Ekta's million dollar Q. - Page 2

KYM initially had a good plot and a strong cast. Unfortunately they lost their way inbetween and started dishing out trash without exploring the full potential of what they had started off. If they had branched out on a Neesha track once Michi were established it would have held the viewers' interest but alas they could not think beyond Michi separation and reunion and they eventually ran out of ideas and plots to do that.

Another point is no romantic comedy can run beyond 9-10 months if they do not develop the characters of the supporting cast. In fact it would not be a bad idea to follow the pattern of the U.S.T.V.shows which are run on the basis of seasons where the show goes on for 3-4 months in a year and is made to run for 9-10 years like 'Friends' and 'Mad about you' . Viewers will also not be fatigued to see the same run of the mill story day in and day out for years on end and creatives' creative juices can also be replenished every year.

The problem with Ekta's serial's lies in the fact that she overdoes herself in terms of quantity and hence completely ignore the qualitative aspect of a serial! She has about 20 soaps airing at the same time, but I can bet she doesn't even remember which of her actor comes in which of her soap.

The decline of Balaji Telefilms has been going for around the last 2 years or so. If we rack our brains, it would be difficult to come up with even one Balaji soap which matches the success of KSBKBT or KGGK or KTH or even Kutumb.

Ekta has refused to innovate or change, she not only over-exposes her actors but also uses similar scripts, scenes, dialouges and even costumes! Anyone who watches more than 3 of Balaji serials will know what I am saying...its so often that one dialouge or scene is repeated ad-verbatim in another one....all all airing at the same time, sometimes even in the same channel! The audience had to get bored with it sometime or the else!

Plus the success of soaps like Bidaai and Balika Vadhu set the tempo for other production houses to give something different to the viewer. Agreed that both Bidaai and Balika Vadhu are not pathbreaking or anything, but at least they are different in content, style and presentation from the innumerous serials churned out by Balaji!

Though I still think, when it comes to choosing the best talent in the industry, no one can match Ekta's keen eye! Some of television's best actors in the recent times have all been discoveries of Ekta Kapoor! Be it Ronit Roy, Smriti Irani, Saakshi Tanwar, Shweta Tiwari, Ram Kapoor, Prachi Desai, Rajeev Khandelwal, Aamna Sharif, Shabbir Ahulwalia, Panchi Bora, Harshad Chopra or Jai Bhanushali and so many countless stars....all of them have been discovered or rediscovered, thanks to Ekta!

I really wish she would use her power and position to make better serials...not necessarily realistic ones, but at least one that has some kind of sensibility and storyline to it! Kayamath was a great serial, even though it never found the kind of popularity it really deserved, it still had its niche audience and was much appreciated! Its really sad to see your favourite serials being butchered senselessly by the very people who made them!

Rather than being unnecessarily influenced by TRP's, Balaji Telefilms should try and give a more well-rounded product, where the entire attention is not just one one actor or one lead pair, but equal attention is given to every other department of the serial.

Firstly....ekta does have a knack for picking the right concepts for her stories and suitable actors to go with the characters which would hold the audiences attention. Most of her stories have a beginning for the first 6 months and an final ending.....the rest of the story in between may be on an ad hoc basis (being changed/adjusted in reaction to the audience trps).

The initial phases of the show are outlined in detail well in advance of production where all the scripts, sets, actors and story etc are planned and put in place....which I guess would take them through the first 6-8 months of filming. In most cases, ekta probably takes an active part in the planning, casting and first few months of the production. My guess is that she uses her best talent in BT during the first few months of the show.....then a few months after it is aired and established....she moves on to her next new show/project......and takes her best talented people with her to set up the new upcoming show....which is why we normally notice a drop in the quality of the show after a few months. Unfortunately....this is the reality of tv production in India. The very talented people are few and far between.....a lot aren't even required to have any training or qualifications for their craft ....quite a few in television production would be in training positions....having worked under a senior for a few months or so. Once they have gained the experience and recognition in television, the better ones opt out to work in bollywood where the working conditions and pay are a lot better. Other production companies in the industry are quite small compared to BT....with probably only one or two shows in production. Their costs would be realtively lower than BT's and would also be prepared to pay higher for the more talented people.......Also....BT being a huge company would need a huge amount of staff to work on the 7-8 shows she had going at one point and the choice of talented staff would be restricted due to budget constraints.

Her downfall came with Mahabharat.....where I feel she really over-extended herself....she must have pulled all her best talent to work on this one show.....which was very evident with the drop in quality of ALL the other shows. She also didn't do her homework on identifying the psyche of the audience she was aiming Mahabharat for. She went over the top with the contemporary look of the show....and audiences were not prepared for this bold depiction of a legendary epic. Viewes are used to the old ways of showing our historical stories....and any deviation is still not acceptable to the viewing public. By all accounts.....this was a very costly mistake for BT both on budget side and on their reputation.

Also....audiences expectations have also changed.......viewers are getting much more choosy about what they are prepared to watch.....and with more competition...they have more choice. TRP measurement is also distorted and doesn't show a true picture on the popularity of a show. I have also read that the channels are now taking an active interest in the shows.....so much so....that scenes and storylines have been changed at the last minute resulting in lower quality output due to these last minute changes. It is now quite normal to have the script writers writing the next scene on the sets while the current one is being filmed. No wonder then...that they are of a lower quality and full of inconsistent dialogues.