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Tag: Prithvi Vallabh

  • Lacklustre viewership may force SET to pull off ‘Prithvi Vallabh’: Anirudh Pathak

    Lacklustre viewership may force SET to pull off ‘Prithvi Vallabh’: Anirudh Pathak

    MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television’s (SET) bet on magnum opus Prithvi Vallabh didn’t go as planned for the channel. The show, according to its producer Anirudh Pathak, is likely to go off air from 1 July after completing its 45th episode.

    Since its launch in January, Prithvi Vallabh has been getting mixed reviews. The channel had earlier planned to divide the show into two seasons of 40 episodes each but the failure to garner the desired viewership has compelled SET to rethink this strategy.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Pathak said that there is a need to better think about characters while picking historical plots. “I thought Prithvi would do well as the story of an untold tale from the soils of Indian dynasty. But it’s unfortunate that it didn’t. It’s a learning for me. Now, I know that if one is producing a historical show, they should make sure that the audience knows about the character. For historical shows, only a well-known character can garner good ratings. I personally feel that shows with a classic storyline should not be run on the weekends. Had it been a daily soap, the show could have garnered better ratings,” he said.

    Prithvi Vallabh was the first show to come out of SET’s new sub brand SET Originals. Based on the book by well-known Gujarati writer Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, it depicts the history, mystery, vengeance and a love story between two arch-rival warriors Prithvi and Mrinal living in a kingdom far away.

    Pathak is no stranger to the genre having produced titles such as Devon Ke Dev..Mahadev, Siya Ke Ram and Mahakumbh, which have done fabulously well. Prithvi Vallabh was also the first show under his own banner launched in 2015.

    A student of Sanskrit, Pathak has been keen on working on mythological and historical shows. His interest began in the early TV years when saas-bahu sagas were dominant and the mythological and historical genres were not even considered to be capable of engaging viewers. “When I was doing saas-bahu shows, nobody, at that time, wanted to invest their money on big-budget serials. But now, they do. And since I always had an inclination towards myths and history, I decided to work on these genres. After Devon Ke Dev..Mahadev became a hit I was pretty much convinced that the Indian audience has the appetite to consume such content,” he added.

    The storytelling format has also changed since families that once used to get together and watch TV are now watching independently on their phones. So much so that people even in remote areas are consuming and comparing content such as Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones with Indian shows.

    Pathak feels that channels will now focus on finite content and gradually long-running shows will cease to exist.

    Pathak started his career as a writer with a crime show entitled Mujrim Kaun that aired on Sahara channel. After that, he worked with Balaji Telefilms as a writer for renowned shows like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kavyanjali, KumKum and Karam Apna Apna. During his tenure with Life OK, he also helmed other acclaimed shows such as The Adventures of Hatim. Post Life OK, he was the name behind Siya Ke Ram, a show which depicted Ramayana from Sita’s point of view.

    Pathak has created Chandrashekhar for Star Bharat, a show honouring one of the greatest freedom fighters of India, Chandrashekhar Azad. The show captures the entire life of Azad and what made him one of the undisputed fearless freedom fighters of all times. He is also making another historical show named Shankaracharya- based on the life of Adi Guru Shankaracharya, an Indian philosopher.

    In the near future, he is in talks with Colors for his upcoming historical show, which is a recreation of magnum opus Mughal-E-Azam. He is also planning to crack a deal with Eros Now on the mytho-historical genre for his upcoming digital series.

    Also Read :

    Ace creative visionary Anirudh Pathak helms his first individual project ‘Prithvi Vallabh’

    ‘Prithvi Vallabh’ is 20% history, 80% mystery: Anirudh Pathak

    Star Plus readies new mythological series ‘Siya Ke Ram’

  • ‘Prithvi Vallabh’ is 20% history, 80% mystery: Anirudh Pathak

    ‘Prithvi Vallabh’ is 20% history, 80% mystery: Anirudh Pathak

    MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is unearthing more lores of the yore. Not too long after the launch of the much-anticipated Porus, SET is taking you back in time with another historical show Prithvi Vallabh premiering on 20 January at 9.30 pm, every Saturday and Sunday. This is the first production to premiere under the sub-brand SET Originals.

    Prithvi Vallabh narrates a tale of two arch-rival warriors; Prithvi and Mrinal. Prithvi, the heir of the Malwa dynasty, is an advocator of the ‘philosophy of humanism’, while Mrinal, the princess warrior of Manyakhet, is ‘born out of pure vengeance’. It is a unique story that starts with hatred on a battlefield and ends up becoming a grand love story.

    In 1943, the Indian movie Prithvi Vallabh was released, based on the book written by writer Kanhaiyalal Munshi. Writer and producer Anirudh Pathak clarified that the show is not entirely based on the book. “We do not claim that the show is based entirely on history. Prithvi Vallabh is 20 per cent history and 80 per cent mystery, in which, the 80 per cent includes dramatisation and alteration in the story. We have cleared the fact in our tagline ‘Itihaas bhi, Rahasya bhi’.”

    The show marks the debut of Pathak of Writers’ Galaxy as a producer. His first attempt at the weekend primetime slot took him six to eight months to write. The finite series has 80 episodes which will be aired across two seasons of 40 episodes each.

    Sony Entertainment Television EVP and business head Danish Khan said, “Sony’s strategy is variety. Our motto is to give variety in every half hour. All the 14 shows we have can be watched with family.”

    SET and Pathak have picked both Indian and international locations to shoot the series. The show has captured the scenic beauty of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Goa and the team will be travelling to Gulmarg in February and Poland in March. Around 200 people are perspiring heavily on the sets to make this show a reality.

    Comparing the show’s production cost with the recently-launched historical show Porus, Khan said, “The economics and structure of Porus and Prithvi Vallabh are different. Porus is 260 episodic half hour show whereas Prithvi Vallabh is 80 episodic one hour show. Both are high budget as well as high archival value shows.”

    The set is designed by art director Chokas Bharadwaj who is currently designing the look for the shows Mahabharat and Chandrashekhar Azad. Mythological show sets cost a bomb at Rs 10 to 12 crore.

    Pathak has two more historicals up his sleeve for 2018 – Chandrashekhar Azad and Shankaracharya. Star Bharat will launch the former soon while the other is still in the developing stage.

    SET is cashing in on India’s history, literature and culture under SET Originals. Khan said, “Indian stories have a universal appeal and are extremely relevant to the world if told well. SET Originals is a step in that direction. With SET originals, we take a brave and visionary leap to define the content for the ever-evolving global audience.” The channel will continue its spree of mythological shows this year too.

    The show’s stellar star cast includes Ashish Sharma as Prithvi, Sonarika Bhadoria as Mrinal, Pawan Chopra as Singhdant, Shalini Kapoor as Rajmata, Alefia Kapadia as Savita, Jitin Gulati as Tailap, Piyali Munshi as Jakkala, Surendra Pal as Vinayaditya, amongst others.

  • Ace creative visionary Anirudh Pathak helms his first individual project ‘Prithvi Vallabh’

    Ace creative visionary Anirudh Pathak helms his first individual project ‘Prithvi Vallabh’

    MUMBAI: Anirudh Pathak has a lot of big shows in his kitty. The writer turned now producer excelled in successfully creating 4000 hours of content as show runners for his magnum opus and revolutionary show – Devon ke Dev..Mahadev and other unforgettable shows like Siya ke Ram, Mahakumbh and Hatim for the Indian audience has earned himself the title of ‘creative guru’ in the Industry. He focused on human touch points for the Indian viewers which made his shows a mega hit on the small screen.

    In the year 2015, Anirudh Pathak created his own venture named ‘Writers Galaxy Studio’ with a vision that ‘great stories are born out of disruption’. The writer turned producer will have his first show Prithvi Vallabh soon airing on Sony Entertainment Television under Sony Originals.

    “At Writers Galaxy we aim to give the audience premium content and impactful property. Prithvi Vallabh will be our first offering as a production house in the Indian Television market. The story is an untold one from the soils of the Indian dynasty. The history of this king and his love story will win the audiences heart. At Writers Galaxy we believe in delivering great Indian stories relived on the television screen for the global market.  We are confident that Prithvi Vallabh will create huge waves in the Indian Television history as we promise content like never  before”, says Anirudh Pathak.

    Prithvi Vallabh stars the versatile actor Ashish Sharma along with Sonarika Bhadoria who will make her comeback on TV after Devon ke Dev..Mahadev. The show will air in January 2018 on Sony Entertainment Television under Sony Originals.