NB article

The desi works
Going regional is yet another option. Star's already ventured there, taking mug and Koffee with a K to a show hosted by Suchi on Vijay TV. Before you can say 'So much for the uniqueness of Indian Television!' here's the good news. Zee has stuck to desi formats, and rather successfully. Antakshari ran more than 600 episodes and into 12 years. Saregama and pa, is still going strong. Though Cinestar Ki Khoj, and now Business Baazigar are a little more format-ish, they're home grown. And there's Star One's Great Indian Laughter Challenge and Nach Baliye. The latter seems to have set the new trend of marrying celebrity with reality TV like in Synergy Communication's game show Heartbeat. According to Alva, going regional is yet another option. He cites the outcome of Indian Idol 2, where a populist vote worked in north Indian Sandeep Acharya's favour. "Karunya (the runner-up) was a very talented singer, and many would say a better singer. If there was more connectivity with southern audiences, it might have guaranteed him more votes." (Trivia: Karunya is currently recording for a Vidhu Vinod Chopra film). Star's already ventured there, taking mug and Koffee with a K to a show hosted by Suchi on Vijay TV. Those in the business believe it's only a matter of time before they make their own blue books and syndicate the shows, and Indian formats are ready for export. Endemol is in discussion with broadcasters and will in a month begin airing shows designed in India and for an Indian market. According to Kamat, it is simple arithmetic. "Our philosophy is quite clear, we have more than 900 format shows, and we add a hundred to that every year. So every country produces about two to three new formats." Till then you'll just have to make do with Endemol's biggest format show, Big Brother, which accounts for 30 per cent of their global turnover, or will it be Bade Bhai?