Dear Ms. Ekta Kapoor:
Thank you for producing Kitani Mohabbat Hai ' a show my buddies and I adore and analyze everyday at Ria Ka Adda on India Forums. My buddies liked the SWOT (Strength Weakness Opportunities Threats) report I did from a fan's perspective in April 09 and have asked me to do an update. I know it is totally unsolicited advice, but I hope you consider it. We would love to see the show reach new heights not falter.
Summary:
Let's begin with the TRP numbers (included below). The numbers the past couple of weeks have been low. Why? The simple answer is that the KMH team has forgotten the USP (Unique Selling Point) of the show is Arjuhi and is now marketing a "one-sided" love cum murder mystery. So, the audience is fast losing all hope of an Arjun ' Arohi love reunion. The TRPs were at their zenith the week of EK Pal (May 18) - in anticipation of it and then subsequently while the audience was foolishly hoping for a quick Arjuhi reunion. Ratings went down when it did not happen.
Strengths:
The biggest strength of this show is obviously the Arjuhi chemistry. You have so far kept your promise not to have any real love triangles ' please continue to keep it that way. Nutty & K.S. (upto now) are red herring, so we can bear it. Karan Kundra and Kritika Kamra's portrayal of Arjun and Arohi is near flawless. In their minor imperfections lie their perfection. They excel in scenes with senior actors particularly Satyajit Sharma. The other two strengths of the show have got to be Satyajit Sharma and Hiten Tejwani. Also, thank you for bringing Rekha Modi back. She gave us some of KMH's most memorable dialogues. The overall story so far is excellent and with the exception of Savita Punj's character all the other major characters have managed to retain their essence. Last, but not least the friendships and parent-child relationships depicted on KMH are a major plus point. The scene between SS and KK on the bench on June 25th was SUPERB. That being said, the following relationships deserve some more attention: Salil-Arjun, Arohi-Purvi, Arohi-Badimaa, and Arjun-Maa. We also for the most part appreciate the twists and turns and pace of the story. The puzzle "Ek pal ke liye zindagi aur Ek Dil ke liye duniya", OM, and why Arjun is in jail continues to retain our curiosity.
Weaknesses:
There are, however, some major weaknesses that require attention to take the show to the next level.
1. Set/Location
We know it is a recession, but please invest in new sets AND locations. The same few buildings are being constantly recycled. For instance, its always the same office (PM Media headquarters =cafe = bar = mall =hospital = Karu's office) and garden with ek lootah park ka bench (Sukh Niwas garden =Arjun's school garden= Contest location garden = Mumbai famous MG garden).
That being said, we appreciate your efforts to Reuse (extras, lcd screens, senior actors from other BT shows, flowers, bathrooms, mirrors, chairs, sets, locations, dresses), Reduce (faster story lines, disappearance of HP, bhaiya-bhabhi, and Antara), and Recycle (plot lines ' from Taal, Veer Zaara, etc).
2. Editing/Direction:
Of late there has been some really bad editing and directing. Sound engineering has on occasions been comically bad. Let me give you just a few examples. On June 16 & 17, there was a flashforward to the present and AP was sentenced to Phaasi. Arjun is the narrator of this story, na? How could he continue narrating SP ka romance in the past while he is going from jail to court and being sentenced to death. Absurd. Then there was the scene where Arohi was speaking to Sea on May 29th ' a total disaster in terms of dialogue, Kritz's "acting", and Karan's non-dubbing. Arohi scaring away goons with a little scream on June 1st ' ludicrous. For bad sound engineering just look at the May 5th episode where APs talks to his dad and listen to the BM at 3:53 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHmEAdoMeig&feature=related). A sensitive scene ruined by comic music. One last example ' on June 22nd AP is crying one moment, not the next and then crying again in less than 15 seconds ' just watch from 2:11 to 2:26 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-VyL7QGlX0).
3. Promos:
The first one aired for this show is OUTSTANDING though it contains different actors. It is definitely prize worthy. The rest of the promos have been misleading to a large extent and that really irks the regular viewer. I appreciate they are meant to create drama, but does it do so when the regular viewer comes to conclude they are always deceptive? What do I mean ' well we were supposed to see Arjun proposing to Nuttasha ' that never happened. Likewise, we were supposed to think Arjun goes to jail for shooting K.S. and again it never happened. If the KMH team continually "cries wolf" we won't believe it when there is a real wolf. Try to see if it is possible to create buzz with the "real" deal without playing ruthlessly with us. Please respect our intelligence ' just a tad.
4. Musical Creative Heads:
What's with the musical creative heads? In six months you have had 5 changes and 4 different creative heads. End result - there is a lack of continuity and consistency. It lowers the quality of the show. A character with fantastic potential ' Savita Punj - became figurative roadkill (there is major discrepancy about why she left Arjun with DK just look at May 8th and May 14th). Plot lines are never cleared up ' like why did Arohi take 10 lakhs from Arjun on May 8th. Fantastic characters like Sardarji who gave us the name "Punji" disappeared down bunny holes. Arohi supposedly came to Mumbai to participate in a contest ' a contest that never happened - maybe because the creative heads changed? Badimaa has home in Mumbai, but the girls bhatkoing in the streets of Mumbai looking for a home? Now Bua, who was supposed to be in U.S. taking care of cancer ridden HP randomly back trying to marry of Arohi to K.S.?? These minor points add up and detract from the story when they simply need not.
Opportunities:
You are sitting on a goldmine here. Take full advantage of it.
1. Give us some more romantic magic between Arjuhi. They still work together, so there are some fantastic possibilities there. Get Arohi to doubt whether Arjun really hates her ' let her catch him doing sweet stuff for her and covering up. Like the moment she hurts leg on June 23rd and when he wrapped her with a shawl on June 24th. If nothing else ' how about some naya flashbacks of Arohi remembering good times with Arjun.
2. Move the whole Salil- Purvi Track to Mumbai. Let Salil simply woo back his wife like he did in the beginning. We love their simple romance ' not the childish third rate "Vandy" the vamp track. Not only will the move give us some romance, it will give us back the powerful friendship we lost between Salil & Arjun (maybe they can shack up together) and the sisterhood scenes between Arohi and Purvi. On this note, Pooja Gor has potential (she is definitely pretty), but requires polishing on the acting front. As for Shresthji ' we adore him, but his English accent hurts our tender ears ' diction classes pretty please.
3. The DK ' Savita Love track... please consider creating one. You have two fantastic actors here particularly Satyajit Sharma. We love the complexity of DK's character and we can feel the love that is there available for rekindling. I know the target audience for this show is young, but romance is romance. As my friend Ria so aptly put it ' "Who says love is lost when one grows old! it gets personified!" If you show it properly ' trust me we will watch it.
4. Moving forward, I don't know what you have in mind for the "Dil ke liye Duniya" part of the story, but one idea maybe "prison break". Arohi breaks Arjun out of prison before his phaasi and we see them on the run. Lots of scope for rekindled romance and they can try a zillion different outfits ' similar yet different from the final Sumeet-Kumkum track on Kumkum. If she runs away from her career & family then we definitely have her giving up her "duniya" for his "dil".
5. The Abhay ' Sur love track ' this one I am not sure about. But, it could give you a chance to leave K.S. alive. For instance, if Abhay hurts Sur and he is the one AP kills or appears to kill. While in actuality K.S. is maybe the real killer.
Threats:
There are plenty out there with a similar audience that KMH must compete with (YRKKH, Raja Ki Aayegi, DMG, BV, and MJHT). The way to counter those shows is to be innovative with all our resident love birds. Don't keep them apart. Show us it's possible to have tension without constant separation. Give us Hatke and Romance without continuity lapses or promo Jhatkes.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
AnjanaToronto (on behalf of the Ria ka Adda on India Forums)
P.S. How about a new song for Arohi's latest contest just so we know she has range? Don't get me wrong we still love the KMH song, but realism is priceless.
P.P.S. Ganga's lack of "intelligence" is a personal affront to me as a lawyer ' if you need advice ' I will give it to you '"muft mein"😳
Reference:
KMH TRP from TAM:
Week of 2009 NDTV TRP15/02/2009 to 21/02/2009 5 0.83
22/02/2009 to 28/02/2009 3 1
01/03/2009 to 07/03/2009 3 1
08/03/2009 to 14/03/2009 3 0.85
15/03/2009 to 21/03/2009 3 0.89
22/03/2009 to 28/03/2009 4 1
29/03/2009 to 04/04/2009 3 0.88
05/04/2009 to 11/04/2009 5 0.99
12/04/2009 to 18/04/2009 3 0.99
19/04/2009 to 25/04/2009 2 0.88
26/04/2009 to 02/05/2009 2 0.93
03/05/2009 to 09/05/2009 4 0.8
10/05/2009 to 16/05/2009 2 1
17/05/2009 to 23/05/2009 3 1.1
24/05/2009 to 30/05/2009 4 1.08
31/05/2009 to 06/06/2009 4 0.97
07/06/2009 to 13/06/2009 5 0.8
14/06/2009 to 20/06/2009 5 0.8
Seher Hone Ko Hai
Cricket
