.

    In the next phase, the makers and the channel decided to target the young audiences. It introduced a time leap of about 15 years with the characters grown up and a message of progressiveness.

    “The aim was to convert the character with a large town mentality with the way Veera would dress and behave. This became her strong attribute. Similarly Ranveer became a musician, an unusual profession as far as Hindi GEC protagonists are concerned,” says Madhok.

    Going forward, he reveals that viewers will get to witness the journey of Ranveer becoming a proper musician and will also see composition of original songs on the show itself.

    Patnaik states that they haven’t deviated from the story at all. All the stages have been executed as planned. Just about 30 per cent of the plot has been told till now.

    Industry sources reveal that the production cost ranges anywhere between Rs 6-8 lakh per episode. Madhok says Veera’s advertisers give a significant premium as compared to other shows. Media planners peg a 10 sec slot in the range of Rs 80,000 – Rs 1 lakh. Post the time leap, youth focused categories like telecom, apps and technology companies have come on-board as advertisers. But in the bargain, it did not lose traditional clients like FMCG products.

    In week 33 of TAM TV ratings, Veera got dislodged from its leadership position with 4,991 TVTs. On the other side, it faces tough competition with Yudh on Sony Entertainment Television with 708 TVTs in the week 33 of TAM TV ratings, Uttaran on Colors with 2,436 TVTs, Savdhaan India: India Fights Back on Life OK with 2,721 TVTs, Doli Armaano Ki topped the slot with 5,378 TVTs and Tu Mere Agal Bagal Hai on Sab with 1,025 TVTs. 

  • Star Plus set to change Sunday viewing with ‘Airlines’

    Star Plus set to change Sunday viewing with ‘Airlines’

    NEW DELHI: With an aim to strengthen its Sunday prime time band, Star Plus is treading a different path yet again. After making Sunday morning’s special for viewers by bringing home uncomfortable realities with Satyamev Jayate, the Hindi general entertainment channel is now looking at filling its prime time slots as well, but with differential programming.  

    Initially, when weekends meant only dominance of reality shows, the channel wanted to explore more in that space. And now after exploring various genres including saas-bahu syndrome and mythology with Mahabharat, it is ready to take to the skies with Airlines – Har Udaan Ek Toofan but with variations.

    Come 24 August and every Sunday 9pm, viewers will witness a story of a woman who dares to join the airline industry as first officer initially and ultimately becoming a pilot. Produced by Miditech, the series is penned for 26 episodes as of now and could see an increase in the number of episodes depending on the response from the audience.

    The channel has roped in Fortune cooking oil as the title sponsor, Havell’s as co-title sponsor and Ariel, the co-sponsor for the show. The associate sponsors are askmebazaar.com, Colgate Visible White, Maybelline, Parachute Advanced and Sofy Bodyfit.

    According to Star Plus SVP – marketing Nikhil Madhok, the series with title sponsor in Fortune cooking oil for standard definition (SD) feed and Forest Essentials for the HD feed is already profitable as it has been pre-sold.

    The programme marks the TV debut of Tulip Joshi who plays Ananya and VJ turned actor Yudishthir aka Yudi who will be seen essaying the role of Captain Akash. It has been penned by Advaita Kala, who also authored the movie Kahaani.

    Kala said that the concept is based on her own experiences of the way the modern urban woman is changing. Through the story, she wanted to show how a woman who has already entered a male-dominated world copes with it.

    Set in Delhi, the show features the journey of first officer Ananya Rawat who navigates through a world of gender discrimination and regressive attitudes embedded in the modern and glamorous aviation industry. In her quest to establish her identity, Ananya realises that there is more to this industry than just battling male attitudes as she comes across many hindrances that eventually make her a stronger person.

    Madhok believes that after delivering hits like Satyamev Jayate and Mahabharat, the channel with the new programme will be breaking the saas-bahu mould, showcasing a clear shift from the normal programming aired on all channels. The focus for the channel was on the role of a female in a male-dominated profession.

    The series is the first to have received permission to shoot inside the Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Terminal-3. From roping real pilots for tutoring actors to shooting at existing terminals, the makers and channel has put in their best to retain authenticity of the situations and incidents covered in the show. Since most of the sequences required the setting to be inside an aircraft, a special set modeled on Boeing 370 has been created.

    Miditech has also collaborated with Pixion to help recreate the world in the skies with its unparalleled proficiency in computer graphics and visual effects.

    But why make it into a once-a-week show? Answers Madhok, “It is because of the huge work involved in creating each episode.” According to industry sources, while a normal Hindi daily soap production cost ranges anywhere between 6-8 lakh per episode, a series like this could cost around three times more than what a daily does.

    On the marketing front, the promos are already doing the rounds on 25 television channels. To attract the younger audiences, social media will be used in a big way to promote the property with integrations also with YouTube, Yahoo and MSN.

  • Star Plus gambles high with India’s Raw Star

    Star Plus gambles high with India’s Raw Star

    MUMBAI: Coming Sunday (24 August) viewers of Star Plus will have a new persona on screen. We aren’t talking about any new saas bahu show, but the much hyped singing competition with the current youth icon- Yo Yo Honey Singh.

     

    The two hour show- India’s Raw Star- is slated to go on air against the backdrop of intense marketing and advertising along with the big gamble of having Singh as the face.

     

    Every Sunday, viewers will get to witness 10 artists who will go beyond just singing and will create a distinct style of music, irrespective of his/her singing language or music genre.

     

    Differentiating itself from other such shows, the channel had conducted only digital auditions where interested participants had to upload their audition videos through the website or mobile app, submit their entry and get a chance to be a part of India’s Raw Star.

     

    “In the past, digital auditions have been a part of music reality shows, unlike ours which focused exclusively on digital. Our aim was to say that if we are trying to reach out to genuine artists then why make them stand in long queues in different cities. Why not do something of their choice and at the comfort of their homes,” believes Star Plus SVP – marketing Nikhil Madhok.

     

    In conversation with indiantelevision.com, Madhok shares aggressive marketing plans for the channel’s first ever music reality show and how it plans to cater to the youth in a big way.

     

    The digital audition, which was targeted due to a high amount of youth spending their time on it, received 50,000 entries.

     

    The first innovation was on YouTube. The ads that were placed before videos were timed in such a way that when a person tries to ‘skip’ the video, Honey Singh would pick up the skip button and say ‘you can’t skip me just the way you can’t skip the Raw Star contestants’.

     

    This apart, contextual promos have been created for different sites and different consumers targeting their preference of videos. One such example is an ad that will play on a car website where Singh will say ‘Stop searching for small cars, why don’t you ride on my car with me in my raw stars from 24 August onwards.’

     

    All the contestants will have their own social media profile and twitter handles through which they will be tweeting and interacting with the fans and engaging with them throughout the season. Giving a sneak peek into the making of the episodes will be clippings hosted by Gauhar Khan called ‘The G-Factor’. This will be exclusive to digital.

     

    On the outdoor front, it will be experimenting with the concept of 3D in Delhi and Mumbai. Star  had previously dabbled in 3D content last year prior to the launch of Mahabharat.

     

    Picking up on Singh’s popularity, the channel has bought ad slots on music channels to drive the youth from where there are found most. At the beginning of any of Singh’s song will be an ad asking viewers to tune into Raw Star to listen to more such songs. Madhok states that the aim was to do something that would be attention grabbing.

     

    He also believes that in the recent past music reality shows have not done well and that was the starting point for the channel to say that if music is such a big need for youngsters then why isn’t something meaningful for them on TV.

     

    Although Madhok was tight lipped when asked about the production cost, sources from the industry say that it could range from Rs 55 crore to Rs 65 crore.

     

    Karbonn Smartphones has come on-board as the title sponsor of the show and Maruti Suzuki Swift as the co-powered by sponsor. According to industry estimates, Karbonn could have shelled around Rs 6 crore to Rs 8 crore, while Maruti Suzuki Swift may have spent 15 per cent less than that. 10 sec ad rates are being quoted as Rs 3.3lakh to Rs 5 lakh.

     

    Moreover, more than 7,000-8,000 spots have been playing on Star Network to promote the show for which Rs 12 crore to Rs 15 crore is being invested on marketing it.

  • STAR Plus launches ‘Nisha Aur Uske Cousins’

    STAR Plus launches ‘Nisha Aur Uske Cousins’

    MUMBAI: With their new offering ‘Nisha Aur Uske Cousins’, Star Plus is bringing a relatable story of young India while showcasing the hitherto unexplored bond between Cousins; a relationship that forms the crux of everyone’s growing up years. Cousins are your blood relations but at the same time they are the friends you keep forever, the ones you share your childhood memories and growing up angst with. It is this very relationship that will be highlighted in the show. Targeted to the youth, the show also effectively captures the differences of opinion and friction caused by the generation gap between the elders of the family and the youngsters, especially when it comes to topics like careers, relationships, lifestyle and fashion choices.

    Based in a joint-family set-up in Jaipur, Nisha Aur Uske Cousins brings to the viewers a bunch of interesting motley characters who are relatable and real – whether it is the shy romantic geeky cousin, the beautiful attention-seeking cousin or the cousin who is the natural leader and who everyone looks up to – each character has been beautifully etched and detailed out. The show has a good mix of both fresh and veteran faces, led by Aneri who plays the role of Nisha and Mr V M Badola who plays the patriarch of the family and the grandfather of the cousins. They are ably supported by the other cousins Suketu (Parv Kaila), Dolly (Purvi Mundana), Kirti (Heli Daruwala), Jwala (Barbie Jain), Umesh (Meherzan Mazda) and Bunty (Nikunj Padaya) and the very talented Vivek Mushran and Pubali Sanyal.

    While none of the cousins’ fear dreaming big, their only terror is the fear of confronting the head of the family, Dadaji. The story revolves around how despite living in a patriarchal system, each one of them wants to break free to achieve what is unconventional and not stereotypical in a traditional family, which should surely resonate with today’s youth.

    Mr. Nikhil Madhok, Sr. VP Marketing & Programming Strategy says, “In many ways Nisha and her cousins represent the Star Plus of today – young, energetic, wanting to break the mold and do something new. They respect Dadaji and their elders but don’t always agree with their stereotypical views. The show not only captures the unexplored but extremely interesting dynamic between cousins, but also deals with issues of today’s youth and their desire to challenge stereotypes”

    Mr. Sukesh Motwani from Bodhi Tree Productions says, “Cousins hold a special place in our lives. They are our first friends, first play buddies, rivals and partners in crime. There are some episodes of our lives that only our cousins can relate to and hence to showcase the bond we’re here with our new show Nisha Aur Uske Cousins. We are very happy to bring forth this unique relationship in everyone’s lives.”

     

    Pyaar, takraar, masti… Yeh hai Lifetimewali Dosti! Come meet Nisha Aur Uske Cousins starting18th August, 2014, every Monday to Saturday at 8:30 PM!

  • ‘India’s Raw Star’ – Yo Yo Honey Singh begins the hunt for the next music sensation

    ‘India’s Raw Star’ – Yo Yo Honey Singh begins the hunt for the next music sensation

    MUMBAI: Star Plus is all set to team up with the biggest youth icon, Yo Yo Honey Singh for a first of its kind, unconventional singing reality show – India’s Raw Star.  The show that marks Yo Yo Honey Singh’s debut on television will bring in a new visual experience to music, something which has never been seen before in any singing reality show.

     

     Yo Yo Honey Singh will be playing the role of a friend-mentor-judge to all the budding Raw Stars.  He will be seen picking up participants from different parts who with their unique singing, style and performance, will fight it out to become the first ever India’s Raw Star.

     

     Gone are the days of standing in long queues for hours and travelling long distances for auditions.  Talent will now be picked up from across India and households abroad with the help of the digital platform, and success will just be a click away through the first ever exclusive digital auditions.

     

    India’s Raw Star kick started the audition phase of the show by opening its digital platforms for users to upload their audition video. The users have been given an option to upload an entertaining, and performance packed video of them singing on either the India’s Raw Star mobile app, WAP site or on the website. The channel has also released a special audition tutorial video with Yo Yo Honey Singh to explain to viewers the process of uploading an audition entry.

     

    Produced by reality show veteran Gajendra Singh’s – Sai Baba Productions,  India’s Raw Star will be on the lookout for the ultimate performing artist who can create their own inimitable style of singing, and is an all-round performer irrespective of the language of singing or the genre of music. In the show, Yo Yo Honey Singh will specifically look out for talent who are great performers and not necessarily just great playback singers.

     

    Nikhil Madhok, Senior Vice President Marketing & Programming Strategy at Star Plus, said, “Star Plus has always been at the forefront of creating benchmarks . With India’s Raw Star we are trying to create one such benchmark with the way we are conducting auditions for the show, which will be done exclusively on the Digital platform. Not only will this make it easier to for potential participants to audition, it will also enable others to view audition videos online, share them on social and create an online fan community even before the launch of the show. The initial response has been tremendous and we hope to see this grow in the weeks to come.”

     

    India’s youth sensation and icon, Yo Yo Honey Singh will be involved at each step in the journey of making the promising young talent into a Raw Star. “I am looking for talent that is authentic, original and raw! In India’s Raw Star the hunt is for someone who has his or her own style of singing, a non-tampered versatility in his or her style, someone who is as fresh as maa ke haat ka khaana. The singer has to be a performer and has to be someone who is better than me and that is no easy task!” said Yo Yo Honey Singh.

     

    One can log onto www.starplus.in/indiasrawstar via web or mobile phones. Alternatively one can download the India’s Raw Star mobile app. A contestant can participate by submitting his audition video along with the requested details. Below mentioned are the Terms and Conditions for the auditions and process of how to upload one’s video.