Tag: Jhalak Dikhla Jaa

Okay, we’ve cheated. We went out to ask just five questions, but ended up with several interjections, so the Jaldi 5 is a rapidfire 10. Or thereabouts.

Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors is one of the best minds in the broadcast business.  MxMIndia caught up with him soon after a presser with actor and Bigg Boss host Salman Khan and Endemol India CEO, Deepak Dhar. Mr Nayak was candid when he admitted to MxMIndia that the show was a dampener last year. Guess for the honesty in answering some tricky questions, Mr Nayak deserves to win this critical round.

 

01. A ‘paarivaarik’ Bigg Boss? Why junk the USP of catering to the voyeuristic Indian?

Over the last few seasons, we Bigg Boss became very predictable. Even participants who’ve previous Bigg Boss shows think they need to behave in the same way. Tasks in the house have been very predictive. While the vouyerism is the soul of the show, it has also alienated a lot of audiences. We believe that it is a cult programme, no doubt about it. It is one of the biggest programmes for Colors. Among all the reality shows that we do, it is the most expensive show. There are 59-62 cameras at work. It is an amazing experience.

 

Over the last six months whatever we have done on Colors, we have done differently. We scaled up Jhalak Dikhla Jaa. We did not make it just a dance show, but dance and humour. A show like Bigg Boss has a huge cult following. Then we have Salman Khan whose popularity transcends from 7- to 70-yr-olds, he appeals to everybody. Whether it is classes or masses, he is a superstar. Not to leverage his brand appeal would be stupid. This was the thought process then. We thought, let’s convert the show, flip it on and do it on a positive note. Some of the things we have learnt – what we can do, what we can’t do. So we have tinkered with the format a little bit.

 

So no voyeurism, no sex and violence?

The voyeurism will be there. That cannot go. It is the soul of the show. The casting will ensure that all houseguest are achievers. There will be no negativity. Earlier we had people who were newsmakers but they always had something negative. But this year, not one person who goes into the house will be negative. Even if there is voyeurism, there will be a lot of fun element in the show. Even voyuerism will be in acceptable norms.

 

And clearly no sex and violence. We want the whole family to watch the show. One can have a good show without having sex or without having violence. Jhalak Dhikla Jaa is good example. That will give you a good indicator of the slotting.

 

But someone like Sanath Jaisurya didn’t do very well?

Yes but what it did was to bring out the wow factor of the show.

 

Any Pakistani?

No, we won’t. We think there is enough talent in this country at this moment and the casting team thought they have enough people they can cast from within the country at this moment.

 

02. What are your expectations from ratings? Last year was a dampener and the bar has been rasied much now…

Yes, last year was a dampener. There is no doubt about it. But the way we are looking it is that we want Bigg Boss 6 to be the most successful season that Bigg Boss has ever had. We have dissected the show from the first to the last frame and you will very many new elements this time. We genuinely believe that it has the potential to become blockbuster. As for the bar, it will always keep raising. You can’t keep looking at the scoreboard because it is different matches and genres. Within the genres, ground and match that we are in, we are sure that we will put on a bloody good show.

 

Sur-Kshetra didn’t do well in ratings last week?

Yes, last week setting the foundation. We hadn’t have Ashaji then.  The show actually started this week. Last week, the show was setting foundation of how the auditions happened in Pakistan and India. I am a firm believer that the show will pick up with every passing week.

 

03. Sony pushed KBC to the weekend slot. How will Bigg Boss affect your fiction slot?

We shifted Khatron ka Khiladi to weekend. We did Jhalak Dhiklaa Ja on weekend. We don’t have a fixed policy. But we felt Bigg Boss is a big show, it is bloody expensive show. And if you have to amortize the cost, you have to run it seven days a week.

 

04. Who are your sponsors? Are reality shows value for money?

We are in discussion with sponsors.

 

Vodafone?

With Vodafone as well and many other players

 

The ticket price has gone up substantially this year because we are scaling up the show in many different ways. Hopefully, we will have enough sponsors to achieve our targeted figure.

 

See, value for money means different things to different people. But let me put it this way: most reality shows do not make money. While there may be exceptions to the rule,  on a reality show, you normally recover about 70 percent of your investment. There may be some reality shows on which you make 100 percent. But you need to have reality shows for the intangible value they bring to the brand, and to the channel.

 

Last year, in-show placements had become a little too much?

Exactly. Those are the things which we have taken into account. One of the things is that not only Bigg Boss, but also other shows like Jhalak Dhikla Jaa and India’s Got Talent we are very conscious that at the end of the day we have to give value to our advertisers but I think we can do it far more creatively, we can be subtle about it which probably will give more credibility and give more bang for the buck.

 

05. What next? The Yuvraj Singh show?

If all goes well, we should have it either at the end of October or first week of November.

 

We are looking at one or two more show formats.

 

Reality or fiction?

Can be either. But we are looking at some more interesting stuff. It may be big or small. You must have noticed that in last six months, we keep reinventing, experimenting with new things. Like Manmohan Singh said, ‘We are not afraid to take risks and we have courage to do so.’