News from Sunday Chronicle..March 9

Agree or disagree with her, like or dislike her family dramas but it's difficult to ignore Ekta Kapoor and her conviction about what gets eyeballs on television. in her opinion women make exciting stories and men don't. Hence her success formula is very simple — begin a show with a strong female protagonist, add characters as the story progresses, refresh the plotlines with new twists and turns but don't lose focus from the central character and the show will go on and on. Ekta has followed the formula for nearly eight years now and has delivered amazing results. Others also copied her formula and some achieved similar results.

But lately things have changed. The formula seems to be losing its appeal. The days of glory and crackling TRPs are a thing of the past. The super K shows are struggling for decent ratings. As a result Kasauti Zindagi Kay had to be pulled off air and Ekta has come up with another love story to replace the bold and amorous tale of Prerna's passion for men.

"The germ of love and emotions are same but the setting, presentation and characters of Kis Desh Mein Hai Mera Dil are different," says Ekta, adding, "Prerna was bubbly and outgoing but Additi of Kis Desh Mein is demure and protected. Kasauti was a bold and passionate love story but Kis Desh Mein is a younger story about an eternal and predestined love that transcends borders."

Ask Ekta why Kasauti had to be cut short, and she shoots back, "How many love stories have survived beyond two to three years? Kasauti lasted for seven years." Since she believes in not ending her shows till viewers don't say enough is enough, did she take a cue from Kasauti's sliding popularity? And were the low TRPs a result of the show's new generation not making a connect with viewers? "It's not that the generation leap didn't work. Things were fine with the new generation but the older characters (read Prerna, Anurag and Bajaj) were showing signs of fatigue after seven years. I don't think it was possible to continue it any further," she clarifies.

Talking about casting new faces in all her shows, Ekta says today daily soaps require actors to work for 30 days in a month. "Older actors can't go through the rigour of taking that kind of work load. Also, older faces that have done television for a couple of years come with the baggage of an image that can make it difficult for viewers to relate to their new roles. New faces work better because they bring freshness," she reasons.

Draw her attention to falling TRPs of most of her shows or try telling her that none of her shows launched in the past one year have done well and Ekta says she doesn't have the magic wand to deliver good ratings. "My shows have mopped up 15 and 18 TRPs in the past. But I can't repeat such performance again and again. The TRPs of serials depend on the channel's ratings too. If channels don't do well I can't deliver great numbers. Kasturi is not doing badly. Kuchh Is Tara is the number one show on Sony. Karam Apna Apna is the number one show on Star's afternoon band. Kasamh Se is getting decent numbers. My shows on 9X are also doing pretty well vis--vis the channel's viewership. If channels lose their share I can't be blamed for low TRPs," she justifies.

Ask her why the sudden cloud of secrecy and speculation about her mega production Mahabharat for 9X and Ekta evades the query saying, "I will not answer this question." However, she doesn't mind telling which one is her favourite serial. it's neither Kyunki nor Kahani. Not Kasauti either. Well, it's not a Balaji show at all. "My favourite serial is Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand," she says. Her favourite actors? "Ronit Roy and Hiten Tejwani," she replies. And who could be her favourite actresses? She takes a long pause before answering, "Smriti Irani and Prachi Desai."