ITV

Tag: Vicky Aur Vetaal

  • Disney to launch second local product ‘Dhoom Machaao Dhoom’

    Disney to launch second local product ‘Dhoom Machaao Dhoom’

    MUMBAI: As part of their five ‘local production’ roll out strategy, Disney has announced the launch of its second home grown production, Dhoom Machaao Dhoom, to premiere on 8 January in Disney Channel.

    This is Disney’s first original daily show for the tweens and the creative is handled by Show M, a joint venture between Ravina Raj Kohli’s production house Sundail.

    As opposed to the first attempt with Vicky Aur Vetaal, the channel is beefing up its localisation plan by introducing the second product as a ‘daily’ (Monday to Thursday 7:30 pm). The third original live-action production is expected in April next year.

    Specifically, eyeing live-action as a potent mechanism and the way ahead for Disney Channel, Walt Disney Television International (India) executive director Nachiket Pantvaidya believes that the channel requires a blend of local faces to be incorporated into the live action being introduced.

    As reported earlier, an emerging trend in kids television viewing suggests that the space is now inviting a large number of older girls (10 – 14 year old) as opposed to a previously a male dominated viewership attracted to action and cartoon based themes. In this respect, the channel is clearly trying to capitalize on these findings.

    With Dhoom Machaao Dhoom Disney Channel promises that it will now churn out 30 hours of locally produced content per week, moving towards its target of 130 hours. This is an important step towards building the channel’s viewership.

    The show is based on two core ideas – music and dance, which seems to have got reckoning from Indian kids following Disney’s interschool on ground activity, an adaptation the High School Musical, My School Rocks. Although, the theme seems to have a strong American resemblance, Dhoom Machaao Dhoom tells the story of four young girls who have teamed up to form a band. However, it will tackle issues often faced by teenagers like personality clashes, friendships and family influences.

    Kohli is of the opinion that the show has the potential to go beyond from being just a show, but rather to become a revolution! She believes kids programming should not merely cater to kids but to families at large. The challenge would be to drive kids from being ‘default watchers’ on GEC’s, movies and sports channels to come to kids channels.

    The marketing campaign for the daily show is, for the first time resorting to print, in addition to the expected multi media activity on outdoor, television, radio and internet.

    Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’s Shreya Ghoshal voice will feature in the show along with musician Shantanu Moitra’s. The pilot episode also includes a special performance by new kid on the block Sanchita, the winner of Lil’ Champ’s contest on Zee TV.

    “Following the success of the first local production ‘Vicky Aur Vetaal’ earlier this year, Disney Channel seeks to further strengthen its already robust connection with kids and their families with this cool and contemporary show”, says Pantvaidya. “We are a committed local player in the kid’s entertainment space and ‘Dhoom Machaao Dhoom’ is our next strong bid to showcase all that Disney Channel stands for.”

  • Disney targets five local productions; to kick off with ‘Vicky Aur Vetaal’

    Disney targets five local productions; to kick off with ‘Vicky Aur Vetaal’

    MUMBAI: Walt Disney is stepping up its localisation drive in India. One major push in this: have five locally produced live-action Hindi shows tailored for Disney Channel in a year’s time.

    “Local live-action programming is the way to pump up Disney Channel. We plan to have five original shows within a year and are in talks with various production houses,” Walt Disney Television International (India) executive director, programming and production, Nachiket Pantvaidya tells Indiantelevision.com.

    Disney will have 130 hours of locally produced content over the next one-year period. “India is the first market in the TV business outside the US where Disney has gone in for original local production,” adds Pantvaidya.

    The plan is to increase local content on Disney Channel from 20 to 40 per cent in a year’s time. The move falls in line with Disney’s step-wise localisation strategy. This involved languaging the content, creating local environments through interstitials, acquiring local content like Karishma Ka Karishma and lastly, original local production.

    Disney Channel is all set to premiere its first original live action Indian production Vicky Aur Vetaal, a contemporary version of ancient Indian folklore, on 8 October.

    Disney is also actively considering the option of producing a local movie for TV aimed at the Indian audiences, Pantvaidya says.

    So is Disney also looking at producing animation content in India? “We have nothing planned at this stage. The problem with animation is that the costs do not justify a product just for local TV. It has to spread across markets,” says Pantvaidya.

    Disney has commissioned production house Cinevistaas Ltd. for making Vicky Aur Vetaal. Disney has joined hands with other prominent names in the industry like programming director Suraj Rao, music duo Shantanu Moitra and Swanand Kirkire (composer and lyricist) and singer Babul Supriyo.

    The series will air every Sunday at 10:30 am on the Disney Channel. Speaking on the developments of the new show, Cinevistaas vice chairman and managing director Sunil Mehta said, “We started production in August last year, with six episodes complete. We have signed on for 26 episodes which can be extended.”

    The story pans out with Vetaal trapped upside down from a banyan tree for three hundred years and is rescued by an eleven year old brat Vicky. Vetaal’s magical powers have also become rusty landing the pair into trouble, thus the chosen theme “Vetaal ka magic gadbad ghotala.” To undo the mess, Vetaal uses an eccentric ‘spell book’ which has a life and attitude of its own. Inspite of the havoc the pair bring to the show, it also promises to subtly bring out certain moral undertones of responsibility for ones actions.

    “Disney Channel’s commitment to localisation has been a well planned endeavor and we are extremely happy to be delivering on it. We believe in the strength of Indian stories. Our creative idiom with Vicky Aur Vetaal was to contemporize and keep it relevant to today’s generation. In the process of narration, we are able to involve kids in the storyline by addressing their day to day issues in a fun way,” says Pantvaidya.

    With its entry into India, Disney sought pioneer live action programming in a cartoon driven kids market and, according to Pantvaidya, within a span of two years the market has tripled its size.

    Says Walt Disney Television International (Asia Pacific) senior vice president and managing director Nicky Parkinson, “We seek to strengthen connections with kids and their families by developing creative, quality local content that reflects the lives of the local audiences. This major initiative is a strong step forward in establishing Disney Channel further as a committed local player in this country, and also a reflection of the Walt Disney Company’s commitment to seeking great creative from the global marketplace.”

    For the promotional activity around Vicky Aur Vetaal, Disney Channel has launched a theme-driven marketing campaign involving TV, Radio, Internet, and outdoor apart from an off-air promotion which includes touch-points at McDonalds and other outlets frequented by kids.

    In the week preceeding the launch, an on-ground teaser campaign was unveiled whereby ‘authentic duplicates’ of certificates were issued announcing a change of name of the person in question. This, along with marriage proposals from strangers and even inanimate objects like trees got people really curious about what was going on, creating the much desired buzz around the campaign. Besides, Disney has used out of home initiatives in malls across 22 odd markets in the country to create optical illusions. The revealer campaign will be unveiled in 2-3 days.