MUMBAI: From 9:30 pm onwards this independence day, Sony
Entertainment Television has ambitions to gives to its viewers
a breath of fresh air. How? Well! One, the channel launches
its new series Kehta Hai Dil…Jee Le Zara and two through
this show, it brings back the queen of romance on TV, Sangeeta
Ghosh.
"Sony stands for hope, aspirations and happiness and
so does the show," says SET chief operating officer N.P
Singh. Sony which aims at strengthening its fiction genre
is continuously looking at fresh concepts. "We were looking
for content which was different and we came across this. It
was relatable and real, like most of our shows. It is a kind
of story that you will see Sony doing," he adds.
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Kehta
Hai Dil…Jee Le Zara is
a simple concept and has evolved from everyday stories
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Kehta Hai Dil…Jee Le Zara is a story of Saanchi
who is modern yet traditional. "It is a simple concept
and has evolved very much from everyday stories. Today, for
a lot of women, marriage may not be the first preference,"
says Rose Audio Visuals producer Shristhi Arya, who is known
for doing off beat and sophisticated soaps like Lipstick,
Guns and Roses, Remix, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na and Twinkle Beauty
Parlour.
"With increasing aspirations, both love and marriage
are pushed aside. Also the fact that a lot of interaction
takes place among colleagues who are of different age groups,
falling in love with a younger man is easier," says Arya
explaining the storyline. Arya feels that television has the
responsibility to reflect the sign of the times "And
this is a sign of 'A' particular zone of people," she
adds.
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Sony
stands for hope, aspirations and happiness and so does
the show, says N.P Singh
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The show will be replacing Parvarish which currently runs
in the 9:30 pm slot. "Parvarish has been on air for the
past two years and has had a successful tenure. The time was
right to replace it with a newer and fresher show," informs
Sony EVP & business head Sneha Rajani. Apparently, both
the channel and the producer feel that the new show's storyline
has a fit with the aspirational needs of the core Sony viewer.
"Through Sony I have got a platform which has the exact
audience that I am looking for my soap," informs Arya.
The story is about a family living in the beautiful hill
station of Panchgani. "It was the script that excited
me the most. It is a simple story of simple characters and
this is what got me to direct the soap," reveals show
director Siddharth Sengupta who has earlier helmed dramas
like Balika Vadhu and Ek Chabhi Pados Mein.
The crew which started filming in end-July has recreated
the feel of Panchgani in Film City located in Goregaon in
Mumbai. "We are shooting 12-13 hours daily and have currently
shot approximately six episodes. We need to build a bank,
because once the show goes on air we will be only meeting
deadlines," reveals Sengupta.
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Shristhi
Arya feels that television has the responsibility to
reflect the sign of the times we are in
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The main protagonists are Sangeeta Ghosh (Des Mein Niklla
Hoga Chand fame) and Ruslaan Mumtaz who made his debut in
Bollywood through Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar. While Ghosh plays
Saanchi, Mumtaz will be seen as Dhruv. The other characters
are Sulabha Deshpande and Meenakshi Sethi, who will play the
two grandmothers, Delnaz Irani who plays Dilshad, Nabeel Ahmed
will be seen as Advait and Priyanka Sidana will be seen as
Prachi. The story has been written by Niranjan Iyengar and
the screenplay and dialogues are by Arjun and Purva respectively.
The main sponsor for the show is L'oreal Paris Total Repair
5.
Sony is using a 360 degree marketing campaign to lure in
audiences to the channel. The channel has appointed MOMS Outdoor
Media Solutions for managing OOH activities. "We will
be marketing the show on TV, radio, print, digital and also
hoardings," informs Rajani. The channel has shot three
promos and also shot three to four countdown promos, which
are airing currently. Apart from this, the marketing campaign
will also involve a print ad on the day the show goes on air.
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The
show is a clutter breaker, says Sneha Rajani
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The show will face stern competition from Yeh Rishta Kya
Kehlata Hai on Star Plus, Qubool Hai on Zee TV
and Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuchh Kaha: Season 2 on Colors.
Does Sony have any strategy to deal with this competition,
answers Singh, "Well, competition is a reality. Within
the very aggressive competitive market, you have to differentiate
the niche. Sony in its last 17 years has always run shows
which are different from the rest and that has set us apart
and we continue to follow that strategy."
With reality shows working better for Sony, why add another
fiction soap in the already cluttered fiction genre? Says
Rajani, "We consciously decided two years back to focus
more on fiction shows. We had gone a little weak in capturing
viewers in the fiction space and so decided to focus more
on the fiction genre."
"Also we currently have two reality shows Indian Idol
Junior and Comedy Circus running on our channel. Kaun Banega
Crorepati will also hit TV screens soon. All this leaves us
with no space for any more reality shows," she adds.
So what's new in the soap that will help it get good TVTs?
"It is a clutter breaker. From the time the promos went
up, I have been receiving messages from people who can relate
to this story. It is not drama, but the journey of an independent,
yet responsible woman," comments Rajani.
"Fiction today is the mainstay for every GEC. People
want to see fresh content. Now how well the programme does
depends on its content and whether it has been able to add
some freshness to it. If it can engage its audiences, it will
surely do well," says Madison Media Group, Bangalore
COO Dinesh Rathore.
The channel will soon see a row of new soaps replacing the
current ones. But for this slot, it is surely placing a big
bet that viewers will bite. Will keeping the show simple for
people to believe in it, help the channel record increased
TVTs? With the channel falling off to the fifth position in
this general entertainment channel space, Sony must surely
be praying it will. |
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