toi - savitri is a mythological show

READ MORE Shabbir Ahluwalia|Entertainment|Ekta Kapoor|Siddharth Kumar Tewary|Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki

There were reports about TRPs of mythological shows dropping but that, say show makers, is hardly a reason to worry about. They point towards the number of mythological shows currently being aired on different channels - there's 'Devon Ke Dev -Mahadev', 'Ramayan: Sabke Jeevan Ka Aadhar', 'Jai Jai Jai Bajarangbali', 'Savitri', and 'Baal Veer'. Add to this two new adaptations of 'Mahabharat' —Ekta Kapoor is planning her version of 'Mahabharat' which will focus on the life of the characters after the Kurukshetra battle.

This comes five years after her earlier modern and rather westernised version of Mahabharat, titled Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki,failed to strike a chord with the audience. Even producer Siddharth Kumar Tewary has chosen the same subject and his version ofMahabharat will start airing soon. Nikhil Sinha, the producer of Devon Ke Dev Mahadev, said, "The audience is now opening up to these shows and accepting mythology on TV more than ever before. Mythology is the new rage and is watched by people of all age groups. This is why more makers are now coming up with such shows."

Mention the TRPs dipping and he said, "The TRPs may have dropped only because of the IPL. TRPs keep varying from time to time but these shows are garnering a loyal audience." In fact, before the IPL, the TRP of Devon Ke... had touched 4 as well. Siddharth added that he had been working on Mahabharat for four years and now is the right time to launch the show. "It's been four years since I started working on this project. I cannot predict whether viewers will like it but we have been honest towards our work," he said.

So, what works in favour of such shows on TV? According to Nikhil, the human side of Shiva has worked in favour of his show. "I always felt that Mahadev is a dynamic character and luckily no one had explored the character of Shiva before my show. The USP of our show is the look and the costumes," he said. In a time when most fictional shows are going off air within three months, these shows seem to have got a loyal audience, either due to the visual effects, appealing graphics or treatment of the stories. Shabbir Ahluwalia, producer of Savitri, feels that mythological shows are forming a strong connect with the younger generation. "These shows help the future generation in knowing about our Indian mythology and also break the monotony of saas-bahu sagas on the small screen," said Shabbir. This especially holds true in the case of Baal Veer, which is popular among children. "Baal Veer is very innovative and imaginative which is why its audience is loyal," observed Anooj Kapoor, business head of a GEC (General EntertainmentChannel).