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Tag: Office Office

  • Sony SAB brings back iconic television series ‘Office Office’

    Sony SAB brings back iconic television series ‘Office Office’

    MUMBAI: Sony SAB is bringing one of India's favorite comedy shows Office Office back, to give viewers a much-needed dose of happiness in these challenging times. The show garnered immense love from the fans following its initial release and featured a stellar cast of the finest actors in the industry including Pankaj Kapur, Deven Bhojani, Sanjay Mishra, Manoj Pahwa amongst others. Viewers will be able to enjoy this office caper once again starting 13 April 2020, Monday to Friday at 6 pm and 10.30 pm only on Sony SAB.

    A comedy for all generations, Office Office revolves around the character Mussadilal and his struggle to get his work done from an office filled with employees all having annoying yet entertaining and unique characteristics. Originally aired in 2001, the show presented a fresh take on comedy with immaculately crafted episodic stories and an array of characters that continue to be highly relatable even today. The show amassed a huge following due to its rib-tickling humour, family friendly content and endearing characters being portrayed by seasoned actors. 

    For Sony SAB, Office Office is a quality addition to an already existing stellar line-up of shows that aim to deliver light-hearted values-driven content that is enjoyed by households across the country. Fans of Sony SAB can continue enjoying an exciting line-up of shows such as Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, Baalveer Returns, Bhakharwadi, Maddam Sir, Aladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga amongst others.  

    Sony SAB business head Neeraj Vyas says: "We are bringing Office Office back on Indian Television in an attempt to put smile on the faces of our viewers. We proudly call ourselves as 'Happiness Enablers' and during these tough times, our intention is to continue to deliver quality content that families across India can enjoy together. Office Office is one of the most beloved shows on Indian television and we are extremely happy to bring it back for our discerning viewers. The show's highly relatable content and humor will attract both sets of audiences – the ones who cherished and loved the show when it first aired as well as the younger viewers who might be discovering the show for the first time ever." 

  • ‘Gangs of Haseepur’ to replace ‘Bh se Bhade’

    ‘Gangs of Haseepur’ to replace ‘Bh se Bhade’

    MUMBAI: There was a time in the 80s and 90s that comedy shows like ‘Hum Paanch’, ‘Dekh Bhai Dekh’ and ‘Zabaan Sambhal Ke’ ruled the small screen. More recently, the likes of ‘Khichdi’, ‘Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai’ and ‘Office Office’ captured the audience’s imagination.

     

    Speaking of channels, Zee TV had stopped dabbling in comedy for nearly a decade till it launched ‘Bh se Bhade’ not too long ago. While the show bombed at the television box office, Zee didn’t lose hope and is back with another comedy show titled ‘Gangs of Haseepur’, slated to replace ‘Bh se Bhade’. With the nation in the grip of elections, ‘Gangs of Haseepur’ will reflect what’s happening around us in a funny, humorous way.

     

    “Things that can make you cry will now make you laugh!” is how Zee TV programming head Namit Sharma sums up the new show. “So be it onions being expensive, our faith in our political system, corruption or mehengaai, these are the pain points in our lives, but let’s laugh at them. Since we cannot do anything about it, why not just laugh at it.”

     

    Produced by Essel Vision Productions, the show will be hosted by Ragini Khanna. Contestants like Bharti Singh, Suresh Menon, Raju Srivastav and Krushna Abhishek will perform. Actress Tanishaa Mukerji, who shot to fame with ‘Bigg Boss season seven’, along with Mandira Bedi will judge the laugh-a-thon.

     

    Nitin Keni of Essel Vision Productions says the concept is very different from other comedy shows running on television today. “It will talk about social issues, and comedians will pick an issue which the country is facing and make fun of it. It has been just 15 days since we finalized the concept of the show.” Currently in the scripting stage, shooting for the show will start from April 14.

     

    Sharma says they wanted to time the show with the polling phase so as to reflect what is happening in the country. “Our endeavour is to make a good comedy show that reflects all the issues of society currently and that can poke fun at the everyday life of our country. On our channel, there was a lack of it, and there was a desire to do a comedy show. More importantly, there was a desire to reflect the mood of the country,” he says. “We do understand that men watch more GEC television over weekends. So, we are catering to the entire family.”

     

    Won’t ‘Gangs of Haseepur’ get lost in the sea of comedy shows that have debuted on television of late? “Today, one wants to see clean comedy shows, no doubt it works as a stress buster at the end of the hard day, but good and differentiated content will be recognized,” says a media planner on condition of anonymity.

  • ‘We are targeting 20 per cent revenue growth this fiscal’ : Anooj Kapoor- Sab senior vice president & business head

    ‘We are targeting 20 per cent revenue growth this fiscal’ : Anooj Kapoor- Sab senior vice president & business head

    From launching new shows to experimenting with new genres and time slots, Sab has been running from pillar to post to get the ratings right.

     

    Post Sony acquisition, Sab has been dabbling with an ‘identity crisis’. From being a comedy channel to a youth-centric channel and now returing to its original positioning, Sony Entertainment Channel’s sibling channel has seen it all. It has experimented with various genres – youth-centric patriotic shows, stand-up comedies, reality-based acting shows and detective stories.

     

    In conversation with Indiantelevision.com’s Nasrin Sultana, Sab SVP and business head Anooj Kapoor shares the channel’s programming strategies.

     

    Excerpts:

    Sab has been accused of experimenting too often with its positioning. How long will this new positioning last?
    We have repositioned ourselves as a complete comedy channel. It is the only channel in the country which does linear family comedy shows. All comedy shows in India are episodic. After the repositioning, we are doing light-hearted soaps like other Hindi general entertainment channels (GEC), but in the positive manner.

     

     

    We have recreated the concept of soaps. The shows can be watched by the entire family. All the other soaps till date have upheld the joint-family system as a negative institution with so much added conflict in it. In our shows, we are upholding the virtues of a joint family.

     

     

    Unlike other soaps on Hindi GECs, new shows (Lo Ho Gayi Pooja Is Ghar Ki, Mein Kab Saans Banoogi? and Jugni Jali Jallandhar ) on Sab have a woman protagonist; but she does not indulge in kitchen politics.

     

     

    Our content is fresh and differentiated. We have decided not to go by the Amar-Akbar-Anthony route which every GEC is treading upon. Wherein Amar is reality show, Akbar is mythology and Anthony is fiction.

    What kind of new shows and segments of comedy will you be introducing?
    We will get into various kinds of comedy. Gradually, we will be introducing horror comedy, courtroom comedy, hospital comedy and the likes. We have many surprises to unveil.

    With so much of comic content being thrown in by different channels including news channels, do you think there is still enough space for a complete comedy channel?
    Viewers are ready to digest a complete comedy channel. As far as comedy on news channels is concerned, they feed on GECs. GECs are not showing comedy content in the truest sense but only have stand-up comedy shows. We have amalgamation of all, which is working well for the channel.

     

    Earlier all comedy shows were targeted at male audiences while GECs were meant for the females. There was no channel to fill up this gap. We are providing content for happy family viewing.

    How have viewers taken to Sab’s new positioning?
    The new positioning has really worked well for us. Our GRPs also have seen a boost after the change in positioning.

     

    Our driver show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has been garnering 0.8 TRPs and is currently the most watched family comedy show on Indian television. After Wagli Ki Duniya, Taarak Mehta … is one of the most successful comedy shows adapted from a book (column in this case). It is compared to cult shows like Office Office.

    Are new advertisers hopping on?
    Definitely we are attracting more and new advertisers. New brands are coming on.
    ‘For a channel, youth positioning is not a feasible biz model in India‘

    Will Sab see revenue growth as a result or are you dealing with falling rates to fill up your inventory at a time when the whole industry is set for a slowdown?
    With the new positioning, we are targeting 20 per cent ad revenue growth this fiscal.

    How are you pushing forward your new shows? Which cities are your touch points?
    We have rolled out our new marketing campaign Asli Mazaa Sab ke Saath Aata Hai. Sab (meaning everybody in Hindi) is a key word in the entire campaign. Very logically, we derived this theme and our attempt is to convey the message that it is complete entertaining when you are together with your family.

     

     

    We are targeting all the Hindi speaking markets in India like Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat, Maharashtra, UP, MP, Punjab and Rajasthan.

     

     

    We will be indulging in various forms of on-ground activations like wall painting etc. India has laughter clubs in many towns and cities, we are trying to get associated with all the laughter clubs. We are going to malls, beauty parlours, grocery shops and ladies coampartment in local trains for a Sab experience by distributing gifts.

    With so many show launches and changes in positioning of the channel, isn’t it natural that your marketing costs have to be pushed up?
    Yes, in marketing our new shows we are investing a considerable amount. But we are able to convert it into profits.

    What are the difficulties to sustain as a youth channel?
    India still has single-TV homes wherein the remote is still with the women of the house. So what pleases her is watched by the entire family. And as far as a youth viewer is concerned, he has many more modes of entertainment – irrespective of he coming from a small town or a metro. Youth positioning of a channel is not a feasible business model in India because of the consumer behaviour that this segment is exposed to.

     

     

    As per our internal research, people still associate Sab brand as a comedy rather than a youth channel. So we decided to go back to our original positioning.

    What all innovations you are introducing after the establishment of the new positioning?
    For the first time in India, we are introducing jokes in the mobile platform. These jokes will be edited clippings from our comedy shows which can be downloaded from the mobile operator. We are in talks with various telecom operators.
  • ESS to launch cricket based comedy series ‘Full Toss’

    ESS to launch cricket based comedy series ‘Full Toss’

    MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports is set to launch a bi-weekly comedy series Full Toss, a satirical take on the functioning of a fictitious cricket organisation.

    The 26 episode series will go on air during India’s tour of South Africa on Star Sports, starting 22 November, during the innings break of the 2nd One Day International between the two sides. It will be showcased every Wednesday and Monday thereafter at 9:30 pm.

    The series is produced by Eagle films and directed by Rajiv Mehra, the same team behind many movies and popular sitcoms like Office Office and Zabaan Sambhal Ke. Renowned actors and some of the most popular names in Indian television today will play characters portraying officials of a fictitious cricket organisation.

    ESPN Software India MD R C Venkateish said, “We intend to provide diversity and cater to focused audiences in India with reality shows, light hearted spoof series and chat shows in addition to our staple diet of world class live coverage of sporting events. With Full Toss, ESPN Star Sports extends its line of programming to include cricket-series of a new kind to reach out to larger audiences in the country.”

    Full Toss director Rajiv Mehra said, “Full Toss is not just another weekly soap but a sitcom with cricket as the setting. Each episode of the series will feature a new story that will appeal to audiences across ages. A sootradhar will be the pivot for the series that will spoof issues faced in the cricket world that mass audiences in a cricket crazy country like India would relate and empathize with.”