Durgesh Nandini's countdown begins!

Sony's reality show Bigg Boss is slated for a wrap up by the end of the week. So, what's going to be replacing this much talked about show? Speculations are rife that Shobhana Desai's Durgesh Nandini is being considered for the 10 pm slot. The promos of the show are currently on air.

Durgesh Nandini is adapted from Bankimchandra Chattopadyay's first novel by the same name published in 1865 that has earlier been made into a Bengali and a Hindi film as well.

The show was in the news around two years ago, but somehow the project got shelved. In order to get the latest on the current developments, we spoke to Anupam Bhattacharya, who essays an important character on the show. He says, "We're currently shooting for the show and all I can say is that it is slated for release in the coming weeks. I cannot reveal much about it, though I am enjoying myself thoroughly."

The buzz goes that many actors were considered but then have been replaced. Adds Tasneem Sheikh, who was considered for the negative lead in the show, "I was approached by the production house to play the vamp. I even shot the pilot with them but was later informed that I have been replaced." Same has been the fate of Mihir Mishra who was also approached by the production house.

To get more on Durgesh Nandini… keep watching this space!

http://www.tellychakkar.com/y2k7/jan/22jan/news_durgesh.php

We promised you more on Durgesh Nandini yesterday. Taking the story forward from where we left, it's now confirmed that the show is slated to go air in the month of February.

Produced by Shobhana Desai, the daily soap promises to be different from the clichd themes being seen on the small screen these days. Written by Rekha Nigam, Durgesh is set in the modern times with oodles of youth appeal.

Elaborating on her new show Shobhana says, "I don't agree that we are re-making the literary piece of Bhankimchandra, though there might be shades of the story in the serial. We've been talking about this show for almost two years now. Currently, we're in the process of finalizing the male cast and working out other details."

So, what's Durgesh Nandini about? "It's a story of a village girl played by the newcomer Rinku Ghosh, who has to shift to an urban set up due to some circumstances. The plot unfolds as she's seen coming to terms with the cultural milieu of the new place. There's a sense of loss as well as an inquisitive desire that the girl has to experience. I always make it a point to have stories that are close to real life. I don't understand how some shows can show family members plotting against each other," says Shobhana whose path breaking serial Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka is still remembered by viewers.

As far as the casting goes, somehow the production house is finding it difficult to pin down on the male protagonist. The buzz goes that Amit Sadh is being considered for the same. Clarifies Shobhana, "Though, we've found the girl, but we have not been able to finalize the two male protagonists for the show. Amit is just out of Big Boss. But I guess, we may come up with a solution in a few days time."

So how does she plan to carry on with the show without the male leads in the story, to which she replies, "The story would revolve around the female protagonist for the initial episodes and we are in no hurry to get her married in the first episode itself. That gives us ample time to narrow down upon the male leads and start with their track in the narrative."

The big question now is: who'll be the male protagonist of the show? Like we said, keep watching this space for more on that.

http://www.tellychakkar.com/y2k7/jan/23jan/news_desai.php

Ekta Kapoor may not be losing her grip on TV as she is still considered to be the prime time queen with hit shows in her kitty, but she is losing her actors, their loyalty and some of her recent soaps have shut shop due to poor TRPs. Her protg Smriti Irani is making Viruddh for Sony under her own banner. In fact, Smriti is planning to launch as many as six shows this year on different channels. Sandiip Sikcand, another Ekta protg who quit Balaji to join Sony as senior creative head is said to be busy poaching Balaji actors with huge contracts to work exclusively for Sony. And actors like Iqbal Khan, Cezzane Khan and actor-producer Anuj Saxena too have left her production house. These frequent walkouts are making many industry watchers ask the question, 'Is Ekta losing her touch?'

Unlike her golden period between 2000 to 2005, where only her saas-bahu formula clicked, today competition is swiftly emerging and shows like Saat Phere have proved to be as successful as her own soaps. Shobna Desai who produces Thodi Khushi Thode Gham for Sony and is ready to launch her new show Durgesh Nandini on the same channel feels the saturation point has already set in. With saas-bahu K-soaps not mopping up the good old TRP numbers, the unreal and larger-than-life soaps are losing their appeal. "Change is definitely round the corner," she says.

Sanjay Upadhyay, ideation head of BAG Films and creative director of Kumkum too agrees that competition for Balaji has emerged but in his opinion the competitors are not making any distinctly different programmes from that of Balaji. "They have successfully copied Balaji's formula," he feels. Even though everyone is following Ekta's footsteps and doing nothing new, they are coming up with shows as good as hers. This is worrying because her serials Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka, Kaavyanjali and K Street Pali Hill shut shop and shows like Kahin to Hoga and Kasuati … are said to be losing their steam.

Another factor is that there is a lot of competition. "I think we have had the saas-bahu family dramas for bit too long and viewers are asking for a change. Family dramas will be the mainstay of prime time TV for some time but the format of story telling and characterisation will not be same. Different stories and ethos will replace the current regressive content and I can see the change coming with television going back to the good old days of 80s and 90s when stories and characters were more real," says producer Sunjoy Wadhwa (of Saath Phere, Betiyaan... and Saathi Re).

Anuj Saxena who's making Kulvaddhu for Sony says, "Competition is always healthy. It is good for everyone, be it makers, channels or viewers. But it's too early to say how new competition will stand up to Balaji's one-way march." Producer Kinnari Mehta of Sindoor Tere Naam Ka doesn't disagree with Upadhyay. "The elements of saas-bahu soaps are still there because change cannot happen overnight. But channels and producers have realised that change is the need of the hour and will happen gradually. My new show for Sony coming in March is a far more realistic drama than Sindoor," he says emphatically.

Wadhwa says competition helps break the monotony of routine entertainment fare that comes from one source. "When one person does lot of work all shows look similar. But when different players tell different stories they give variety and quality," he says adding, "However, Ekta is too strong to be threatened by newcomers. But you never know."

Although Upadhyay argues that given Ekta's success story it is too early to say whether someone can stand up to her, he does admit that if emerging competition results in better quality and variety there will be trouble for her. Several attempts to reach Ekta Kapoor proved futile. Sandiip Sikcand who is said to be building an alternative base to break Ekta's monopoly declined to comment.

http://www.deccan.com/TV%20Guide/TV%20GuideDescription.asp#W ake%20up%20call%20for%20Ekta

Indiantelevision.com Team

(30 January 2007 6:00 pm)

According to the recently released TAM data for the last six months (15 July '06 to 13 Jan '07) - Sony is facing a long, hard climb at number three with its relative channel share at 12 to 13 per cent compared to Star Plus now at 40 per cent relative share and Zee hovering around 23 (Hindi GEC / TG CS 4+/ HSM Market).

The two shows have been positioned to compete with Star's K-sagas, especially the predominant players Star's Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki and Kyunki Saas Bhi Bahu Thi that airs within the same time band.

Sony Entertainment Television chief creative director Sandiip Sikcand said, "It's clear that Indian audiences will watch shows that bring out their best emotions. So Durgesh Nandini has a subtle tone of humour while Jeete Hain Jiske Liye is more intense. But both are essentially stories of women with grit and determination."

While the channel claims that its immediate focus is to spruce up this band, it has also revealed that it is planning to beef up its 9 to 10 prime time slot with new programming. Without giving out details, the channel is all set to look at a sitcom and even a game show.

Sony Entertainment Television COO NP Singh says, "Around March-April 2006, we decided to take stock of our programming and come up with a healthy mix of fiction and non fiction programming. Reality series like Fear Factor, Jhalak Dikhla Jaa and Bigg Boss were results of that. While a third season of Indian Idols is already on the cards, we also wanted to get back to daily soaps."

While Durgesh Nandini is a comedy/drama loosely based on Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's novel, SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta revealed that Jeete Hai Jiske Liye has been adapted from an international telenovella. Both of them have women as their main protagonists. No surprises there. But Jeete Hain Jiske Liye star cast includes Renuka Shahane who will make a return to television after a five-year gap. Her popularity among television viewers should prove to be a huge factor in roping viewership for the show.

Talking about bringing back some of the old shows in an attempt to garner viewership Singh says, "We believe that old brands which we have invested in and have been successful should be revived and made best use of. We decided to go back to shows like Boogie Woogie, CID, Aahaat and now Karamchand."

Sony made cricket and entertainment synonymous and the network is all geared up for World Cup 2007. While Max, Sab and Pix will air matches and shows around it , the channel is determined to keep Set cricket free and provide more entertainment for those taking a break from the game.

http://us.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k7/jan/jan337.htm

Finally the long wait is over. Sony's prime time show, Durgesh Nandini (which replaces Bigg Boss) is all set to be aired on 5th February. Touted as an inspiration from Bhankimchandra's classic by the same name, Durgesh Nandini gives a great opportunity to new comer Rinku Ghosh (the protagonist) to make a noteworthy debut on television.

With the telecast of Durgesh Nandini a few days away, this model turned actor (she has done regional cinema and a few hindi films) spoke at length about her new show and the new medium, television.

Excerpts from a chat with Ruhail Amin.

Tell us about your character in and as Durgesh Nandini?

Durgesh Nandini is a girl who cherishes certain values in life like honesty, simplicity and kindness, but saying this she is also very contemporary in terms of her street smart attitude. She can be brutally aggressive and yet have a soft corner for somebody who needs her help. I play an out-and-out rustic girl, with a tomboyish twist to her. In fact she closely resembles my real persona. I would say I am playing myself in the show.

Does it sound alarming working for a show that has a rural backdrop?

Not at all. I accept that most of the TV shows these days have an urban appeal, but at the same time the fact is that most of our population still resides in villages. A show like Durgesh Nandini would cater to a larger population in that sense. I am confident that with the kind of theme this shows portrays it will definitely go well with the audiences.

After working in films, how's the television experience been so far?

I won't say that I am totally new to television. In the sense, I've done TV commercials for brands like Kelvinator, Rexona and Sweekar Oil. Though I agree that my forte has been films - regional cinema to be precise. I have done films like Iyyer IPS (Tamil), Dravina Chaliya (Telugu), Joi Maa Durga (Bengali), Suhaagni Banade Sajana Hamaar (Bhojpuri) and two Hindi films, Koi Hai and Wrong Number.

Durgesh Nandini has close shades to some characters that I have enacted in regional films. Moreover, both films and television have similar kind of demands from an actor. So, I would say that it has been a comfortable experience so far.

So, how excited are you about the show?
I am really thrilled about the shows release. I have a habit of taking up one thing at a time and concentrating on it fully. Right now my focus is Durgesh Nandini. I feel I have been lucky in getting this kind of a role which is not a very common sight on TV today.

What other projects are you busy with at the moment?
At the moment I am shooting for Durgesh Nandini in Mumbai. As I said earlier, I concentrate on one project at atime. Though a few of my Bhojpuri films are lined up for release this year.

http://us.tellychakkar.com/y2k7/jan/30jan/interview_rinku.ph p

Sony Entertainment Televison is tightening its belt in the 10 to 11 pm band. Going ahead with its strategy of providing the right mix of fiction and non-fiction, the channel is now ready with two new refreshing shows - Durgesh Nandini and Jeete Hain Jiske Liye.

Durgesh, produced by Shobhna Desai productions is a story of a tomboyish rural girl, who's a fine mix of traditional and contemporary values. Whereas, Jeete Hain is adapted from a Spanish telenovella. It's an emotional journey of an orphan girl who in her later years is framed for a murder and sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment

Elaborating on the thought behind the two shows, Sandeep Siikcand, Chief Creative Director Sony TV says, "Fiction is the regular dal chawal and non fiction reality programming is the sweet dish that one keeps serving to satiate viewers. Bigg Boss dealt with showcasing real time emotions of people. Now, in the same time slot these two shows will do the same; emotional stories of two extraordinary characters. Moreover, our attempt has been to come up with something different from the regular saas-bahu sagas."

Durgesh Nandini is a story of a bright young village girl who is orphaned at a very young age. The show has a new comer Rinku Ghosh in the lead. The show hopes to touch a chord with viewers by reminding them of simple values, emotions and compassion which is missing in the daily urban grind of our lives..

Jeete Hain, which is slotted at 10.30 pm, is a psychological thriller. It stars Renuka Shahane, Ayub Khan and Varsha Usgaonkar. When queried about the time slots alloted to these shows, SET India CEO, Kunal Dasgupta said, "There are more audiences in the 10 to 11 band as of now, so we might as well hit where the belly is the biggest."

So, is the channel also looking at targeting the 11 pm band? To which SET India COO, N P Singh said, "As for now, we're concentrating on the 8 to 11 pm band and we're not looking at the 11 pm band. Also, we'll soon be announcing a few more shows in the coming months."

Throwing more light on Jeete Hain, the producer of the show Tony Singh says, "Our effort has been to make shows which caters not just to the mainstream audiences but also for the niche or alternate viewers. After Jassi, we were supposed to do a show for Sony and now when the right concept is with us, we 're putting our best efforts to make it more interesting. Also, we've found the right protagonist in Renuka Shahane."

With this show Renuka Shahane makes a comeback after a five year hiatus. She chirps, " "For five long years, I was busy looking after my children and now Jeete gives me an opportunity to essay the emotional journey of a woman who loves her family."

http://us.tellychakkar.com/y2k7/jan/30jan/news_sony.php

wasn't me! Maaninee Misshra

www.mid-day.com