ITV

Tag: Rajesh Chaddha

  • No kidding, horror ain’t just about child’s play

    No kidding, horror ain’t just about child’s play

    Currently, television in India has very little to offer horror lovers. Adults shopping for spine chillers on Indian channels will like as not have to settle for “soft horror” targeted primarily at kids, that too if they can make it to their drawing rooms as early as, say, 8 pm.
    Kids today, who are denied the sweet experience called grandma‘s tales, have taken to hugging the next best thing – television. The tube today provides an avenue through which kids can quench their thirst for fantasies involving supernatural, ghosts and ghost-busters, which is why the soft horror shown on television has got them “glued in”. Naturally this has encouraged channels to explore this variant of the genre, eyeing higher TRPs, while making sure that the content appeals to the whole family.

    How do we view this phenomenon? It could be looked at either way – children‘s shows graduating to horror or horror shows having been hit with a demotion.

    Says Sahara‘s programming vice president Tripti Sharma, “We have to address the whole family. While addressing a television audience, we should keep in mind that the whole family is watching. So the content should not be very shocking or violent. To attract kids with horror, you don‘t need a lot of blood, violence or scary scenes. It should have a universal appeal when it comes on TV.”

    Still from Raat Hone Ko Hai: softening horror!

    Sahara TV recently launched Raat Hone Ko Hai (RHKH), scheduled at 8 pm. The show, which was initially announced as a daily that was to air from Monday to Thursday at 11 pm, was moved to the present time slot when the launch neared. The whole marketing strategy of the show implies that it is targeted at the 4 – 18 age group.

    Sharma vindicates Sahara‘s decision to go for soft horror and choosing children as its target audience: “Sahara‘s Horror Show was very popular among kids. They really love supernatural stuff because there is a lot of special effects and graphics shown in them. This may be the main reason why they like the horror genre and at the same time, we can‘t fill the stuff with violence and bloodshed because our target group is kids and family audiences.”

    According to Sharma, channels have to follow certain guidelines while packaging the content of horror shows. “The remote control, nowadays, is mostly in the hands of kids or women,” she points out.

    And why 8 pm? “Because, that is the time kids are in front of the TV. We wanted to target the whole family with something different while other channels are airing comedy or family soaps. At the same time we wanted to give something that appeals to the whole family. The timing also depends on the availability of the audience,” reasons Sharma.

    “Ours is a family entertainment channel. So we can‘t air programmes marked by violence and all the evil mayhem. The majority won‘t like it,” explains Star India senior vice president, content and communications, Deepak Segal.

    Production house BAG Films‘ Mumbai head Rajesh Chaddha however, has another take on it. Chaddha points to the lack of talented filmmakers who understand the genre perfectly as one reason for the “degeneration”.

    “The director should be able to convey the exact mood by handling camera angles and sound effects effectively to do justice to horror,” remarks Chaddha.

    Koie Jane Na is all about getting logical things out of supersticial elements, claims maker Rajesh Chaddha

    But Chaddha does accept that kids prefer such horror shows to other programmes these days. Which is of course great for channels ever in search of wider audiences.

    Producer and actor Jamnadas Majethia of Hats Off Productions agrees with Chaddha on the quality issue. According to him, original horror requires technically superior quality.

    “I can‘t say we don‘t have talented people, but I don‘t like whatever stuff they are currently coming out with. I don‘t like whatever I have been seeing lately. I find them highly repulsive,” says Majethia.

    But he sees a reason for the slackness — the limited budgets available in the TV industry. “Because of the budget pressures, our producers and filmmakers are unable to come up with something solid,” opines Majethia.

    As regards why the kids are lapping it up, Majethia explains: “They like thrill rides in theme parks and they enjoy it more than we adults do. So, nowadays kids find these horror shows really entertaining and they enjoy the thrill.”

    A still from Shhh… Koi Hai

    Television scriptwriter Sameer Mody, who has successfully explored television‘s thriller genre with shows like X-zone, Thriller at 10, Saturday Suspense, Captain House and Shhh… Koi Hai, believes that channels‘ requirements to improve TRP ratings are instrumental in the initiation of soft horror shows. According to Mody, the stiff competition prevailing to get the maximum eyeballs sets the stage for such experiments:

    “Our channels are targeting the 4-14 and 14-19 age groups with these horror shows. When it comes to the conceptualisation of an original horror show, the writer‘s and the channel‘s points of view clash,” says Mody.

    Mody says channels can never ignore women who constitute 80 per cent of their audience and this is one reason why they keep women in mind every time they conceive their shows.

    Mody feels that the approach of production houses to serious horror shows should change.

    Aahat showed justice to the horror genre, feel Aananth Mahadevan and Venita Coelho

    “If you approach production houses with an original horror subject, they put restrictions. Though in Hollywood pure horror works, here the common notion is that it won‘t work and they try to apply a lot of changes. In their attempts to come up with something different, they end up creating an inferior product,” says Mody.

    “In films, writers have some time in hand to work on and improve the quality of their scripts while in television it is just the opposite. In TV, quantity matters more than quality. We come up with mediocre stuff because everything happens on a short notice,” says Mody.

    Comedy channel SAB TV‘s president sales and marketing Kanta Advani takes Mody‘s line when she says she finds special effects shown in today‘s horror shows clownish and of sub-standard quality.

    Sahara‘s Sharma however, makes a case for the kind of horror fare that is going out when she states that the “improved technical quality” of today‘s horror shows has been giving the audience more chill and excitement.

    And Star‘s Segal makes a valid point when he says that technical perfection may go unnoticed in Indian television, as the home surroundings can be distracting for the viewer.

    “Your pressure cooker will be steaming, you will be getting telephone calls, cries, talks, and all these would hinder you from experiencing features like sound effects or graphics to its full extent,” points out Segal.

    Segal believes that this is really where films score when it comes to doing justice to the horror genre: “In a theatre the atmosphere is perfect as your mind won‘t get diverted to anything else.

    For laughing out loud, is this what defines horror on India prime time?

    So is a new genre that stands between original horror and kids‘ horror under evolution? Segal agrees and prefers to call it ‘light-horror‘ or ‘Scooby-Doo horror‘. Sony vice president new product development Venita Coelho echoes Segal when she christens the shows on air currently as ‘cartoon horror‘.

    Media professionals Indiantelevision.com talked to are unanimous in the view that original adult horror should get its share of manna on Indian television. Coelho feels it is time to do intelligent horror outside the prime time zone. She reveals her personal ambition to do an original horror show but adds that Sony has no immediate plans to do such a show.

    “Late night horror shows targeted at the adults have a huge potential in India. If you can come up with quality stuff for the late night slot, you will be successful,” professes actor turned director Ananth Mahadevan.

    “I think the horror genre could do well with lot more spine chilling stuff. The genre is worth fiddling with and if handled well, we can come up with quality programmes,” says SAB TV‘s Advani.

    Mody believes that serious horror shows with a social message and logical reasoning will surely succeed.

    “If you make Friday the 13th in India, it won‘t work because there the violence and bloodshed are without any logical reason. But in India, the audience needs a reason for someone going on such a killing spree. Bhoot worked here because it had something to do with family backdrop and attracted the family audience. But the projects that failed in the box office lacked the same. The theme should have a message for society as well,” says Mody.

    Still from kya hadsaa kya haqeeqat – overdose of supernatural and black magic killed the show

    “What works are themes backed by social elements. We did a copy of the Hollywood movie The Ring and it worked,” says Balaji Telefilms creative head (shows) Nivedita Basu (who worked on the supernatural thriller Kya Hadsa Kya Haqeeqat which recently went off air from Sony due to declining ratings).

    According to Advani, somebody has to take the bold step and come up with original horror programmes. “There is a huge and untapped market,” she points out.

    So, again, it is all about taking bold steps. There is a message here for the channels to seriously consider a fresh look at the ‘untapped market‘ that original adult horror could well provide.

  • New shows, feature films in BAG Films’ kitty in ’04

    New shows, feature films in BAG Films’ kitty in ’04

    MUMBAI: After lying low in 2003, (just one soap Kum Kum- Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan), BAG Films is gearing to return to the reckoning After reformatting Haqeeqat on Sahara Manoranjan recently and launching Koie Jane Na on Star Plus last week, the production house that went public last year is getting ready with a kitty of new shows and feature films and lots more… to be launched in 2004.

    According to BAG Films Mumbai head Rajesh Chaddha, a large amount of last year was spent in conceptualising the shows and waiting for the right slots to get vacated. Said Chaddha, “The audience tastes are changing and the shows need to be pitched perfectly; else the entire hard work would go down the drain.” Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Chaddha said, “We just completed a telefilm Gol Maal Ghar for Sahara. The title Gol Maal Ghar is yet to be approved by the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association. It’s a two-hour comedy film, starring Manav Gohil and Gauri Pradhan, to be telecast in April. Sahara is starting a new two-hour slot called Home Theatre on Saturdays and Sundays; it would be meant for tele-films. On this new slot, we expect to make many more such ventures.” 

    If starry shows have failed to set the cash registers ringing, BAG Films is not perturbed by the fact. He says, “We are getting ready with a big daily titled Ek Muthi Aasman for Sahara. The show has been sanctioned. The shooting will begin in May and the programme will be telecast by July or August. The story was ready since one year, suddenly we found that a new show on a rival channel, had elements of what we had developed for this particular show. So, a few changes had to be made. For a change, the Sahara soap, unlike all others, will have the male as the protagonist, who is a big Bollywood name.” 

    The company is producing a 26 episode musical show – a half-hour weekly on Sundays, the shooting for which begins on 23 March and the first episode will go on air from 4 April. Well known artiste Brian Sellers would be playing popular songs from Hindi cinema on the piano with Rajeshwari Sachdev as the anchor.

    BAG Films has targeted Star Plus as well. Apparently, the good equation built by the long running Kum Kum- Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan holds strong.

    Keeping with the times, BAG Films will produce an election based show for Star News. “It would be an update on elections, with forecasts, debates, results, analysis and everything under the sun related to polling,” informs Chaddha, saying that the title of the show and the choice of the anchor are being worked upon. The show will be shot in Delhi, where BAG Films will hire a studio and employ an extra force of 150-175 people, specially meant for this programme.

    BAG Films is also coming up with their own studio in Noida, which would be spread over a complex of 1.5 acres. The studio, which would kick off in May, would be a one-stop shop for shooting with the best equipment possible. “We are looking at shooting cookery shows, political shows, films for corporate and ministry – which would be a good segment of our future agenda- to be shot in this studio. The complex would also comprise of an institution which would involve teaching of technicalities like editing and directing shows, among many others.”Says Chaddha, “We are also coming up with a very spicy and saucy half-hour show (untitled as yet) on Star Plus. It would involve talking about all the grapevine of television industry- who has signed whom, who has chucked out whom, who is sleeping with whom… something like Lehren of yesteryears, but restricted to television. We may title it as Tellywood. Though the show has not been commissioned still, the first round of talks are over, and from my knowledge I expect it to be on air from mid-April or early May.”

    “Though nobody has been approached as yet to play the anchor, we would be looking at either Sanjit Bedi or Hussain if it’s going to be a male anchor or Shweta Tiwari, Juhi Parmar, Gulrez or Gurdip Kohli if it’s a female anchor. The final call would rest with the channel; it could be someone else who is called in,” he added.BAG Films has also started their operations in Kolkata, recently. “One daily and one reality based show is on air on Tara Bangla, the other one is coming up any moment on the same channel,” said Chaddha.

    Last, but not the least it seems, BAG Films is set to enter film-production. Mejoo Khan, who worked with MAD Films and Metalight Productions, has joined the company from mid-February. Informs Khan, “We now have a films division in the company. We are looking at probably announcing two or three films at the same time. It will be premature to shoot off the concepts now, because they have not been exhaustively streamlined as yet. We are going to have a multi-portfolio approach, where different directors can picture their concepts to us. We intend making masala films as well as cross-over films. We have not finalised the cast of any film as yet. But yes, we should be on floors with our first feature film in August.”

     

  • “Channels do interfere a lot…”: B.A.G Films, Mumbai Head Rajesh Chaddha

    “Channels do interfere a lot…”: B.A.G Films, Mumbai Head Rajesh Chaddha

    To say that Rajesh Chaddha, Head of Mumbai operations of B.A.G.Films, is a man of steel would be an understatement. The production house’s game show Hai Na Bolo Bolo recently went through a really rough patch, but Chaddha has weathered the storm.

    The show, launched early this year, did not start off on a promising note. The TRPs were as low as 1.78. Chaddha went in for a risky revamp, one that saw the replacement of host Karan Oberoi with Ravi Behl. The trick worked and Chaddha is now hoping for greater things for the show.

    “I have done my homework. I am sure Hai Na Bolo Bolo will pick up,” he says, rocking back and forth in his chair, almost suggesting that ups and downs are a part of every business. Clearly, this man believes in the ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’ adage. He has faced challenges before, only to emerge triumphant.

    Into his ninth year with B.A.G.Films, he has no plans to shift loyalties. In fact, he has chalked out big, ambitious plans for the company. Taking time off from his busy schedule at his office, he spoke to Vickey Lalwani.Excerpts:

    Of late, you have revamped your show ‘Hai Na Bolo Bolo’. What went wrong?
    Nothing went wrong as such. Let me tell you from the beginning. Our Chalti Ka Naam Antakshri had run for about two years. It was losing its freshness. It needed a break. We suggested that we’d do a new game show. Star Plus showed keen interest and asked us to get ready.

    I personally designed Hai Na Bolo Bolo right from its look to the content. Star was mighty impressed. But we had a hitch. We wanted a good-looking singer who could anchor well. We could not get anybody who had all the three qualities- looks, ‘sur’ and style.

    Realising that, we thought of Karan Oberoi and Nausheen Ali Sardar. We had done a lot of surveys, including many mock shows. A large section of the society wanted Kkusum, sorry, Nausheen. We were excited about the idea of software driven shows on television- the first of its kind. We planned only six episodes. We had decided that we’d go by the feedback. It was a trial-n-error exercise.

    Were there errors?
    I guess so. The feedback we received demanded that we go in for an immediate revamp. We needed a transformation, in terms of the format and the set. We needed to add pace and colour.

    But why did Ravi Behl step into Karan Oberoi’s shoes?
    Karan Oberoi informed us that he did not have dates to shoot the newly improvised episodes, as he was busy shooting for a feature film in Jakarta along with The Band of Boys. He tried to readjust his schedule but his prior commitments could not be rescheduled. And so, we parted ways amicably. Then arose the question of finding the replacement. We had a long debate on who we should rope in. Finally, we zeroed in on Ravi Behl. He has done a mind-blowing job. To top it all, he is a gifted singer.
    “EPs can never be a hindrance in a proper and phased structure like ours“

     

    If Karan had not been booked for Jakarta, would he have remained?
    Hmmm. Yes, but going by the feedback on anchors’ profile, he would have had to undergo a change in his look and style. If you see carefully, even Nausheen has undergone lots of changes in the new version.

    Rewind. How did you get into production in television?
    While I was doing my MBA from Pune university, I was absorbed by Reliance as a marketing trainee. Before that, I had a brief stint at Contract and HTA. Reliance slotted me in their company called Observer India. Out of the blue, Rajiv Shukla, who was also working there, asked me that why I didn’t get into television. He said I would be better suited to the electronic media. He even offered me a job… in B.A.G. Films. As it was, I was not enjoying my work at Reliance.

    Why?
    It was a typical 9-5 job. I was looking for something creative which would offer me some flexible atmosphere. I found myself quite suffocated and straitjacketed there.

    So you took up Rajeev Shukla’s offer?
    Yeah. I took it up, but not before I had made sure that I was going to like it. It is extremely important that you feel a sense of enjoyment before you feel a sense of belonging.

    Then?
    Suddenly, I discovered that my new boss Anurradha Prasad was Shukla’s wife! (smiles).

    Interesting. Please continue…
    The company was in operation since 1993. I joined them in 1994. It was a very small set-up at that point of time. There were just four or five people working for the company. They wanted me to look after the ‘marketing and business development’. Today, after nine years, I am the head of their Mumbai operations.

    Initially, Anurradha Prasad and I were doing the spade work for the launching of Channel 9 in India. During that exercise, we realised that it was imperative to have an office in Mumbai. The television and film people we met were under the impression that we were a Delhi-based set-up, heavily into political, infotech and cookery shows, despite the fact that we had done lots of fiction in the past.

    We were not being taken as a complete production house. Imagine, we had done Chalti Ka Naam Antakshri, Do Aur Do Paanch and Tum Pukar Lo by that time! Yet… Anyway, clearly, we had missed out on a large chunk. Enough was enough. We decided to set up our own thing in Mumbai. Anurradha entrusted me with the challenging task of setting the ball rolling in Mumbai.

    As a producer, what difficulties do you encounter?
    No project can sail through without some problem. Moreover, every project has a different difficulty. But the most common difficulty is scheduling the dates of the artistes. If there’s a goof-up in a daily serial, the situation can get completely out of hand. The channel deadlines have to be met at any cost.
    “We do feel like puppets, but whatever they say, works towards the betterment of the programme”

    What is the job of an EP? At the end of the day, is he really an asset? Last week, a director told me that the EP department often messes up the whole show.
    EPs can never be a hindrance in a proper and phased structure like ours. In fact, an EP is responsible proper execution of the show. He/she is the hands-on person.

    Coming to our structure. We have an in-house creative department, programming department, finance department and a news bureau. Extensive research and debate is done on every decision taken. Every staff member here is a professional. The pros and cons of every aspect are dwelt upon. The requirement of the director and the technicality which varies from project to project is never compromised upon.

    Like, when we start off on a serial, we first go deep into the story. We ensure that there are enough twists and turns in the plot so as to keep the viewers’ interest alive. Importantly, we safeguard the viewers’ sensibilities. Then, we sit and decide upon the director. He/she has to be the best one for handling the genre of that project. If we are coming out with a thriller, it would be foolish to take someone who specialises in socials.

    Going back to the EP aspect. At least in our set-up, we have a production manager and a scheduler who work in tandem with the EP. This reduces the load of our EP, which in turn, promises better output. Like it happens in some productions houses, our EPs don’t have to monitor petty things like availability of lights, time-setting with the artistes, etc. Our EPs are rather focused on the requirements expressed by the directors on sets and taking care that the scenes are executed exactly in the manner written. We allow the lines to be changed here and there, but not the gist of the scene.

    If memory serves me right, you dropped Indranil Goswami who was directing your serial ‘Haqeeqat’. Why?
    There again, we had not made a wrong choice. Midway, we realised that Goswami was unavailable to devote sufficient time to the project, which in turn, had an adverse effect on our despatches which otherwise have always been timely. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he was a Kolkata-based guy. So let’s not say that we dropped him, but rather, we parted amicably.

    Does PR with channels help in getting a programme passed?
    I don’t think so. Today, channels can judge the quality of your product immediately. Only if they find that you have the class, talent and potential to sustain, you will get the nod. In the early days of satellite television, PR might have been a helping factor. Initially, even I laboured under this myth.

    Do channels pressurise the production houses?
    Channels interfere a lot. At times, the creative department’s viewpoint does not go down well with the channel guys, and you have to alter or even resurrect the whole thing to satisfy them. Sometimes, they say that what we have written has been already shown on the tube, sometimes they do not like the look and the clothes of a particular artiste… Channel guys are literally dominating the scene. At times, with other production houses, I have even heard that the channel has got the director changed, saying that the current one is not happening. It’s a big problem, but at the same time, a good learning experience.

    A learning experience! With so much of intervening, don’t you guys feel like puppets?
    We do feel like puppets, but whatever they say, works towards the betterment of the programme. Today, our serial Kumkum on Star Plus has touched a TRP of 7, which is a record of sorts in the afternoon transmission. Let me admit that Star Plus has been a big player in the success story of this serial.

    What next?
    We are coming up with a one hour weekly show. It will be fiction. It’s for Star Plus, hopefully. After that, we have planned a crime series, which will be based on true stories. And then we are coming out with feature films. Our budgets will not be extravagant.

    We have two scripts up our sleeve. One is a cross-over project, to be shot 25 per cent in France. The other one is a comedy thriller. A formal announcement in this regard is in the offing. And before I forget, let me tell you that we are broadening our news set-up. We are very serious about news and current affairs. We are coming up with a big set up in Delhi in this regard in terms of studio, and will probably have an uplinking facility there. Who knows, we might even come out with a news channel of our own!