Close on the heels of their big-ticket reality show Zor Ka Jhatka Total Wipeout hosted by SRK Imagine TV is all set to launch a historical Chandragupta Maurya and an issue-based serial Pardes Mein Mila Koi Apna in the first quarter of 2011. The channel, which is banking heavily on SRK's show to turn their fortunes around will reshuffle the slots of its existing shows while introducing new shows.
While Zor Ka..., a one-hour show, will launch on February 1 and be aired from Monday to Friday at 9 pm, Gunahon Ka Devta, currently aired at 9 pm, will be rescheduled to 8.30 pm and Baba Aiso Var Dhundo will be shifted from 9.30 to 10 pm. The new serial Pardes will be slotted at 10.30 pm. Says Saurabh Tewari, Head of Programming, Fiction, Imagine TV, "We have huge expectations from Zor, which is shaping up well. We will be launching one new show Pardes with it and the other one Chandragupta.. will start airing from March."
As for their popular Swayamvar property, it will be happen only after the IPL, especially since Ratan Rajput, who is the bride-to-be, is busy with her serial Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Ki Jo. Talk is that Zee which was to wrap the show gave an extension when Ratan signed up for her swayamvar. Evading the reason, Tewari clarifies that the show was always meant to be aired post-IPL and entries are being called for now.
2010 saw Imagine coming up with some socially packaged shows like Armanon Ka Balidan Aarakshan based on the reservation system and Baba Aiso Var Dhundo that is depicting the trials of a real dwarf girl in getting a groom. Gunahon Ka Devta, etched on the lines of Robinhood, is one of the rare shows with a male protagonist. However, none of these shows have clicked in a big way. Tewari reasons that these shows, which launched around four months ago, had intense competition from some big celebrity-driven shows like KBC4, Bigg Boss 4 and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. "Non-fiction works overnight, fiction is going to take its own course of action. Gunahon.. has the toughest slot with big shows pitted against it at 9 pm. Huge monies were invested in rival show and its marketing, yet, Gunahon.. has managed to create a brand for itself," he maintains.
With an eye on the brand building exercise, Imagine is readying a historical show based on the life and times of emperor Chandragupta Maurya. This despite historicals not having a good run in recent times, save for a Jhansi Ki Rani. Even Imagine's serial on Meera did not work. But Tewari is unperturbed. "Today, every second show is about kitchen politics or social issues but not all of them work. I was looking at historical characters and liked the story of Chandragupta. We also toyed with the idea of making a serial on Kautilya or Chanakya who were closely connected with Chandragupta, but as we were developing it, we found that Chandragupta's story was more interesting as it was larger than life, had adventure and romance in it," he explains. The serial is being produced by Sagar Arts along with another producer. Sets have been erected in Sagar's studio in Gujarat where the shooting is on. Care is being taken to create authenticity but not much literature is available on the king who lived in 300 BC, so material is being sought from various sources. "Research has been the most difficult part of this serial," confesses Tewari, who will be adding an element of fiction to the historical that will star a host of newcomers.
As for Pardes..., the serial is basically a love story of Nirupama, a village girl from Eastern UP and the Maharastrian city-bred Chandu. However, through the story, the serial plans to tackle various issues like crime, corruption and inflation faced by Mumbaites, problems faced by immigrants in the city and scams taking place at lower levels of employment like security guards in the malls. "The serial will be a mix of various emotions," informs Tewari.
The shows seem to be promising but all eyes are on SRK to set the ball rolling.
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