As small screen's favourite bahu gets on with her plans in production, Sarah Salvadore finds out if this move will give a new direction to Indian television.
We've heard of this one before too. Telly actors shifting loyalties to move to other production houses or setting up one of their own. You name them and they have done it. But in the end it's always Ekta Kapoor who has the last laugh.
The actors would either come back to Balaji or lead a nonexistent professional life. But this time around it's television's favourite bahu who has decided to take on Ekta.
After being the face of Kyunki... for years, Smriti Irani, came off her own when her first show Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasman, as producer, came on air a few months back.
Earlier, one of Ekta's closest associates, creative producer Sandiip Sickand, left Balaji to join a channel. Now Smriti and Sickand have joined hands. Smriti's production company will be producing shows for the channel Sickand works for currently.
The television fraternity is abuzz with this news. Sickand says, "Though it's too early, I'm happy with this tie-up." The one question that lurks in everyone's mind is whether the the Smriti-Sickand collaboration would be lethal enough to shake Ekta's empire?
Actor Hiten Tejwani feels that nothing of this sort could hurt the TRPs of the Balaji soaps. "Smriti is the face of Kyunki... no doubt, but I don't think anything could hurt the popularity of the show. We've got a faithful audience who would not switch loyalties," says Tejwani.
Actor Anuj Saxena who earlier worked with Balaji is also known for his fallout with Ekta. He later went on to start his own production company. We quizzed him on this issue and he said, "As producers, we work towards putting up good shows, irrespective of competition.
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'Tulsi' dares Ekta, to make her own soaps
If Ekta Kapoor has any reasons to be superstitious about her stars, it is perhaps not entirely unfounded. The soap queen who recently lost her creative producer Sandiip Sikcand to a channel, is now facing the biggest challenge in her career and it comes from none other than the woman she helped make a star: Smriti Irani.
Smriti, whose Tulsi Virani in Kyonki..., powered the Balaji juggernaut, has set up her own production house and has tied up with Kumarmangalam Birla's Applause Entertainment, which had earlier produced Black, to make "family-oriented social sagas" for television channels.
But, as with any good story, there's a further twist. On Tuesday, Smriti and Applause sealed a deal for their first soap with Sony Television, the creative director of which is Sandiip Sikcand.
Not long back, he was one of Ekta's closest associates and the number two man at Balaji.
Industry buzz has it that Ekta did not take too kindly to his departure and made a resolve that Balaji, the largest producer of soaps in the country, will not supply any programming to Sony.
For any entertainment channel, that could have been the death knell, such is Ekta's clout. But Sikcand got lucky.
"I have known Smriti for a long time and she just picked the phone and called me wishing me on my new position and came over and narrated this concept note. I immediately locked it then and there itself," he says, adding: "I can only say that it is great to have her on board."
Industry watchers say Smriti's long-stint at Balaji, where she closely watched Ekta in operation, and Applause's deep pockets, will make for a formidable combination and one that has the potential to challenge Balaji.
"To start with, our first show will be on Sony but we are also in talks with various channels both Indian and international," says Smriti.
"We are also looking at non-fiction programming as well. Basically, all I can say right now is that sky is the limit. Our emphasis will remain on giving a good and quality product to every channel that has taken us on board," she adds.
Terming this tie-up with Applause as one of her "biggest professional achievements," Smriti says that Applause approached her because they liked her script-first approach, the one thing that she shares with Ekta.
As to whether there will be any further twists in this saga, watch this space.
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