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Tag: Sanjay Khan

  • Sanjay Khan churns out fresh mytho, historical for DD

    Sanjay Khan churns out fresh mytho, historical for DD

    MUMBAI: Sanjay Khan’s Numero Uno International Limited (NUIL), is launching two mega serials under its banner during the next week on DD National.

    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 Indias first war of independence. Both serials, directed by Khan himself, will be telecast on Doordarshan National. Maharathi Karna will be telecast every Wednesday and Thursday starting January 1, 2003 between 9 and 9.30 pm and 1857 – Kranti is to be telecast from December 29, 2002 onwards every Sunday between 11 and noon.

    Khan, whose last offering Mahabharat on Zee TV last October was touted as the most expensive serial till date, has plans to go regional in the near future. According to an official release, the production house is toying with the idea of more acquisitions in languages other than Hindi and in-house productions for private channels. NUIL has also started operations in London to focus on international business opportunities where it plans to co produce with acclaimed production houses such as Hallmark Entertainment and Yorkshire Television, UK. 

    Formed in 1991-92, Numero Uno is responsible for historical and mythological programmes like The Sword of Tipu Sultan, The Great Maratha and Jai Hanuman. Since 1999, the company has started n-house marketing activities and acquisition and marketing of programmes other than its own, on Doordarshan and Sun TV.

  • Prasar Bharati threatens legal action against defaulting producers

    Prasar Bharati threatens legal action against defaulting producers

    MUMBAI: Prasar Bharati is likely to initiate legal proceedings against defaulting production houses, which owe it dues amounting to nearly Rs 1450 million.

    Prasar Bharati CEO K S Sarma said on Wednesday that the defaulters, who have so far been issued show cause notices in vain, could have winding up proceedings initiated against them, which would be followed by litigation. Production houses which may opt for the arbitration route after that will have to contend with a strict Prasar Bharati, Sarma said.

    National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) leads the defaulters list, with dues of Rs 480 million. The corporation however, recently paid up Rs 200 million of its pending dues and interest thereon. Among the 45 to 50 defaulters, 10 defaulting production houses owe the pubcaster dues of more than Rs 50 million. Among the prominent names in the list are Dheeraj Kumar’s Creative Eye and Sanjay Khan’s Numero Uno Productions. Several others, like Ramanand Sagar, have offered software in lieu of payment, but Sarma says software potential evaluation is difficult in monetary terms. After waiting for nearly four years, the pubcaster has now decided to go the legal way, although Sarma says he would like to maintain amicable relations with the production houses as several of them have created valuable software for DD in the past. 

    Henceforth, all the defaulters would be dealt with by DD on an advance payment basis. The production houses would have to issue post dated cheques to DD and bank guarantees to ensure that they do not default on payment, he said.

  • Producers’ outstandings to DD nearly Rs 1.7 billion

    Producers’ outstandings to DD nearly Rs 1.7 billion

    NEW DELHI: As on 31 March, 2002, the outstanding dues owed to national broadcaster Doordarshan from various producers and agencies stood at Rs 1692.8 million, according to documents which were laid on the tables of Parliament just before it was adjourned sine die earlier this week.

    It is not clear how much of this outstanding has been recovered by Prasar Bharati, overseeing the functioning of DD and All India Radio till date and which are the disputed cases. For example, Sanjay Khan’s Numero Uno and Nimbus Communications have claimed that the outstanding against them are part of disputed amount and DD is yet to settle the matter. Ditto for Creative Eye.

     

    The Prasar Bharati board, which met earlier this week, also took note of the outstandings but have not yet taken a final decision on the matter as to how the recoveries are to be made. Still, the details of the outstanding, as per documents available with indiantelevision.com, are as follows:

     

    Aaliya Productions: Rs 6 million Advance Network: Rs 21.3 million
    Advision Multimedia: Rs 1.7 million
    Anand Advertising: Rs 14 million
    Asian Ad Age: Rs 2.7 million
    B4U Multimedia: Rs 19.7 million
    Balaji Telefilms: Rs 11.1 million
    Bidhan Advertising: Rs 1.1 million
    Cinema Vision: Rs 3.5 million
    Clarion: Rs 600,000
    Concept Advertsing: Rs 18.8 million
    Copy Desk: Rs 4.5 million
    Corrum Communications: Rs 1.8 million
    Creative Channel: Rs 2.8 million
    Creative Eye: Rs 120 million
    Drishty India: Rs 29.4 million
    Fame Communications: Rs 107.4 million
    Film City: Rs 2.6 million
    Film Craft: Rs 64.7 million
    First Option Telefilms: Rs 4.1 million
    Future Communication: Rs 1.1 million
    G.N. Communications: Rs 2.5 million
    Global Entertainers: Rs 9.3 million
    Government of Delhi: Rs 600,000
    Guruji Advertisers: Rs 8.5 million
    HMT: Rs 300,000
    HTA: Rs 2.5 million
    Innovision Film & TV: Rs 2.5 million
    Jaya Advertising: Rs 4.9 million
    Joslin Communications: Rs 4.2 million
    Kine Scope: Rs 7 million
    KLI: Rs 7 million
    Lehar Publicity Service: Rs 2.8 million
    Magic Box: Rs 1.1 million
    Magna Vision: Rs 10.8 million
    Market Movers: Rs 31.1 million
    Maya Entertainment: Rs 17 million
    MBM: Rs 16.3 million
    Media Asia: Rs 14.6 million
    Moulis Advertising: Rs 200,000
    Multichannel: Rs 110.2 million
    Neerja Films: Rs 2.5 million
    Network 7: Rs 2 million
    NFDC: Rs 470 million
    Nimbus Communications: Rs 61.2 million
    Numero Uno: Rs 103 million
    PNC: Rs 15.4 million
    PAS International: Rs 5.7 million
    Pinky Advertsing: Rs 9.1 million
    Plus Channel: Rs 101.2 million
    Prime Time Media: Rs 2 million
    Radha Publicity: Rs 1.6 million
    Sagar Enterprises: Rs 59 million
    Samvaad: Rs 4.9 million
    Shree Madhav: Rs 115.6 million
    Stargazer: Rs 1.3 million
    Tracer Advertising: Rs 3.3 million
    Translink TV: Rs 2.4 million
    Triton Communications: Rs 3.1 million
    Universal: Rs 7.3 million
    Uranus: Rs 4.6 million
    Vigyapan: Rs 300,000
    W.D. Consumer: Rs 800,000
    World Media: Rs 13.2 million
    Worldcom M/M: Rs 5.8 million

  • Zee TV banks on religious serials to revive flagging viewership

    Zee TV banks on religious serials to revive flagging viewership

    When Zee TV announced its relaunch in August group broadcast CEO Sandeep Goyal had stated that what the Indian viewer wanted in the shows that she/he would like to watch were exotic overseas locations, other marital relationships, music-based shows, tangled love stories and interactive show formats.

    All the 24 shows that were launched at the time incorporated one or more of the above factors.

    That formula fell flat and now Zee is hoping that two heavy-duty mythological shows that it is launching today will be showered with blessings from viewers who have hitherto been ignoring its programming initiatives.

    Jai Santoshi Maa is a half-hour programme airing at 8 pm, while Mahabharat produced by film actor Sanjay Khan’s Numero Uno productions is a one-hour show going on air at 10 pm. The strategy: capitalise on Jai Santoshi Maa worshippers on Fridays and create a tune-in viewership for the expensive programme Mahabharat.

    Industry sources confirmed that the per episode cost of Mahabharat is Rs 1.4 million, which indicates that Zee is sparing no expense to offer a new age series. Additionally, it is using religion – which is close to most Indian’s hearts – as a tool of programming differentiation. And it is being innovative about the time that it is dishing out the religious fare: Friday evenings and prime time.

    Its chief rivals – market leader Star and No 2 Sony – are at loggerheads on Fridays with similar programming genres. Both the channels have game shows in the 8 PM slot culminating in a thriller at the 10:30 – 11 PM slot. 

    Zee TV on its part has also taken to off-air promotions in the form of road shows with vehicles carrying the cast of characters from the series beating the streets. Hoardings, ads in the print media and an internet promotion with indiatimes.com, are some of the devices it is using to tease viewers to sample its mythological programmes. 

    Now it’s up to viewers to fall in line. Are you listening, King Viewer?

  • Star gets into the act with Channel Nine Gold library

    Star gets into the act with Channel Nine Gold library

    Channel Nine Gold’s loss has been Star’s gain. Star Plus, which started airing two soaps from the library acquired from the now defunct company, will commence airing Sanjay Khan’s Jannat , from 8 December at 7 pm.

    Jannat is part of the Nine library bought by Star after Channel Nine Gold fell out with pubcaster Doordarshan and stopped operations in September this year. Kabhie Souten Kabhie Saheli and Kundali, the two other serials from the Nine stables, have started telecast on Star Plus from November and are reportedly doing well. indiantelevision.com had reported earlier this month that Star had paid only 20 per cent of the actual valuation of the library. The library is valued at around Rs 120 million.

     

    Most of Channel Nine Gold’s soaps were doing well on DD Metro before they were stopped abruptly. Star stands to gain from the telecast of these serials which already had a loyal following among DD Metro’s audiences.

     

    Jannat, a daily soap that goes on air from next Saturday, had a 37 episode run on DD Metro, follows the trials and travails of a Muslim family. The couple’s desire to have a child is thwarted by the wife’s inability to bear one. Predictable tussles follow after the man agrees to his wife’s request to get married once again.

    Kabhie Souten Kabhie Saheli which airs Monday to Friday at 3:30 pm, deals with two friends who are close despite their differing backgrounds. As the story progresses, both get married to the same man. Once the cat gets out of the bag, the two women scheme a revenge plot to get even. Kundali, another program from the Nine library, deals with a strikingly similar theme. The serial explores different events which shape the direction of our lives. Two sisters, married into the same household, suffer at the hands of a wrathful mother-in-law. The family quibbles come to the screen every Thursday at 8 pm.