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The 1990s marked a significant year in the Indian TV space when mythological shows like 'Ramayan' and 'Mahabharat' were a rage. That era has once again been brought to life on the small screen with new shows based on legends - but with a makeover in terms of presentation and treatment. The makers say this has paid rich dividends.
Some of the significant shows are Life OK's 'Devon Ke Dev. Mahadev', which has been capturing eyeballs for over a year. The channel recently launched another one - "Katha Mahadev Putra Bal Ganesh Ki" - to add variety.
Now, Siddharth Kumar Tewary's 'Mahabharat' is being beamed on Star Plus. If that's not enough, B.K. Modi's "Buddha - The King of Kings", a show based on the life and teachings of Gautam Buddha, has also sprung up on Zee TV.
What is really impressive is that amidst the popularity of 'saas-bahu sagas' and crime stories, mythological shows have succeeded on the small screen and are appealing to youth.
Sahara One's 'Jai Jai Jai Bajrangbali' has already completed two years and still continues to attract viewers.
"These shows are a huge attraction amongst youngsters and even children. It is very pleasing. They are certainly not meant only for elderly people," said Pratik Seal, Marketing head, Life OK.
With the changing tastes of the viewers, the makers are avoiding long treatments and dragging plots. Keeping the narrative crisp is the success mantra.
The makers of "Mahabharat", which premiered from September 16, are trying to keep audience hooked on by ensuring it does not drag.
"We want to keep the quality of 'Mahabharat' consistent throughout the series, and keep the content extremely gripping, which is why the series will be a finite one of six to seven months," said Nikhil Madhok, senior vice president (Marketing) at Star Plus.
"We want youth to see the relevance of the epic in today's times as well, which is why even our communication has a sharp focus on some of these fascinating characters.
"For example, what happened with Draupadi back then has its relevance to what's happening to women in our country now," he added.
Getting high TRPs is not easy as these shows not only compete with one another but have to be at par with western series in terms of quality.
"The medium has become competitive. You have people viewing Hollywood films and western television shows; so expectation levels rise. The bar, to be able to appeal to youth, is high," said Nidhi Yasha, the costume designer for 'Buddha' and 'Mahabharat'.
These shows come at a price.
"These shows often have a higher budget than a normal show. It is 25-30 percent more than the cost of an average show. This is fine as the show brings the whole family together. The 'maha' episodes are one-hour long and require a higher decibel marketing initiative. But it does give you a dividend accordingly," Seal said.
These shows not only attract eyeballs but advertisements also.
"We are overbooked in terms of ads. There has never been an issue in this regard. 'Mahadev' opened well and pretty much caught everyone's fancy within the second month of being on air," Seal added.
There is a constant endeavor to come up with better ideas to present such shows. Shooting the episodes like short films could be one way to increase the spectacle.
The quality of "Buddha" is like that of a film, Modi said.
"Now with the TV industry moving to a higher level where we have digital quality, you can show a cinema quality story on TV. With 'Buddha', we are looking at the 52 episodes like 52 short films," B.K. Modi said.
It is imporant that the presentation should be such that these shows are welcomed.
As some of them thrive in terms of TRP ratings, others go unnoticed like 'Savitri', which will end soon, Ekta Kapoor's 'Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki' and Moti Sagar's "Sabke Jeevan Ka Aadhar - Ramayan".
One of India's biggest epics, Mahabharat', is back on television in a new avatar and with a fresh set of actors, promising a memorable experience, writes Srabanti Chakrabarti .
In Indian television, mythology is a formula that rarely fails. Be it the several remakes of Ramayana or the relatively new Devon Ka Dev Mahadev, the audience keeps boosting TRPs of these shows week after week. So, what can stop successful producer Siddharth Kumar Tewary from bringing his version of Mahabharat to the small screen?
Great expectations
The producer, after all, has a list of successful shows in his bag " Agle Janam Mujhe Betiya Hi Ki Jo, Navya, Phulwa and Amita Ka Amit " and can afford to dream big.
"Every story has a different shade. The beauty of storytelling is in justifying a character and its action without portraying him in black or white, or a situation as right or wrong. This is applicable to Mahabharat as well. Every aspect of the epic is relevant in today's times. It is an attempt to show the human side of every single character in the series, and re-interpret the old text without tampering with the sensibilities of the story," he explains.
Is it because of the success of mythological serials in the recent past? Tewary denies vehemently, "It took us four years of research and brainstorming sessions to conceive and execute the show. But, even today I feel we needed a bit more time." While on the topic, he goes on to explain his thoughts on the success ratio of mythological shows, "When we create a fiction soap opera, we work hard to make audiences relate to the characters. The show works only when the audience connects with the story and the characters. In the case of mythological or historical shows, the characters are already ingrained in our minds.
All of us have either read or heard about them. Hence, the audience connects with them faster. For example, I don't need to explain to the viewers who Krishna is. They want to see how we depict Krishna. One needs to cater to public perceptions and exceed expectations."
And, that is where the risk element involved in a show like Mahabharat also comes in. "Mahabharat is a magnum opus. It has everything that one could wish to create. We need to recreate a world that existed centuries ago. How did the world look, what they wore, how they spoke, how they lived and so on. Every aspect of this is extremely challenging. We have gone all out and given it our best shot."
Tewary has planned a fresh and new look of Mahabharat with what he feels is an optimal mix of old and new actors. Few actors like Rohit Bharadwaj and Shaheer Sheikh are from his earlier show Navya, while most others are new. Incidentally, Shaheer and Rohit played on-screen brothers in Navya, and in Mahabharat they are again playing brothers " Arjun and Yudhisthir.
Talking about his character, Shaheer says, "I am practically living with Arjun for the last one year. There have been times when I woke up in the middle of the night and tried to analyse Arjun. For me, knowing Arjun fully was my first homework and then came the physical aspect of gaining weight and training in sword fights."
In character
On the other hand, for actor Saurabh Raaj Jain, who is playing the most lovable god of Indian mythology, Lord Krishna, it is somewhat an extension of his last role. He is playing the character of Vishnu in the show Mahadev. He says, "In 2010, I was signed up for Krishna in Mahabharat and after that I was offered the role of Vishnu in Devon Ka Dev Mahadev. My body language and smile play a big role in my portrayal. I am trying my best to keep Krishna as godly natural'." Saurabh is also a big fan of Nitish Bharadwaj who played Krishna in B R Chopra's Mahabharat.
Another character that was immensely popular in the earlier Mahabharat was Shakuni, played by Gufi Paintal. In the new Mahabharat, the role is being essayed by a young actor, Praneet Bhatt. He has earlier done shows like Kittu Sab Janti Hai, Arselan and Geet. "I'm really fortunate to play Shakuni. He is one character other than Krishna and Bhishma who fought for others' cause. He is a true hero who had an unconditional love for his sister (Gandhari), which led to the story of Mahabharat. In my view, you cannot judge him as a negative or positive character," he adds. Praneet has been preparing for his role for the last one year and participated in a proper workshop with actor Rajat Kapoor.
It is believed that the show has a budget of 100 crore and is being backed by eminent personalities like talented actor and theatre director Rajat Kapoor, famous story and screenplay writer Salim Khan, and eminent writer Devdutt Patnaik. The costumes and looks have been designed by veteran stylist Bhanu Athaiya. The show has been shot in places like Jaipur and Kashmir and has made a permanent set in Umargaon, Gujrat. Veteran actor Puneet Issar, Sudesh Berry and Ratan Rajput are also playing pivotal roles in the epic. Catch this epic drama on weekdays at 8.30 pm, on Star Plus.
Star Plus' "Mahabharat," the millennium version of the Hindu epic, got off to an epic start as well, opening with the highest ratings for any weekday fiction show in the last three years on Indian television. It has also successfully found a place among the top shows within the first week on air itself.
Star Plus increased its margin over the next highest ranker in GECs with this show, termed (alongside "Ramayan") as "the mother of all stories" by eminent writers including Salim Khan.
Produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary's Swastik Productions and aided by modern VFX, the saga aims to educate and entertain just as its preceding versions in films and on television.
Nikhil Madhok of Star Plus said that the channel wanted to introduce "Mahabharat" and its iconic characters identifiably to the new generation.
The magnum opus stars Puneet Issar, who played Duryodhan in the record-breaking B.R. Chopra 80s version, as Parshuram; Sayantani Ghosh; Aarav Chaudhary as Bheeshma; Ratan Rajput; Shaheer Shaikh as Arjun, a role earlier played by Feroz; Saurabh Jain as Krishna, Pooja Sharma as Draupadi and Praneet Bhatt as Shakuni among others.
With creative associations ranging from writer Khan, noted author Devdutt Pattanaik, Oscar-winning designer Bhanu Athaiya, music directors Ajay-Atul and Ismail Darbar, action director Ram Shetty and Omang Kumar as set designer on board, "Mahabharat" raises the aesthetic bar. The serial airs five days a week.
He says, "It's rare to get an opportunity to work so much on the physicality for a character. While Veebha Anand had to lose 10 kilos. She says, "I am in the entertainment industry. I need to look good on-screen so it's worth the effort."
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