ITV

Tag: Saara Akash

  • Star Plus revamps 9-10 pm band to build long term property

    Star Plus revamps 9-10 pm band to build long term property

    MUMBAI: Come 25 January and leader of the Hindi television roost Star Plus will be incorporating some major changes in its 9-10 pm slot. The band, which has one-hour weeklies Monday through to Thursday, will see the conversion of all four current shows into a half-hour format.

    The 9:30-10 pm “balance band” will see the debut on 25 January of a new daily Kkavyanjali produced by Balaji Telefilms.

    The 9-10 pm band currently runs one-hour soaps from Monday to Thursday. They being Des Mein Nikhala Hoga Chand (Monday), Kehta Hai Dil (Tuesday), Sanjivani (Wednesday) and Saara Akash (Thursday).

    The reasons for this strategic change are as follows:

    a) These soaps have now been on air for the last three years
    b) Time to introduce some freshness in the band to avoid fatigue
    c) An endeavour in building another brand as well and a long term property.

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com about the impending programming revamp, Star India creative director Shailja Kejriwal says, “Kkavyanjali has been tailor-made to provide a complete family entertainment which not only targets women but also caters to men and children. The show is a typical family set up but has a flavour of suspense and intense romance weaved in.”

    Kejriwal also points out that as the leader of the space, they need to be the first movers and experiment and take chances with programming. “We are taking a risk considering that our 9- 10 pm band is delivering very well and this is definitely a leadership statement.”

    Incidentally, with the launch of Kkavyanjali, Balaji has finally breached the 9-10 pm band on Star Plus, something that creative director Ekta Kapoor has been striving hard to do for over two years now. With the addition of this show, Hindi entertainment’s leading soap factory now has almost complete weekday dominance of the evening prime time space on Plus, running from 8:30 right through to 12 midnight. The only look-in non-Balaji shows will have on Plus in the prime time band will be between 9-9:30 pm.

    Curently Star Plus’ 9-10 pm band garners an average of 9 TVR.

    Kejriwal is quick to point out that Plus does not expect heavy numbers immediately. “Any new property has a gestation period, and we are excepting results six months down the line. A daily matures at the end of the first year. So, that will be determine whether the show is a success or a failure,” she states.

    Another point on note being that the current shows in this band command a loyal following, hence the change is keeping in mind a crisper show with more offerings. The channel also wants to observe how these shows rate as half hours. Kkavyanjali is will now collide with Sony’s Jassi… from Monday – Wednesday and with Indian Idol on Thursday. Sony’s new soap which will replace Jassi… in due course will also come in at a time when KKavyanjali would have settled down.

    Interestingly, according to industry sources, Star Plus is also slated to launch LOC (Life Out Of Control) produced by Rajiv Mehra which falls in the comedy genre in mid-February. Although when queried on the same, Kejriwal refused to comment.
     

  • ‘Saara Akash’ continues to soar; gets year’s extension

    MUMBAI: Will it or won’t it work? That was the niggling doubt when Saara Aakash, the show with an air force backdrop, debuted on Star Plus 7 August 2003 in the Thursday 9 pm slot.

    Well, not only did Miditech’s Saara Aakash fare well (although after more than just a little tweaking of the original script) on the charts but it has been given another year’s extension.

    “As of now, we are India’s No 1 weekly in the Hindi speaking markets. In the 9 pm band, comprising Kehta Hai Dil, Sanjeevani, Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand, we are clearly the leader. We are also ahead of Sony’s Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi and Kkusum,” Miditech’s producer Nikhil Alva offered.

    While the show might have an air force back drop, the real reason why the show is doing well, according to the makers, is the central character Monica. “In fact, we have this punch line ‘Hamari Monica Jassi Jaissi bilkul nahi’ (Our Monica is not like Jassi at all),” joked Alva.

    “Thursday is a competitive slot. Most of the weeklies end the week on Thursday, so it is wasn’t the most conducive spot for the show. We have successfully fended the competition in that slot. Be it against Jassi.. . or the movie premiers. Our target audience belongs to 14+ brackets, both male and female. Somebody who is not interested in the family dramas, which is same as that of Jassi…,” Alva offered.

    Despite the female protagonist, the show has a lot of aspirational value. So when the show, during its early stages, digressed on to a family track, the ratings dipped. “It was a bad judgment on our as well as the channel’s part. But the mistake was immediately rectified and we have been in the top 10 shows on Star Plus ever since,” insisted Alva.

    What, according to the makers is the high point of the show is its theme, approach and most importantly, the characters.

    “Monica’s character is such that the audience can empathise with. She is a bold woman in a man’s world. While she has her feminine side (she is every inch the ideal daughter), she is also driven by her mission so much so that she won’t hesitate to kill someone if the need arises. Meanwhile, Sanjana’s character is unlike any vamp that you see on the telly today. She is shown to be a school teacher, someone with a soft side. But despite that she is a ruthless spy. She has hers reasons to act the way she does. It is all about her love for her country, mission and the things that have happen to her in the past,” explains Alva.

    While it is likely that Sanjana’s character will be exposed in the show and the makers might decide to introduce another negative character. One character that is going to make his entry back onto the series is that of Karan, played by Anuj Saxena. Playing on topical issues, Karan will be shown as a PoW, who makes a daring escape from the enemy dungeons.

    “Despite the channel not as keen on the publicity and the promotional blitz, but the topical plot around espionage and the Indo-Pak milieu have received great feedback,” Alva exhulted.

    Interestingly, the high point of the show has been the episode where the central character Monica was behind enemy lines. “We showed a 15-minute chase sequence, which traditionally no one would believe works. But it has given us 13.8-14 TRP rating,” gloated Alva.

    But is there any likelihood that Monica might go the family way ever? “Highly unlikely,” says Alva. Maybe that’s for the best then. 

  • Star Plus revamps 9-10 pm band to build long term property

    Star Plus revamps 9-10 pm band to build long term property

    MUMBAI: Come 25 January and leader of the Hindi television roost Star Plus will be incorporating some major changes in its 9-10 pm slot. The band, which has one-hour weeklies Monday through to Thursday, will see the conversion of all four current shows into a half-hour format.

    The 9:30-10 pm “balance band” will see the debut on 25 January of a new daily Kkavyanjali produced by Balaji Telefilms.

    The 9-10 pm band currently runs one-hour soaps from Monday to Thursday. They being Des Mein Nikhala Hoga Chand (Monday), Kehta Hai Dil (Tuesday), Sanjivani (Wednesday) and Saara Akash (Thursday).

    The reasons for this strategic change are as follows:

    a) These soaps have now been on air for the last three years

    b) Time to introduce some freshness in the band to avoid fatigue

    c) An endeavour in building another brand as well and a long term property.

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com about the impending programming revamp, Star India creative director Shailja Kejriwal says, “Kkavyanjali has been tailor-made to provide a complete family entertainment which not only targets women but also caters to men and children. The show is a typical family set up but has a flavour of suspense and intense romance weaved in.”

    Kejriwal also points out that as the leader of the space, they need to be the first movers and experiment and take chances with programming. “We are taking a risk considering that our 9- 10 pm band is delivering very well and this is definitely a leadership statement.”

    Incidentally, with the launch of Kkavyanjali, Balaji has finally breached the 9-10 pm band on Star Plus, something that creative director Ekta Kapoor has been striving hard to do for over two years now. With the addition of this show, Hindi entertainment’s leading soap factory now has almost complete weekday dominance of the evening prime time space on Plus, running from 8:30 right through to 12 midnight. The only look-in non-Balaji shows will have on Plus in the prime time band will be between 9-9:30 pm.

    Curently Star Plus’ 9-10 pm band garners an average of 9 TVR.

     
    Kejriwal is quick to point out that Plus does not expect heavy numbers immediately. “Any new property has a gestation period, and we are excepting results six months down the line. A daily matures at the end of the first year. So, that will be determine whether the show is a success or a failure,” she states.

    Another point on note being that the current shows in this band command a loyal following, hence the change is keeping in mind a crisper show with more offerings. The channel also wants to observe how these shows rate as half hours. Kkavyanjali is will now collide with Sony’s Jassi… from Monday – Wednesday and with Indian Idol on Thursday. Sony’s new soap which will replace Jassi… in due course will also come in at a time when KKavyanjali would have settled down.

    Interestingly, according to industry sources, Star Plus is also slated to launch LOC (Life Out Of Control) produced by Rajiv Mehra which falls in the comedy genre in mid-February. Although when queried on the same, Kejriwal refused to comment.

  • Miditech eyes partnership with broadcasters

    NEW DELHI: The Alva brothers promoted Miditech, a TV software production house, is looking at joining hands with a broadcaster (like the one TV 18 had with CNBC earlier) to whip up niche content in a scenario where conditional access and DTH is rolled out uniformly in the country.
    Pointing out that in a post-CAS scenario, there would be demand and marketability for niche products, Miditech CEO Nikhil Alva said, “We have held negotiations with a few broadcasters in this regard.”
    Refusing to divulge details about the broadcasters with whom talks have been held for a probable joint venture, Alva said that the company has set its eyes on spreading its wings in the entertainment software segment in a big way, apart from tapping the international markets like Europe and Australia with infotainment products.
    “We have some big plans, as we get more aggressive in the entertainment segment, ” Alva said, pointing out that at least four serials from the company are slated for debut on the mass entertainment Hindi channels in the first quarter of 2004.
    In this regard, Miditech is also seeking to invest in additional office space in Mumbai and Nikhil, one of the Alva brothers, would relocate there with a view to tap the business more aggressively. The company, with over 100 employees, is already fairly big and with new plans unfolding, more personnel are likely to be added.
    The channels that would see weekly episodic serials from Miditech, include Sony and Sahara. “The projects have recently been approved by Sony and Sahara and we expect the shows to be on air by March,” Alva said on the sidelines of a press conference arranged here to announce the winners for Wheels Awards 2003. Wheels is an auto show that Miditech produces for BBC World.
    Miditech’s first big foray into entertainment programming, Saara Akash, at present airs on Star Plus.
    Though Alva refused to divulge any financials, he maintained that the company has been annually growing at a rate of 75 per cent. Since the base of this growth is not known, it would be difficult to gauge the growth rate properly.
    After having set up office in Singapore, Miditech is looking at exploring the regional Asian TV market and Indonesia appears to be a better bet than other South East Asian companies. “In Indonesia also, some exploratory talks have been held with buyers of content,” Alva said.
    Miditech has tied up with several distributors round the world, including Granada, for their infotainment products. Apart from NGC and Discovery, the products are being hawked in countries like Australia and some European countries. For NGC and Discovery, the company is doing some new shows, including an anthropology show.
    “Though we want to get aggressive on the entertainment side, we are not giving up our forte which is documentaries and other such infotainment programmes, as fears about Asian countries not capable of coming up with global products is slowly getting dispelled,” Alva explained.

  • Saara Akash gets a large pie in the sky

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


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

    Also read:

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

  • Miditech to set up Singapore base by year end

    MUMBAI: Miditech, the production house better known for its adventure reality shows, is planning to set up a base in Singapore by the end of this year
    The company, which has created its first regular soap Saara Akash for Star Plus due to launch tomorrow, is also planning to build on its strenghths of documentary making for international broadcasters. Singapore, that is fast becoming the documentary hub of Asia, is also an attractive base due to facilities of funding offered by the Singapre government, Miditech CEO Nikhil Alva, presently in Mumbai, told indiantelevision.com. 
    Miditech creates several hours of non fiction software, mostly related to environment and travel, for distribution internationally. A documentary made by the company recently for the National Geographic Channel, UK, has in fact, been co funded by the Singapore government, Alva said. The company now intends to pitch itself as a n Asian production house and not merely focus on Indian themes and shores.
    Miditech is also beefing up its presence in Mumbai, where it set up base three years ago to bolster the Delhi headquarters. While the over 100 strong Delhi team manages the international projects, Mumbai will handle other genres more suited to the requirements of satellite channels based in the metropolis. The production house, which plans to create more fiction in the future, is also creating news features and shows for news channels as well as for Doordarshan.

  • Star Plus switching production on two UTV shows

    MUMBAI: Star Plus is trying out a completely new treatment for two of its shows, which are not doing too brightly (by its standards) on the TRP scales. 
    Children’s serial Shaka Laka Boom Boom is being taken from UTV and given to fledgling TV software producer Rose Movies for a trial 30-episode run.


    The Goldie Behl – Shrishti Arya promoted Rose Movies has thus far produced only one serial, Lipstick, for Zee. The serial has obviously worked for the channel which has recently granted it a 100-episode extension. Now Star Plus seems to have extended its confidence to the production house by entrusting it with SLBB. The kids’ serial is hovering at a TVR of 3.2 (TAM data for the week ended 12 July), while rival Sonpari , also on Star Plus, is well ahead with a TVR of 5.6.
    Arya is understandably excited about SLBB, the first time the production house is dealing with kids. Shooting commenced some days ago, and the first of Rose Movies’ efforts will be seen by the middle of next month. Arya restricts herself to saying that Star has assigned her a certain number of episodes of SLBB so far and that her company will also be doing Jeet, the next big serial to launch on the channel after the forthcoming Saara Akash. 


    Star Plus, it is learnt, has also decided to pull out Shagun from UTV’s care and take it under its own wing. While the other UTV afternoon soap on Star Plus, Bhabhi rakes in ratings of the likes of 5.9 (TAM data for the week ended 12 July ), Shagun has garnered 3.6 for the same period. Star, it is learnt, plans to make future episodes of the serial in-house. The new arrangement takes effect from 18 August, according to informed sources. 
    “It is an arrangement we are discussing with UTV,” is all Star India vice president, content and communications Tarun Katial would say when contacted. Attempts to contact UTV director Zarina Mehta for her comment were unsuccessful.

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

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


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


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


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

  • Big money riding on shows launching this month

    MUMBAI: It’s BIG show time folks. With themes ranging from India’s partition, through to tales developed around the strife torn state of Kashmir, to blockbuster soaps, Hindi entertainment television is witnessing some monster budget action. And it’s all coming together at the same time. Star, Zee, Sahara, Sony and national broadcaster Doordarshan are all rolling out high-cost productions this month.
    With budgets of some of the shows in the Rs 3 to 4 million per episode range, there is some serious money the channels are throwing behind these January launches. Additionally, no one seems unduly worried that the upcoming cricket World Cup, which kicks of 8 February and runs till the end of March, will make these shows non-starters.
    As far as the big ticket shows that Zee, Star and Sahara are launching go, the common thread running through them is that they all have nationalistic sentiments as a backdrop. Take Zee’s mega budget show Mulk. It is set in Lahore in the pre-partition era. One wonders what took Zee so long to come up with such a concept considering the super success the group’s 2001 blockbuster movie Gadar achieved at the box-office. Gadar was also set in partition India. Mulk, which goes on air on 12 January at 10:30 pm is directed by Chandar Behl and is about friendship during the partition of India.
    Star Plus has two mega scale one-hour weekly shows ready for launch. The first, Kashmeer, is a saga of ‘love and hatred with the backdrop of militancy’ and begins its run on 16 January in the 9 to 10 PM slot. The second one, set to debut shortly is the Miditech production, Saara Akash. The story of Saara Akash revolves around a young flight lieutenant and three other officers in the Indian Air Force, two of whom fall in love with the same girl.
    Sahara has Mission Fateh, which will commence on 24 January and highlights the emotional side of soldiers on the front. The weekly serial based on Indian war heroes is also a large budget project.
    But in terms of sheer scale, Sahara TV’s mega project with Bollywood A-list actress Karisma Kapoor surely takes the cake. Karishma The Miracle of Destiny has Karisma in a double role and is shot in Mumbai as well as locales abroad. It’s not exactly a musical saga, but music too plays an important role as an integral part of the story with as many as 52 songs composed by well-known music director Anu Malik. Produced by Sahara TV, the serial’s creative head is Akash Deep whose production banner Cinetek is the assigned producer of the serial which is directed by Anurag Basu. While Karisma plays the main protagonist, the serial has several big league Bollywood names in its starcast which include Arbaz Khan, Sanjay Kapoor, Jugal Hansraj, Tinu Anand, Sheeba and Arshad Warsi. Besides there are also well known television stars in key roles which include Ayub Khan, Harsh Chaya, Resham Seth and Shahrukh Bharoocha, to name just a few.
    Sahara has also got another big-budget show with former queen bee of Bollywood Sridevi in the lead. This one is a sitcom though, and Sridevi reportedly plays an Indianised version of an old US show titled Lucy.
    Sony Entertainment has opted to keep off the “nationalist” bandwagon and has instead gone in for a big budget soap Kahani Teri Meri produced by Balaji Telefilms. KTM, which replaces another Balaji offering Kutumb in the daily 9:30 PM slot is being billed by Balaji as “much larger and far more lavish than any serial currently airing on television.”
    According to the information available with indiantelevision.com, the most expensive show that is currently on air as far as Hindi entertainment C&S channels are concerned is Kismey Kitnaa Hai Dam on Star Plus, which costs Rs 2.5 million per episode. Kismey is taking a “seasonal break” and its slot is being taken up by Kashmeer.
    The New Year has already seen the launch of two mega-serials on Doordarshan, both produced by Sanjay Khan’s Numero Uno International Limited (NUIL).
    Maharathi Karna, a portrayal of the Mahabharata from the viewpoint of Karna, throws light on the life of this unsung hero adding a new perspective to this epic tale. The other serial, 1857 – Kranti, tells the story of India’s first war of independence.
    Maharathi Karna started on 1 January and airs every Wednesday and Thursday between 9 and 9:30 PM and 1857 – Kranti launched on 29 December and airs every Sunday between 11 and noon.
    It is quite likely that some of the new shows on air will rival the kind of budgeting that was envisaged for Zee TV’s stillborn reality show PoW (Prisoner of War).
    When Zee announced in March 2001 plans to launch a POW modelled on the UK Channel 5 game show Jailbreak which ran in 2000, the talk was that the per episode cost was in the region of RS 5 million. The show, which was to be shot on location at a specially constructed 40,000 sq. feet area set at the Zee Group’s EsselWorld theme park in Mumbai, never saw the light of day.