| Interactivity is the key |
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| A fresh deluge of reality shows, live telecast of the World Cup Cricket, the return of SRK signify the high points of Indian television in 2007 |
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| SOMASHUKLA SINHA WALUNJKAR |
| Posted online: Sunday, January 07, 2007 at 0000 hours IST |
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| The year 2007 promises a veritable visual bonanza for inveterate channel surfers. If 2006 marked the rise of reality television and advent of talent shows in your boudoir, this year interactivity remains the key. And once again channels pull out all stops to buy global formats, shop for celebrity judges and air big budget family sagas – somethings never change year-on-year. If January begins with the big daddy of all game shows returning after a year with Shah Rukh Khan locking fates and giving out millions in KBC, the battle for eyeballs reaches new highs with both Star One and Zee airing Antakshari with similar formats, different faces. Sample this: after Antakshari veteran Gajendra Singh walked out of Zee, Annu Kapoor in tow, he stopped at Star One and got the show a prime time landing. Undaunted, Zee retains its trademark format and is airing Antakshari from January 5 with Zee Challenge 2005 winner Himani Kapoor and Laughter Challenge (Star One) winner Sunil Pal as anchors. Punit Goenka, business head, Zee TV says:"We look forward to providing our viewers a refreshingly new series of Titan Antakshri with some talented singing and loads of fun." Beginning February, Star One's Antakshari- The Great Challenge produced by Gajendrra Singh, in its brand-new refurbished get-up airs with Annu Kapoor. Sameer Nair, CEO, Star India, adds: "Antakshari-The Great Challenge will have an innovative and exciting format and is in sync with the channel's promise to deliver indigenous content for audiences." |
MTV's Semi Girebaal makes a third season splash with a sequel of Ghoom 2 ( a spoof on Dhoom:2). Ashish Patil, GM and VP (creative) sounds upbeat: "We have another sequel of our fully faltu film Ghoom, which will have DVD/VCD releases, Semi Girebaal show has its share of branding and new guests and we are growing 150% in a year which is fabulous." Channel V promises a never-before musical show, Big V concert in Mumbai, " a star-studded affair and the first time in India, something of this magnitude is being organised in India. We have a cool desktop calendar and we've shot promos around it. Get Gorgeous 4 gets going and we've got two new veejays –Tanvir Gill and Neil Bhoopalan," says Amar K Deb, head, Channel V. After Amitabh Bachchan and SRK, action hero Suniel Shetty makes his television debut in
The Biggest Loser, an adaptation of the popular American reality show. Shetty will anchor the show which deals with health, fitness and motivation.
Ekta Kapoor's K factory churns out yet another big show, Kis Rishtey Se based on a popular novel. Shabbir Ahluwalia, Karan Wahi and Ronit Roy lead the cast in this soap revolving around two stepsisters and the turmoil in their life. Renuka Shahane returns to the soapbox with Jeete Hain Jiske Liye adapted on the telenovella La Madratssa. Balaji Telefilms has been sent a legal notice for using the format in the Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki generation leap storyline.
On Star Plus, Karam Apna Apna gets a new protagonist in Yash Tonk, while Kahin To Hoga and Kasauti Zindagi Kay are slated for time leaps if all is well. While Smriti Irani continues to in her tear-jerking avatar as Tulsi in Kyunki… her next home production, Viruddh will go on air on Sony, scripted by Kamalesh Pandey. The cast is an amalgamation of the best talents from theatre, films and TV: Sushant Singh, Ashwini Kalsekar, Vikram Gokhale, Achint Kaur, Govind Namdev and Irani herself. Nach Baliye and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa are expected to come up with another season. "We will air, Durgesh Nandini, based on the Bankim Chandra Chatterjee novel and Extreme Makeover on Sony during prime time. Our focus will be to strengthen our afternoon band and early evening slot. This will be a year to consolidate our position as a general entertainment channel,"elaborates chief creative director, Sony, Sandiip Sikcand. After a winning spree in Jhalak Dikhla Ja in 2006, Mona Singh hangs up her dancing shoes and plays gamine hostess for
Extreme Makeover, a formatted show. "I am very proud to anchor a show like this which will target people who are not able to lead normal lives because of the defects. A panel of doctors, dentists and the crew would go to the houses of participants let audiences know the 'before and after' stories and effects," reveals Singh. Sneha Rajnani, business head, Set Max thinks "interactivity will be big. The market for satellite film will grow. I see movie channels adding numbers in the cable and satellite homes. TAM is adding newer cities to its Peoplemeter system this year. In 2005, we reached 28-20 million households, in 2006, we had 38 million households, making that number increase will be our goal. We have bought big films (Dhoom:2, Kabul Express) and Mandira Bedi continues Extraa Innings." The 'remaking old classics' bug seems to have bitten small screen makers too. Doordarshan and Famous Studios are paying a tribute to Mother India: by making it a soap: Dharamputra with Mrinal Kulkarni in the lead role. Says Vijay Parimoo, executive producer, "Our story is set in the city. It's our tribute to one of India's best films — that's why we want to make it with as much honesty as possible." Interestingly, another first for this DD show is that it is being touted as India's first serial to be shot on High Definition camera format. Pranoy Roy's NDTV ventures into 24x7 entertainment with a new channel and a partner – filmmaker Karan Johar. Roy says, "With this association with Dharma Productions, we will redefine the television entertainment industry and set new benchmarks." On the sporting front, ESPN-STAR Sports has bagged not just the broadcast rights for all ICC events from 2007 to 2015 but also has the UEFA league and French Open Grand Slam tournament rights for five years.
As the television universe expands, and CAS becomes a reality, more niche channels will take off, the remote will become the viewer's favourite accessory as usual.
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