Fawad Khan became a rage because of Zindagi

How do you think the channel has fared in almost the five months it has been on air?

We have accomplished the objective that we had in mind before we launched the channel. Our vision was to get in differentiated content that appeals to the sensibilities of the audience with a progressive mindset, and we have done that. In fact, we have achieved more than that as the response has been really overwhelming. We are on-our-toes, striving to live up to the promises that we have made.

The channel is launching new shows every month. What is your strategy?

Our aim is to launch close to 45 new shows within the first year. We have been practically launching three shows every month to achieve that target.

Which all shows have done really well?

All the shows have had their fan following, but if we talk about one show in particular, Zindagi Gulzar Hai, has definitely done well.

And did it become so popular because of Fawad Khan, who has become a rage?

Fawad Khan became popular mainly because of the show, as Khoobsurat was not really in the reckoning at that time. And I think it gave him a good platform. Of course, he is a very talented actor and the kind of fantastic storylines that these serials have, one is bound to become fans of these actors. In the Indian diaspora, Fawad became Fawad because of Zaroon Junaid (his character in Zindagi Gulzar Hai).

Besides the shows from Pakistan, the channel planned to bring shows from Turkey and Latin America. What is the progress on that?

We are working on that too. Our promise is to get good content for the viewers, be it from whichever country. We got Pakistan first because of the language connect as you don't need to recreate these shows, there's no need for subtitles etc. The moment we enter Turkey or Egypt, the content would need more time before they are showcased. Whether we work on the subtitles or re-produce it.

But has the process begun? How are you going about it?

The process has already begun. We are finalising the stories. The shows that are to be produced will be shot everywhere including India. We will have actors from India as well, but we are looking at talent which is different. The basic green won't change. The sensibilities that we have captured in all these months won't change even when we produce the shows in India and bring Indian actors on-board.

All the shows launched till now are very feminine in nature. Is it going to continue in the same manner?

The core audience for television, fiction per se, is women. When the core audience is that, there is no point to shy away from the fact that it is for the women that we are producing shows. We are targeting females from SEC A & B. All our sensibilities and everything that we do is going to be in the same line.

What about the tele-film series that you were planning with six Indian and six film-makers from Pakistan?

That is underway and will happen. But whatever we are planning to produce won't go on air before we complete a year (in June 2015).

How has the response from the market, advertisers been so far? Has the cost of inventory gone up too?

The response has been very nice. As I said, our core target are the people with a progressive mindset and many audience are from the media fraternity too. There's immense amount of passion and trust for the content that is building up. Gradually, the advertisers are also looking up and the number of brands associating with us have also increased. As far as the cost of inventory is concerned, that too has exponentially risen.

Till now, the channel has just invested in buying content. Since it plans to get into production, the investment cost will increase " in all probability it will be more than what any channel invests as there will be expenditure in buying content and then producing it. When do you think you will break even?

All of these, whether showing content from another country or producing shows, were a part of the plan when the channel was initially launched. Yes, of course the investment is going to rise exponentially as till now it has just been the syndicated content. Since we are capturing a different sensibility, the shows will need to be shot also in different locations, making it a little expensive than what Indian shows usually are. But, all of these are a part of the larger plan and it isn't much of an issue.

PB
priyanka.bhadani@expressindia.com