Fame Gurukul News/Updates/Articles

These days when you walk into the offices of Sony Entertainment Television in the television suburb of Andheri (W) in Mumbai, you can feel the charged excitement in the air. The network's headquarters is a hubbub of activity. The salt and pepper bearded CEO Kunal Dasgupta has a perk in his step.

His network is in fine fettle, revenues are up. SET has just delivered the highest rated show in Indian Idol and is gradually gnawing away at market leader Star Plus' almost monopolistic viewership shares. And finally, he has just finished a well priced acquisition of a niche channel Sab TV and has added a leading sports television channel in Ten Sports to his cable TV bouquet. No wonder Dasgupta is gung-ho and cheery as a whistle. Indiantelevision.com caught up with him over two meetings to get the lowdown on Sony.

Excerpts:

What is the programming focus at Sony?
The programming is based on variety entertainment. It is innovative, youthful, vibrant and colourful. It is targeted at women in the 15-35 age group, but includes the rest of the viewing universe too. Sony encompasses the emergence of the new youth of the new India of a new millennium. Our stories have no kitchen politics, they are aspirational, high gloss, real stories, not focusing on an overwhelming single element of life. We balance all elements to give a perfect blend. We are however not losing sight of traditions. We believe in the values of marriage, family, respect for elders, education. But we do not believe in old dogmas, rituals. No insensible things of the past.

In terms of dress, language, dialogue, we are shaping India's culture. Consider Jassi. She is the icon of almost every north Indian woman. In the case of Indian Idol, tune into FM radio, you hear a lot about our participants. A station had a quiz asking listeners to name the Indian Idol finalists and callers could name all of them. It was a rare instance. We are not western. We have become a part of Indian life.

How do you tread the fine line of not going the way of the other channels?
The key thing is we try to avoid overdoing melodrama in our shows. It is useful upto a certain extent. Overdoing it is not helpful. When it becomes unreal like it is on the kitchen politics channel, people will realize what quality entertainment is… Melodrama there targets at the lowest strata of society. We used drama in Indian Idol to generate ratings of melodrama. People could identify with the reality of the show, hence they switched off the melodrama channel and tuned in to us.

In my opinion, Sony was the only channel that really grew in the GEC category. The overall market has grown around 7-10 per cent. We have grown 30 per cent upwards in ad revenues. Star's growth actually slowed down drastically. Our figures show that Star had a 15 per cent drop (in growth). They created Star One to try and topple Sony. And you know it went nowhere, while we went places.

What contributed to the growth at Sony?
Primarily advertising growth. We got better rates on the back of ratings growth. I set new benchmarks for the ad sales team and they more than delivered on them. Rates were up 20 per cent this year and additionally, while we were running empty earlier, we filled up a lot more inventory this year. Advertisers have realised that Sony is an even more effective medium to reach out to audiences than the others. There is a buzz.

Why the reliance on international and reality formats for Sony's shows?
We have gone for only four formats. Jassi, Batliwala, Indian Idol, and Fame Academy. (This interview was done before indiantelevision.com broke the news that Sony has acquired the telenovela Juana's Miracle) We have 30 other programmes which are all original. We will buy and produce whatever works for the Indian market and we will buy for the world. We will not buy a Big Brother which will not at all work in India. Ready formats help leapfrog production cycles, give us access to a storyline that has worked. What is needed is adaptation, keeping our culture in mind.

Why launch another musical show in 'Fame Gurukul' so close to 'Indian Idol'?
We believe it is a natural extension of Indian Idol. We have a fabulous academic staff in Fame Gurukul -- Ila Arun, Shankar Mahadevan. They will put those selected through the paces of improving their voice, pitch, diction, attire, and give them a chance at fame, fortune and a successful future. Fame Gurukul will close and Indian Idol will open again. Helping us stay in touch with our audience, interact with them on the ground and on air throughout the year. We created singer millionaires of talented individuals who probably would have found it difficult to get into the music companies' offices. And we will do the same with Gurukul too.

Don't you think that viewers will feel they have had too much of music reality shows?
No. You can only wait and watch. People have faith in us. Mothers aspire to have their kids on Indian Idol. We are closing advertising and sponsorship deals for Fame Gurukul. We already have three sponsors on board and others are coming on.

But their ratings are not skyrocketing?
They are consistent performers. And Jassi as I told you earlier has got iconic status. Which other TV brand or star has had the brand extensions that a Jassi has had right from clothes to stamps to slimming courses to jewelry?

Will you continue with older shows such as 'Kkusum', 'CID'?
Of course. New shows will only come when viewers get tired of old shows. And that is not happening according to our research. We have hiked the production values of CID, we are innovating. Newer sets, better camera angles. Viewers are loving it.

Hasn't the competition reacted to your moves?
Star is actually trying to copy us. They are constantly eyeing us. My prediction is that Star will fall further, we will inch up closer. And it will happen sooner than anyone expects it to.

What will you do now with Sab TV?
It will become the Indian male's viewing destination. All things that males want to watch. Comedy, games, business, gadgets, sexy women, sport, cars - but it will also be youthful. We will also offer high quality male oriented fictional product. It is already doing far better than Star One.

Are you planning to go south?
No. We have dropped the idea of going south for the moment. We have done a distribution deal with SCV for the south. Which we think is all we work on for now.

Why did you hire Tarun Katial in programming?
Tarun is aggressive. He is hungry. He fights for getting the best stars, the best shows, the best. He takes risks. He has passion and belief in what he chooses to do. He brought that to the table at Sony.

Why have you not got into distribution like Star and Zee?
We will never get into ground distribution. We do not want to deal with anyone on the ground on an adversarial basis. It is a serious conflict of interest. It will not benefit us. We will support a platform and not discriminate against anyone. To deny carriage is discrimination. It prevents allocation for your channel on networks.

Your views on the news channel rush?
How can a multinational control news in India? I have always voiced that getting into news is not the done thing. Today, there are more than 15 news channels in India. Cost of entry is low, rates are crashing. Be it satellite transponders or ad rates. There is going to be a major shakeout because of the glut. I prefer to focus on the high cost space covering sports, movies and general entertainment. There is more opportunity here.

One Alliance. How is the bouquet faring?
It is the most varied bouquet. It has GEC, kids, Hindi movies, infotainment, action, Hindi movies, and lots of cricket. In fact it is the most powerful bouquet. It is doing well. We had a healthy growth this year.

The Ten Sports deal. Will it not eat into your revenues?
No. It is a fantastic marriage. The two will give us cricket all year around. With both we will have cricket tournament every six months. Ensuring carriage for our bouquet all year around. We have a three year agreement.

Will you buy it out at some point?
We have a distribution agreement now. (Smiles). But we would like to set up an English movie channel to complete our bouquet. We have just acquired the MGM library totally. We will do it sometime this year.

What are your predictions for the World Cup? Has the cricket acquisition made money?
I cannot give out any figures. Suffice it to say we are on track. But 2007 is going to be a big, big, big year for us.

Before that 2005 is going to be also a big year for us. We have Fame Gurukul, Idols 2. We are going to maintain growth at the pace of the industry. We are pouring in investments. Setting up new channels, the results of which will be reflected not immediately but in the not too distant future.

Internationally, how is the Sony network faring?
Sony is almost everywhere. International accounts for less than 10 per cent of our revenues. SET is global, now we are taking Max global. Revenues are healthy. We also have to deal with piracy in Pakistan where we believe that around a million homes are watching Sony. We want to make those illegal connections legal.

Sony appoints Miditech for Fame Gurukul's entire production

MUMBAI: Post the exit of Optimystix Entertainment as one of the two producers handling the production for Sony's next reality based soap opera Fame Gurukul, the channel has given full responsibility to Miditech for the production of the entire series - on ground as well as in-studio.

Earlier, Miditech was to handle on-ground activities, while in-studio work was to be handled by Optimystix, as was the case with Indian Idol.

This has been confirmed to Indiantelevision.com through reliable industry sources. However, both channel officials and the production house when questioned refused comment.

The 125 shortlisted candidates from across four cities are scheduled to come into Mumbai on 1 June, where further screenings are scheduled to take place between the 1- 4 June bring the list down to 25.

n After all the pre-show action, it's finally time for the real thing as Sony Entertainment Television's latest reality drama Fame Gurukul is unleashed on Monday at 8.30 pm. Billed to be "the ultimate quest", the show will feature the gruelling journey of 14 talented hopefuls, of whom only two will be crowned the Fame Jodi.

Spiced up with entertaining musical performances, gripping drama and high emotions, Fame Gurukul also has a big prize at stake with the winners singing away with a Sony-BMG recording deal and a Rs 1 crore-contract with Sony. To be telecast every Monday to Thursday at 8.30 pm and Fridays at 8 pm, the academy will have Ila Arun as the headmistress with the jury comprising music stalwarts Javed Akhtar, Shankar Mahadevan and K.K.

The 14 finalists have already been picked after auditions at four Indian cities. The show, to be hosted by

actress-presenter Mandira Bedi and small-screen actor Manav Gohil, will also feature the best of musical trainers including singer Padma Wadkar, vocal coach Prasant Samadhar, counsellor Anjali Chhabria, choreographer duo Bosco-Caeser and spiritual guru Mickey Mehta.

n Join the big debate on Animal Planet on what is more effective in predicting natural disasters — animal instincts or technology. Did the animals know that the tsunami was coming? How do animals react when a natural disaster strikes? For answers to these questions and more, tune in to the premiere programme Tsunami: Animal Instincts, which features an Animal Planet team investigating animal behaviour before, during and after the tsunami disaster.

Featuring compelling videos and engrossing stories, interviews with scientists and conservationists, eyewitness accounts, original footage from the tsunami-struck countries and archival footage from the channel, Tsunami: Animal Instincts tells the story of how different species sounded the alarm much before the killer waves struck. The programme features astonishing survival stories, like the divers in Thailand who were guided to safety by dolphins.

As Raja Balasubramanian, brand director of Discovery Networks India, puts it: "It turns out that technology may not be a match for animal instincts. They proved to be far more effective than any man-made warning system."

So, catch the action on Animal Planet on Monday at 11 pm.

n After the B & B rap, it's time for the Big B to singalong again. He's no longer narrating the antics of Bunty and Babli, just asking people to aspire… for Rs 2 crore. Yes, that's the new set of Kaun Banega Crorepati promos which feature Amitabh Bachchan rapping with three characters — cricketer Vijay Nazare, musician Bijoy Lahiri and actor Vijay Kumar — and announcing the return of the most watched game show on Indian telly on August 5.

The spoof on the big names in the new commercial is an attempt to make the common man identify with the show and content, feels Ajay Vidyasagar, senior vice-president, marketing and communications, STAR Plus. A sequel to the Umeed promos which are all over the STAR airwaves, this Umeed Se Dugna campaign will premiere on STAR Plus at 8 pm on Sunday, during the screening of the IIFA awards.

The red carpet arrivals at the Amsterdam Arena will be shown on Saturday and the awards night on Sunday. Catch Shah Rukh Khan compere the spectacular ceremony, with Karan Johar and Fardeen Khan. Don't miss the dazzling performances by Aishwarya Rai, Salman Khan, Lara Dutta, Malaika Arora Khan, Amrita Arora, Esha Deol, Isha Sarvani, Shahid Kapur, Kareena Kapoor, the star cast of film Chocolate and international pop sensations Bombay Rockers and Rouge. The clincher, though, is the grand finale performance by Abhishek Bachchan, with Big B making a special appearance.

The city auditions for the next big reality show on television had seen an angry mob damage property, police lathicharge and more mayhem at the Science City venue. But that did not stop Sony Entertainment Television from choosing two winners for Fame Gurukul from Calcutta.

Ruprekha Bannerjee and Arijit Singh are two of the 14 proud disciples of the academy and would be under the tutelage of Ila Arun, Padma Wadekar, Prashanth Samadhar and Bosco Caesar.

Ruprekha is a 21-year-old from the city, who has always thought of making playback singing her career. "I've done playback for a Bengali film called Shudhu Bhalobasha," says the B.Sc student of Vidyasagar College. "But it wasn't something big… just something in the background," she admits. Arijit is from Murshidabad and is a BA second-year student. "I've been training for the past 13 years," says the 18-year-old.

Selection was a dream come true, but the path to success was a long one. Both did not get a chance to display their talents on the first day of the auditions, which was cancelled after a few hours. Arijit then travelled to Delhi to try his luck there. He chose a classical song but it didn't click with the judges. He changed strategy when the auditions were held again in Calcutta and beat the competition with his rendition of Chhaiya chhaiya.

Ruprekha, who couldn't attend Indian Idol auditions because of illness, reached the venue late on the first day of the Fame Gurukul auditions. When the selection was held later, she sang Jadoo hai nasha hai. "The response to the song was very encouraging then itself," recalls Ruprekha.

The duo has already made friends with the rest of the Gurukul gang and is still a little starry eyed at being coached by musicians they'd "never dreamed of meeting". But that's not forgetting those who have helped them get here. Both request if the names of their gurujis — Rajendra Prasad Hazari for Arijit and Anju Chakraborty for Ruprekha — can be mentioned.

Next up: training at the Fame Gurukul sets in Mumbai and, of course, lots of spotlight.