Executive Dossier

“Marketing considerations have overtaken programming needs” : director Ravi Rai

Published

24 years ago

August 18, 2002

Ravi Rai should ideally rank among the most successful TV writers-directors-producers in India.

The maker of hugely successful soaps – Sailaab, Thoda Hai Thode Ki Zaroorat Hai, Sparsh and Teacher is, however, disappointed today with the quality of drama that is being churned out in soaps. Rai feels that they are replete with unjustified negativity. Critics on the other hand, have been ruthless, saying that Rai’s style of story-telling has become redundant today. As if to give a fitting reply, Rai has re-invented his style to create a thriller- Parchhaiyaan, a daily soap on Sahara TV.

The master craftsman however remains firm on not joining the rat race and becoming a me-too producer. He has instead decided to live life on his own terms, spending a lot of his time reading and writing a collection of short stories. In a tete-a tete with indiantelevision.com correspondent, Amar, Rai talks about the present programming scenario vis-?-vis his own preferences.

Excerpts-

Almost all your serials were based on relationships. What makes you re-invent your style and venture into unexplored territory now with a thriller?
Well, that’s a difficult question, but I believe there are two reasons that prompted this change. One, times are changing and today the narrative needs to move a lot quicker. Thrillers are in great demand. At the same time, I’m told that my kind of story-telling no longer works, which I personally would not agree with. But then, because we have to cater to what the channel demands, I have no choice but to re-invent myself.

But what is the basic difference between the serials that are working today and your super- hits- ‘Sailaab’, ‘Thoda Hai Thode Ki Zaroorat Hai’?
The basic difference is that today all these soaps thrive on negativity. A family soap has become synonymous with two bitchy sisters-in-law, a monstrous mother-in -law and a lecherous male member. There is so much bitchiness and so many inane skirmishes that I could never relate with. In my serials, all characters were positive and yet the drama was engrossing. In Sailaab, for instance, when the male protagonist decides to go with the other woman, all sides and viewpoints were presented with such conviction that the audience actually did not know whether to side with the husband or the wife. The same sensitivity is not there today.

“Even though I don’t have the same passion in me for Parchaiyaan that I had for a Sailaab or Sparsh, I don’t mind writing it if this is the kind of programme that the channels and the viewers want”

But what is the result of this change?
Unfortunately, producers have no say as far as the programming initiatives are concerned and channels have this arrogance about them, which makes them thrust their concepts on the producers. Today, marketing considerations have overtaken programming needs. Today, a family drama has to depict so much agony and infighting that I would much rather watch the coverage of a natural calamity or an air crash on BBC than one of these soaps.

How was ‘Parchaiyyan’ conceived?
Well, the concept came to us from a writer called Anusha. We presented it to several channels. Sahara liked it but wanted it as a daily.

But isn’t the story too linear for a daily soap? Viewers feel that the story has hardly moved in the last few weeks.
I agree it’s not the ideal subject for a daily soap but that is what makes it all the more challenging. I personally would not agree with the observation that the story has not moved. There is a method and a progression in the protagonist’s madness (played by Achint Kaur) till the time she becomes a killer on the prowl.

Do you personally relate with ‘Parchaiyaan’ as a writer?
See, very early in my career I achieved phenomenal success and won several awards. After that I needed a strong stimulant to spur me on but by then, my kind of programmes were totally out. The creative person in me did not want to be an also ran and do what was thrust upon me, but at the same time my practical self realized that I had to do something for my survival.

So, even though I don’t have the same passion in me for Parchaiyaan that I had for a Sailaab or Sparsh, I don’t mind writing it if this is the kind of programme that the channels and the viewers want. The basic difference between writing my earlier serials and Parchhaiyaan is that, for those serials the motivation would come from within and no other thought or consideration would be there in my mind except that I should bring out the story with utmost honesty and sincerity. However, for Parchaiyaan, the approach is different. I have to do a lot of structuring. I have to follow the mix and match approach as far as plot movements and creation of scenes between the key characters are concerned. This has been a new experience for me.

‘Parchaiyaan’ saw a huge promotion being undertaken by Sahara. Was it the channel’s initiative or did you play a part in it?
No, the promotions were entirely Sahara’s initiative. In fact, they have been very supportive throughout and I’m happy that Parchhaiyaan is being treated as one of the channel drivers.

Which genres personally appeal to you?
Personally, I have no preference for genres. I would have loved to do a comedy or murder mystery but then nobody allowed me to do one because the moment my earlier serials became successful, I got slotted in the ‘relationships’ genre. I would love to venture into different genres but whatever I do will have its own individuality, a style which is my own.

“I would have loved to do a comedy or murder mystery but then nobody allowed me to do one because the moment my earlier serials became successful, I got slotted in the ‘relationships’ genre “

You have been one of the very few successful writers-directors-producers. How do you balance these different responsibilities?
Well, the last time I produced, wrote and directed a serial must have been three years ago. Yes, even though I was very successful, my schedules were chaotic. I would wake up at five, do some writing, then leave for my shoots and end my day around midnight. Gradually, I realised that I was losing out on so many things in life. So, in the last few months, I have completely re organised my life. Since I’m essentially a writer, I’m writing but in the future I would not direct a serial unless the subject really excites me. I also spend a lot of time reading.

Last year, your soap ‘Ateet’ which was one of the new soaps that Zee came up with in its overhauling turned out to be a complete washout. What went wrong?
The channel’s interference. Ateet was one project of mine where I hardly had any say because everything -right from the story tracks to the way a shot had to be taken, was being dictated by the channel. Once you lose your conviction in something, it invariably hampers your product.

Your office is full of pictures of your idol, Mahesh Bhatt. What are the things you have imbibed from him?
Well, I have assisted Bhattsaab for five years. More than as director, I’ve learnt a lot from him as a writer. The ability to improvise on your real life experiences and adapt them into fiction without compromising on the essence of a happening is what I have imbibed from him. I also admire him for his honesty, his fearlessness and the fact that he will always stand by what he believes in.

“Text”

In hindsight, is there any project you are unhappy with?
Yes, Sparsh. Sparsh actually got mixed responses. Some people liked it, yet others felt it should have been more engrossing. Personally, it was a bit of a letdown for me because it came after Sailaab, which I rate as my best piece of work. I wanted to improve on Sailaab, but beyond a stage my thought process just got zapped and I had problems bringing it out the way I had conceived it. And of course I hate to think of Ateet.

But did you never plan to grow into a big production house a la Balaji or UTV?
No, I produced serials only because I felt that much more attached and inspired to bring out what I wrote with all passion. Producing a serial gave me the opportunity to have complete control over things. But if I ventured into too many soaps, my personal touch would have gone. I would ideally produce only those programmes which I can personally nurture and be involved with creatively.

What do you see yourself doing in the near future?
Well, very soon, Satyamev Jayate, a soap that we are producing, will come on air. Personally, I want to lead a peaceful life and pursue many interests that I have lost out on in the last few years. So, apart from writing for TV, I’ll be bringing out a book which will be a collection of short stories written by me.

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Executive Dossier

Game on, fame on as Good Game hunts India’s first global gaming star

Published

1 month ago

January 27, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Game faces on, pressure high India’s gaming ambitions are levelling up. Good Game, billed as the world’s first as-live global gaming reality show, has officially launched in India with a bold mission: to crown the country’s first Global Gaming Superstar.

Blending esports with mainstream entertainment, the show brings together competitive gaming, creativity and on-camera performance in a format that tests more than just joystick skills. Contestants will be judged on gameplay, screen presence and their ability to perform under pressure, reflecting how gaming has evolved from pastime to profession and pop culture currency.

Fronting the show are three high-profile ambassadors: actor and entrepreneur Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Indian cricket star Rishabh Pant, and gaming creator Ujjwal Chaurasia. The winner will take home Rs 1 crore ($100,000) among the largest prize pools for any Indian reality show along with the chance to represent India on a global stage.

Backed by a planned annual investment of up to Rs 100 crore, Good Game is also courting brand partners, promising a minimum reach of 500 million among India’s core youth audience. The creators position the show as a bridge between entertainment and interactive culture, offering long-format content, community engagement and commercial scale.

Auditions are now open to Indian citizens aged 18 and above, inviting amateur and professional gamers, creators and performers alike. Shortlisted candidates will be called for in-person auditions in Mumbai on 14 and 15 February, and in Delhi on 28 February and 1 March 2026.

With big money, big names and even bigger ambition, Good Game signals a shift in how India views gaming not just as play, but as performance, profession and prime-time spectacle.

Digital

SpotDraft hires new CMO and CFO to fuel global push for its AI contract platform

Published

3 months ago

December 3, 2025

indiantelevision.com Team

INDIA: SpotDraft has strengthened its senior ranks as it gears up for faster global expansion, naming Alon Waks as chief marketing officer and Amit Sharma as chief financial officer. The appointments follow the firm’s $54 million Series B round earlier this year and mark a push to scale across the Americas, EMEA and India.

The AI-powered contract-lifecycle-management platform has posted 100 per cent year-on-year growth in customer acquisition, counting Apollo.io, IPSY, Mixpanel, Oyster and Panasonic among its global clients. The firm processes more than one million contracts annually, with volumes up 173 per cent and nearly 50,000 monthly active users.

Waks, a veteran of Kustomer, Bizzabo, CreatorIQ, LivePerson and ZoomInfo, will steer global marketing and category positioning as legal teams adopt AI-driven tools. Sharma, who has led finance across scaling tech firms since 2016, will guide financial strategy, investor relations and market expansion.

Both hires aim to sharpen SpotDraft’s bid for a larger slice of the fast-growing legal-tech market, expected to exceed $63 billion by 2032. Co-founder and chief executive Shashank Bijapur said the company is focused on scaling go-to-market operations in the Americas, deepening leadership in EMEA, and accelerating AI capabilities for general counsels and legal-operations leaders.

Clients report shorter deal cycles and better alignment between legal and business teams. “What used to take weeks now happens in days,” said Abnormal Security senior legal operations manager Susan Koenig. DeepL head of legal operations André Barrow, said SpotDraft has helped reframe legal “from a cost centre to a generator of revenue”.

Executive Dossier

Outdoor Ads Get Smarter as LOC8 Shifts OOH from Visibility to Attention

Published

3 months ago

November 28, 2025

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Out-of-home ads were once the wallflowers of marketing seen by everyone, noticed by few. But in an age where attention has become the world’s most fought-over currency, even billboards are getting a brain upgrade. Enter LOC8, OSMO’s AI-powered attention engine, quietly reshaping the old OOH playbook by measuring not just who could have looked at an ad, but who actually did. The shift is subtle but seismic: impressions are out, impact is in and data, not gut instinct, is calling the shots.

In a landscape where marketers question every rupee spent outdoors, LOC8 is turning lampposts, flyovers and traffic islands into precision-mapped attention laboratories. By crunching dwell time, visibility zones, perceptual size and real-world obstructions, the platform is dragging OOH into a future where creativity meets computer vision and where the best ideas aren’t just eye-catching, but eye-measured. From automotive facelifts to FMCG novelty and real estate trust-building, the message is clear, outdoor has stopped shouting and started listening. Indian Television Dot Com explores more about it in an Interview interview with OSMO co-founder Nipun Arora.

On how OSMO is shifting outdoor advertising from a visibility-led medium to an attention-led one through LOC8.

Traditional OOH has long been measured by visibility and impressions i.e how many people could see an ad. OSMO, through its proprietary AI platform LOC8, is shifting that narrative more towards likelihood of being noticed. Using computer vision and machine learning, LOC8 analyzes real-world video data to measure visibility zones, obstructions, dwell time and perceptual size; bringing precision to how attention is quantified outdoors. It moves the focus from mere impressions to quality of impressions, making OOH a data-verified, attention-led medium comparable to digital in accountability.

On how marketers can use LOC8’s dwell-time, visibility and perception insights to craft more effective, emotionally resonant OOH campaigns.

LOC8 helps brands understand how people truly experience outdoor media how long they look, from what distance, and under what conditions. By quantifying dwell time, visibility duration, and perceptual size; marketers can plan campaigns that align with real human viewing behavior. This empowers creative and strategy teams to design emotionally resonant storytelling where messaging, visual hierarchy and placement are optimized for how people actually notice and process OOH creatives.

About what LOC8 has revealed through campaigns like Renault Triber and Namaste India on how categories such as auto, FMCG and real estate use attention metrics to drive outcomes.

Each category uses attention data differently but all share one common goal: to convert outdoor visibility into measurable engagement.

• Automotive | Renault Triber

For the new Renault Triber facelift, bold creative met data-led planning through LOC8. By analyzing on-ground video data, LOC8 measured real audience attention across placements factoring in visibility zones, obstructions, traffic speed and perceptual size. This enabled Renault to identify corridors that delivered maximum reach, saliency and engagement, optimizing media efficiency and ROI.

• FMCG | Namaste India

In OOH, innovation is the hook and assets are the bait. But bait often hides the hook. With Loc8’s attention metrics, we ensured the bait wasn’t a hurdle, rather it became the perfect stage for innovation to deliver its full impact! The insight proved that creative novelty, when validated by attention data, drives deeper engagement and measurable brand lift.

• Real Estate

For luxury and real estate campaigns targeting HNI/UHNI audiences, attention patterns differ especially between front and rear passengers, who are often the core audience segment for premium sites. LOC8’s ability to distinguish rear vs. front visibility plays a critical role here. It helps identify sites that offer longer viewing windows and stronger perceptual dominance from the rear seat where decision-makers are most likely seated making it a key differentiator for premium and trust-led categories. Together, these insights prove that auto optimizes for impact, FMCG for recall, and real estate for trust visibility showing how attention metrics adapt to category goals while ensuring measurable outcomes.

On how attention analytics will shape the future of brand storytelling and media planning as OOH becomes more digitised and data-driven.

As outdoor digitizes, attention analytics will inform not just where to advertise but how stories are told in public spaces. This evolution transforms OOH from a static broadcast channel into a dynamic attention ecosystem, where creativity is optimized through evidence-based insight.

On how LOC8’s data-led framework helps marketers quantify OOH impact and make outdoor a more accountable, ROI-driven medium.

LOC8 bridges the gap between intuition and evidence. By quantifying metrics like visibility duration, attention opportunity index, and visual saliency rank, it allows brands to benchmark site performance and justify investment. This data-led approach brings transparency, comparability and ROI measurement to a medium historically driven by perception.

On how OSMO ensures AI and computer vision enhance creativity rather than reduce it to numbers.

OSMO believes that technology should enhance creativity, not overshadow it. LOC8’s attention models reveal what naturally draws the human eye helping creative teams refine design cues, contrast, and visual hierarchy for greater impact. By merging art and science, LOC8 empowers creativity with intelligence.

About the creative best practices and design cues LOC8 has uncovered regarding what truly captures consumer attention outdoors.

LOC8’s visual cognition analysis has surfaced clear patterns across campaigns:

• High contrast and minimal messaging outperform cluttered designs.

• Motion cues draw significantly longer dwell times.

• The first two seconds are critical, creatives must establish focus instantly.

• Contextual alignment between the creative and its environment increases attention by over 30%.

These learnings offer a scientific foundation for creative effectiveness helping brands design OOH that’s visually magnetic and emotionally memorable.

On how attention metrics will integrate into omnichannel planning where OOH, digital and social work together for unified brand impact.

Attention can become the unifying KPI across OOH, digital and social to creates seamless storytelling continuity, where outdoor triggers digital engagement. The future of omnichannel planning lies in attention-led integration ensuring that campaigns don’t just reach audiences everywhere but truly capture and hold their focus.