•·.·´¯`·.·• Twinkle Bajpai •·.·´¯`·.·• - Page 5

Television stars are going beyond your drawing rooms wanting to to establish contact with their viewers. But does this strategy really help? BT explores...

Small screen's twinkling stars seem to be going the Bollywood way. Much like their big screen counterparts, television stars have taken to promoting their shows by travelling nationwide. So is publicity really vital to grab more eyeballs ? Does it really make a difference to telly-buffs to catch their favourite soap stars at a mall or a hotel, waxing eloquent about their new offering? Ketaki Dave, who has been juggling both films and television, says, "While films are promoted on a larger scale, television gets less footage. Publicity is very important to make a TV show popular as there are so many programmes to choose from. We need to give the audience a good reason to watch the serials. By travelling across cities we can reach out to more people."

Those working behind-thescenes couldn't agree more. TV actor and producer JD Majethia feels that when television stars travel for their shows, they create a personal touch. "Travelling for promotions works as a reminder in today's world of 'loyal' viewers. And when a star goes personally to promote the show, it creates a better publicity for the programme than a producer or creative director could have managed . Just as a model adds to the face-value of a brand that has been created by different people, a TV star becomes the face of a show. Any popular star is more written and talked about when he/she travels to places where people are star-struck ."

While the travelling-to-promote strategy may help producers , actors also have their share of benefits as their popularity index soars. Twinkle Bajpai, who plays the lead in Ghar Ki Laxmi Betiyaan, loves to travel for promos. "It's an enjoyable experience. Actors become more visible and connect better with the audience."

And there are others who simply take it as a strategy to lure the audience . Television star Smriti Iraani, who recently travelled across the country to promote her soap Viruddh, brushes it off saying, "It is a part of the strategy decided by every channel where the idea is to reach out to the audience. Such exercises are carried out depending on the target audience and the viewership of the particular channel. As an actor, my job is to follow the plan."

There is another interesting part of the strategy, which involves sending people to the desired target audience . For instance, a show based on Gujarati culture may have Gujarati stars flocking to many cities of Gujarat to promote their serial while north Indian actors are sent to Haryana and Punjab to promote their shows. Ketaki says, "It is a planned step to help people identify with the stars. I am a Gujarati and have done many plays in Gujarati, so people in Gujarat would recognise me better. Having said that, it may not deter me from going to Delhi or Lucknow."

At a time when TV shows have invaded our homes, enabling people to conveniently watch them at the click of a button , is travelling for promotion necessary? Twinkle elaborates, "TV shows last for at least two years. That's why it's important to sustain audience interest."

Apurba Sen, director of a media tracking services, says, "Earlier television as a medium was not given as much importance as it is today. But now, stars influence the minds of the people. So stars are travelling big time to create visibility for the show, especially as saasbahu sagas seem to be facing tough competition from reality shows." Manjuu Iyyer, director of a Mumbai-based PR agency, attributes the trend to the cropping up of new television channels . "It's not only the boom of reality shows, but also the invasion of new channels."