MxMIndia

Tag: KBC

  • Host Amitabh Bachchan stars in a Sonal Dabral-directed promo for the show's 15th edition

    Badal gaya hai KBC ka ad & positioning

    By Our Staff

     

    Sony Entertainment Television has launched a promo campaign of the 15th edition of Kaun Banega Crorepati directed by senior adperson Sonal Dabral.

     

    Said Neeraj Vyas, Business Head – Sony Entertainment Television, Sony Sab, Pa,, and Sony Max Movie Cluster: “Kaun Banega Crorepati is a legacy brand, and in tune with the changing times – its 15th edition will embrace the transformation that we are all experiencing in this new India. A flagship show for Sony Entertainment Television, KBC will soon return in an all-new exciting avatar, the elements of which will be unveiled in the coming weeks, and it is sure to capture the imagination of the entire nation. This season will also welcome new opportunities for brands to drive innovation and build engagement with audiences across the spectrum. The recently launched campaign film sets the tone for KBC, ek naye roop mein and the fan favourite format, helmed by the legendary Amitabh Bachchan, will continue to foster cohesive family viewing.”

     

    Posted Dabral on his Facebook post: “Had a great time directing this year’s KBC promo! Working with Bachchan Sir is always an inspiring and learning experience.  Huge thanks to Neeraj Sir, Vaishali and the teams at Sony Entertainment Television for an amazing experience!  Great working together again and writing this with you Anshu Arthjam”

     

  • The show will air every Monday-Friday at 9pm on Sony Entertainment Television

    KBC Season 12 to start on September 28

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sony Entertainment Television has announced that the 12th season of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) will start next week – September 28, to be precise. Produced by StudioNext, and hosted by actor Amitabh Bachchan, Kaun Banega Crorepati will air every Mon-Fri at 9pm on Sony Entertainment Television.

     

    The show is co-powered by Vedantu and Tata Salt. And Associate Sponsors are IDFC FIRST Bank, LIC, Asian Paints, Ultratech Cement, QuickHeal, Sensodyne and Nissan.
    Interestingly, the Reserve Bank of India is the Special Partner on the show.

     

    Said Ashish Golwalkar, Head – Content, Sony Entertainment Television and Digital Business: “Reinvention, they say, is the key to success. And thus, we began the preparation of the 12th season of Kaun Banega Crorepati, a show that has been nurtured as a brand over its 20-year history in India. Considering the current times, the interest in participation through digital registrations has been very encouraging this year. And the numbers showcase that people are readily embracing the ‘new normal’ brought on by the pandemic. This year’s theme, ‘Jo Bhi Ho Setback Ka Jawab Comeback Se Do’, reflects in the real-life stories and experiences that contestants will be seen sharing on the show, thereby serving as inspiring examples for the millions of viewers.”

     

    Added Indranil Chakraborty, Head – StudioNext: “For the 12th season of KBC we have consciously looked at re-engineering the set so that the distancing norms are met while the impact of this property is retained. Due to no studio audience, we have changed the lifeline Audience Poll to Video-A-Friend. Having said that, we are certain that Mr. Amitabh Bachchan’s charisma and the interesting on-screen and off-screen journeys of contestants, will keep the audiences engrossed. The show continues to be iconic in many ways and is sure to raise the bar this season as well.”

     

    Said Siddhartha Basu, Consultant, KBC – Season 12: “KBC turns 20 in 2020, and with all the challenges of this tough year, looks to come back as strong as ever, reviving the much-loved magic of the khaas khel with the aam aadmi and the adwitiya host. While adapting to the realities of today, the show still packs a punch, reaching out to both the mind and the heart, touching lives in a very real way. Viewers can also look forward to playing along with the contestants, as they watch, with richer pickings than ever before.”

     

     

  • After Balika Vadhu and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, no other show has a premise or a protagonist so fascinating, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    Anupamaa: The Big Hindi GEC Breakthrough?

    A still from Anupamaa, the Star Plus show

     

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    Shailesh Kapoor

    While this weekly column has extensively covered the Hindi GEC category over the last eight years, pieces dedicated to a single show have been rare. If at all, they have been about a non-fiction show like KBC, or about a long-running fiction show like Balika Vadhu or Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. Nothing launched since the start of this column in 2012 has been worthy enough for 500 words of its own. And those who follow this column regularly will know that the general sense of mediocrity that plagues Hindi GEC fiction content has been my pet peeve over the last 5-6 years.

     

    But here it is, a piece on a newly-launched fiction show that breaks through the mediocrity the category has learnt to unapologetically espouse over time. It’s the 10pm daily on Star Plus, and it goes by the name Anupamaa. An adaptation of a hit Star Jalsha show, Anupamaa was originally slated to launch in early 2020, but had to be deferred because of the lockdown. It was one of the first new shows to launch as things began to open up and shoots resumed July onwards. Less than three months into its tenure, Anupamaa is the top-rated show on Star Plus, more than 40% ahead of the next original show on the channel.

     

    Now that has happened before with some other shows too. But something a lot rarer happened this week. In the August report of Ormax Characters India Loves, a monthly character-popularity track for the Hindi GEC category, the protagonist Anupamaa has taken the second rank on the fiction list. Character popularity is the Holy Grail of GEC content. It takes months, sometimes years, for characters to build an emotional affinity with the audience. Entering the Top 5 within six months of launch is a huge achievement, and entering Top 2 within two months an unprecedented one.

     

    When I watched the show in its first week, my first reaction was: Wow, this looks so different from the rest of the genre. It was, in many ways, a reaction very similar to what I felt watching Balika Vadhu for the first time in 2008. Then, and even now, the Hindi GEC category has been guilty of a certain visual and thematic sameness that is omnipresent across shows, across channels. Some shows look ‘richer’ than others. But by and large, the protagonists are all in their early 20s, the costumes are fairly stock, the music largely similar too, the conflicts way too familiar, and the acting and the dialogue consistently mediocre.

     

    In that first viewing itself, Anupamaa seemed to belong to another space. Top performances grabbed my attention first. In particular, Rupali Ganguly as the female lead here is arguably one of the Top 3 stand-out Hindi GEC fiction performances in the last 20 years. The other distinctive feature, of course, was the age of the protagonist. In her mid-40s, Anupamaa is a mother of three grown-up children. That’s a life-stage a Hindi GEC female protagonist usually reaches five years into a show’s lifetime, after at least two leaps. Instantly, this separates the show from the rest of the lot, which are essentially romantic dramas played out in a family context. The writing seemed two notches higher than the category’s accepted level too, especially the dialogue.

     

    But as I started watching the show regularly, it seemed evident that this is that rare show that has a saga-like feel to it. After Balika Vadhu and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, no other show has a premise or a protagonist so fascinating that you know that you can do a long-running show around her, without losing the point and dragging the show meaninglessly. Already in the two months, the show has covered several social themes like patriarchy, parenting and class difference. It’s like the old days of reading a novel. The story can keep evolving, chapter by chapter, and enter different spaces. But the audience loves the protagonist(s) so much that they are always invested.

     

    Will Anupamaa manage that? Will it be one of the top shows in 2025 too? It’s, of course, too early to say that. But if there’s one show in the last decade that seems to have a strong foundation that longevity needs, this is it. The show’s name translates to “incomparable” in English. And unless the makers mess this one up, it holds the potential to live up to that translation over time.

     

    It could be a matter of introspection why such success came from a show from a regional market. Much like one can wonder why Bollywood can’t make its own Bahubali. But that’s another topic for another day.

     

     

  • With this thought, KBC promises a comeback this year

    KBC Season 12 credo is Jo Bhi Ho, Setback Ka Jawaab Comeback Se Do

    By A Correspondent

     

    The 12th Season of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) gears up for a comeback with the thought – Jo Bhi Ho, Setback Ka Jawaab Comeback Se Do.

     

    Conceptualised and written by Nitesh Tiwari & Nikhil Mehrotra, the campaign is directed by Nitesh Tiwari, and it touches a raw nerve.

     

    Said Amit Raisinghani, Head – Business Planning and Communication, Sony Entertainment Television: “KBC celebrates the achievements of people irrespective of how small or big the achievements are. The campaign this year has been driven by people’s determination to turn adverse circumstances in their favor and move ahead in life. It’s always a pleasure to work with Nitesh Tiwari, who exactly knows the pulse of the situation, and creates impactful ad films for KBC. We hope, like in past, this campaign resonates strongly with our audience.”

     

    Added Tiwari:  “I am grateful for the trust that Sony puts in me each year for the KBC campaigns. This year is of course very different and challenging for all of us is every aspect. But it has been a year of learning and exploring avenues that probably weren’t thought of, paving the path for something meaningful. Which leads us to the insight that there is a spark somewhere in each one of us that keeps us going, notwithstanding the obstacles, however big or small. The idea of this campaign is to reignite the spark and inspire people to move ahead in life.”

     

     

  • For the first time, KBC rolls out a completely digital selection and screening process

    Lock kiya jaaye! Sony announces KBC 12

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sony Entertainment Television has announced the 12th Season of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC). The show will be produced by StudioNEXT and the selection process will be conducted digitally, through SonyLIV.

     

    Sony Entertainment Television will commence registrations for the 12th Season of KBC from May 9 until May 22. Anchor and megastar Amitabh Bachchan will ask one new question every night on Sony TV and users can answer it either through SMS or through Sony LIV.

     

    Said Amit Raisinghani, Head – Business Planning and Communication, Sony Entertainment Television: “We are certainly excited to announce the 12th Season of our iconic show – Kaun Banega Crorepati. And for the first time in the history of KBC, the entire screening and selection will be managed digitally. Each time we embark on a new season of KBC, we are pleasantly surprised with the growing numbers of aspirants, which speaks volumes about the show’s popularity. This is the season of firsts and we are confident that this season will redefine the power of knowledge.”

     

     

  • The all-women version will air from December 23 onwards, Monday to Friday at 8 pm

    Colors Tamil to air all-women KBC

    By A Correspondent

     

    Colors Tamil will air a Tamil all-women Kaun Banega Crorepati titled ‘Kodeeswari’ . To be hosted by Tamil film and TV actor and producer Radikaa Sarathkumar,  ‘Kodeeswari’ will premiere on December 23r at 8 pm on Colors Tamil and Voot.

     

    Said Ravish Kumar – Head, Regional Entertainment Cluster, Viacom18: “The Tamil market is an incubator for path breaking content, be it in films, art, print or television. Colors Tamil has, since its inception, pushed the boundary in terms of innovative content – through the stories we tell and through the way we tell them, How apt a homage to the culture and ethos of this market that one of the world’s most successful format shows ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ will go in for a global first with an all-women version on Coors Tamil.”

     

    Added Anup Chandrasekharan, Business Head – Colors Tamil: “It gives us great pleasure to put together this experiential stage that will empower women who are smart, aware and knowledgeable. We have had an overwhelming participation from the Tamil speaking women across the nation whose life stories are heroic in their own unique way. While the format of the game remains unchanged, our endeavour is to encourage strong willed women to challenge stereotypes and emerge victorious. We are happy to have onboarded the indomitable superstar Radikaa Sarathkumar in this journey who will multitask as a host, a friend and a guide.”

     

     

  • Over the next six weeks, Shailesh Kapoor will track the 2010-2019 decade in a series of lists

    A Fortnight of News, A Decade of Everything

     

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    A lot has happened on the news front over the last two weeks. We first witnessed a political battle in Maharashtra that would put the biggest political thrillers in Hollywood to shame. It was a twist-a-minute saga, and you never quite knew if you have seen the end of it. In fact, we may not know that even now.

     

    Then, over the last week, the Hyderabad rape case has grabbed the headlines, and the story continues to develop, with the news of the four accused being shot dead in an encounter coming in even as I write this. There was also the historic Pink Ball test, which ended with another emphatic India win in under three days.

     

    On the entertainment front, another successful season of KBC came to a close, with a skillfully-crafted finale week. Even if you do not watch the show, you will do well to check out the finale episode featuring Sudha Murthy. It was inspiring and entertaining in equal measure.

     

    We are also nearing the end of the year, and also the end of the decade of 2010-2019. There’s been an unprecedented interest among journalists, especially those in the media & entertainment sector, to do decade lists and trend stories. I don’t remember any such interest ten years ago when the 2000-2009 decade ended. This interest may have been piqued by online channel Film Companion’s list of the best films and the best performances of the decade.

     

    The more one thinks of it, the idea of analyzing a decade is intriguing and challenging in equal measure. How do you ensure that recency does not bias your opinion? However sharp your memory may be, 2010 is way more distant than 2018-19. Much as I’m averse to lists, because they eventually becoming subjective opinion, a ten-year period is an irresistible temptation to take a shot at them.

     

    There’s another reason why I’m keen on them. For Ormax Media, which started in 2008, this is a decade for which we have comprehensive data over the entire ten-year period, which takes care of objectivity in good measure. Hence, from next week, over the next six weeks, this column will cover the following six lists for the 2010-2019 decade, not necessarily in this order. I’d stay away from box office and ratings-based lists, as that is easy to access in the public domain.

     

    1. The most defining TV shows of the decade

    2. The most successful TV channels of the decade

    3. The most iconic Hindi films of the decade

    4. The most successful digital brands of the decade

    5. The most important emerging trends of the decade

    6. The most significant trends expected from the new decade

     

    Let the lists begin!

     

     

  • Riding high on the popularity of Taarak Mehta…, the channel is the #1 on time spent by viewer index, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    Sony Sab: An Unusual Success Story

     

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    Even as the Hindi GEC category struggles to recover its lost glory inch by inch over the last year-and-a-half, there’s a special little story unfolding on the side. Sab TV (or Sony Sab, as it’s officially called) has grown almost 40 per cent in the last one year, to now emerge as the No. 2 Hindi GEC in the Pay TV segment in Urban HSM in the pre-KBC period. The channel has seen an upward surge in the months of July and August this year, overtaking more seasoned players like Zee TV and Colors, and competing well with the network flagship Sony Entertainment Television, which has big-ticket material like KBC on its side for 13 weeks now.

     

    The channel is by far the No. 1 channel on TSV (time spent by viewer), being about 30 per cent ahead of the category leader Star Plus on this engagement measure week-on-week. Star Plus is the leader on viewership, because of its significant Reach advantage over Sab, symptomatic of the former’s wider appeal vis-à-vis the latter.

     

    A deeper look at Sab’s viewership numbers can be fascinating. The channel’s Gujarat viewership is almost five times its UP viewership. The Mumbai to Delhi ratio is almost 2. Evidently, the channel manages to do much better in the Western markets, which have a higher proportion of Gujarati population in their viewer universe.

     

    This, of course, is attributable to the flagship show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (TMKOC). Now on air for more than 11 years, TMKOC contributes a staggering 83 per cent to the channel’s viewership. 58 per cent of the channel’s programming time is allotted to the show, across various original, repeat and rerun airings.

     

    The show has wallpaper-level presence on the channel. Sab benefits hugely from the non-prime time performance of TMKOC. Compared to Star Plus, which gets 51% of its viewership from the 7-11pm prime time, Sab gets only 30% of its viewership from it, thus relying heavily on the afternoon time band, where repeats of TMKOC do ratings that some of the big Hindi GEC shows will be happy to achieve in their original telecast in the prime time.

     

    Yes, Sab is a one-show channel. It has struggled to find a second big hit anywhere close to TMKOC’s stature. And it’s been 11 years now. There is a reasonably-robust second line of shows, led by Aladdin currently. But the stature of TMKOC dwarfs everything else Sab puts out.

     

    Breaking down the success of TMKOC is a matter of another detailed piece. But it can be briefly mentioned that the show goes well beyond being just another comedy show, and manages to integrate culture, values and family, eventually delivering a wholesome family entertainer, a genre which very few Hindi GEC shows can claim to have a foot in.

     

    How long can TMKOC remain at its peak? A conservative answer would be ‘at least another 10 years’. Its protagonist Jethalal, played by Dilip Joshi, has been the most-popular Hindi GEC character in India for years now, as per Ormax Characters India Loves. Character bonding ensures longevity, and TMKOC has very strong legs on that count.

     

    Sab went through an elaborate brand refresh (Hindi GEC’s category when-in-doubt activity) recently. The new proposition ‘Khushiyon Wali Feeling’ strikes the right chord, relying to SAB’s positivity and light-hearted charm as its differentiators in a melodramatic category.

     

    But currently, all the branding is just scenery for a channel that runs on the towering presence of a giant. If there was a second TMKOC, and that’s easier said than done, Sab will be the biggest Hindi pay channel by some distance. If that happens, it will be some success story to tell!

     

     

  • Kaun Banega Crorepati provides a certain comfort with the familiar, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    Ageless Wonder

     

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    It’s that time of the year again. India’s most iconic television show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) is back again, this time with its 11th season. The first four episodes have set the tone for a 13-week entertaining and engaging ride. The story has been no different, after all, over the last few seasons.

    Ninety minutes a day for five days a week is quite some commitment to content. Yet, a sizeable section of the Indian audience makes this commitment year-on-year. Not to mention the various regional versions that have done immensely well over the last decade.

    ‘What keeps KBC going’ is not such a difficult question to answer. Its exemplary host Amitabh Bachchan, and its family-engaging format, one that’s full of positivity and interactivity, are the two cornerstones on which this 19-year old property rests. But over the years, KBC has acquired more value than just what its content is. And that’s the more interesting aspect to explore here.

    We live in times when it’s a matter of days that something that seemed so fresh until very recently, begins to look stale and jaded. This is happening with brands, ads, films, TV shows, cricket, everything. Product lifecycles of media products have reduced in general, as a distracted consumer moves from one to the other in a tearing hurry. In this context, KBC provides a certain comfort in the familiar. It’s that one show you don’t need to wrap your head around and figure out.

    Comfort in the familiar is quite an under-rated media thought. Very few shows on Hindi television today can offer this value, because it takes a lot of time and effort for a show to acquire this status. Of the Hindi GEC shows currently on air, only KBC, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai benefit from this idea. And all three have gone to be enduring successes, bucking the growing consumer demand for short-term programming.

    In all three, there’s a sense of togetherness and family-inclusiveness. They are ensemble shows, despite very strong lead protagonists helming them. It’s the collective nature of the three, where multiple characters (host and contestants in the case of KBC) keep the flame burning.

    But KBC has two advantages over the other two shows in this coveted list. One, it is on air for only about 13 weeks every year, making it much sought-after when it hits the telly. Two, its interactivity is organic and central to its premise. Knowing an answer, when a family of 4-8 members is sitting and watching together, can lead to a moment of pride. Therefore, KBC also fuels family conversations like no other show can.

    Would KBC have acquired these values with another host? Almost certainly not. The fit between Bachchan and KBC’s values can only be a freak once-in-many-years kind of happy accident. And that’s why, he keeps getting better with each season, fitting the show even more, by giving a part of himself to it.

    Ratings will tell us how well this season does, but KBC may have transcended that test in the last 2-3 seasons. May the legacy live on!

     

     

  • Broadcasters and brands embrace the second screen to up engagement, notes an Ernst & Young (EY) study

    Rise of the Second Screen

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    One of the key trends seen in 2017 and 2018 has been the increased use of second screen interactivity by broadcasters as a means to engage more with their television audiences.

     

    Leading consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) has published a report that delves deeper into this phenomenon, and provides case studies of how broadcasters and brands are using the 2nd screen along with television to enable a richer and more engaging customer experience.

     

    According to the report, 30 percent of the time spent on the mobile device is on entertainment. Its a natural extension that television uses the second screen, be it mobile, tablet or laptop, to provide its audiences the ability to interact more with television content, stories and celebrities.

     

    As broadcasters compete for advertising with new media companies who can provide millions of profiled audiences, interactivity helps broadcasters with generating viewer data, understanding consumption patterns and most importantly, increasing time spent on television, notes the report.

     

    Here’s more from the EY report. First the case studies and then looking at what makes it work and the future of the Second Screen:

     

    KBC Play-Along

    Jio along with SET developed a play-along game for the ninth season of KBC. The idea of the app was to engage viewers so they could not only watch the show but also play along and answer the questions shown on TV, testing their knowledge against the TV contestant and scoring points.

     

    Hotstar Watch’N Play

    IPL 2018 was the 11th season of the highly popular T20 cricket league. This season Star decided to simulcast IPL on TV and Hotstar and introduce an interactive play-along app on Hotstar. 202 million viewers watched the matches on Hotstar.

     

    Jio Cricket Play-Along

    Jio decided to have a play along game for live cricket matches of IPL 11 broadcast on TV. While some played to win prizes, others played for the sheer excitement that came along.

     

    Colors Rising Star

    Colors Rising Star is a show adapted from the international format “Rising Star” and ran its second season in 2018. It was an engaging experience for viewers as they were able to see the results of their votes on a real-time basis.

     

    Sony Indian Idol

    In its tenth season, Indian idol has taken fan engagement to the next level with the Indian Idol Sing Along experience. SET has enabled millions of users to not only vote for their favourite Indian idol contestants, but also to sing along with them, in partnership with Smule. The best ‘Sing-Along’ performance of the week is featured on the show, giving the users their moment of fame on national television.

     

    So why does interactivity work? Interactivity enables broadcasters to further fulfil their core objectives of providing escapism, knowledge and social acceptance to their audiences.

     

    Social Acceptance: Second screen engagement can be used as a tool for social communication, by allowing users to share their scores, opinions, leaderboard, level-ups.

     

    Lean Forward: With reality shows only selecting a handful of contestants to play on each show, the second screen offers viewers the experience of participating on the show from the comfort of their homes.

     

    Immersive Experience: The TV audience’s expeirence is enhanced, they are playing the game/ performing alongside their favourite contestants and in front of the show host or judges. This is a far more intimate form of escapism.

     

    Future of interactivity: Second screen interactivity will not only help broadcasters understand their viewers better through the additional data that could be collected, but also help keep viewers more engaged helping drive the ratings for shows. We see broadcasters and other content owners partnering with tech/ telco companies to create some ‘never seen before’ experience for the viewers. If used wisely, second screen has the power to create its very own loyal viewers who can continue to engage even after the end of the show. It is no longer a just cost element but it has the potential to generate revenue and cut marketing costs as can be seen in the proactive engagement platform diagram alongside, which can help brands connect directly with the TV audiences. Second screen interactivity combined with an effective loyalty program will have the potential to reap never before seen benefits. The second screen revolution has begun and results are there to be seen. Broadcasters have benefited, platform operators have benefitted and advertisers have benefited, too. But the viewers are the real winners. Interactivity to become more prevalent not just across game shows and sports but across genres such as music, fiction and film.

     

     

  • It’s the classic sit-together-and-watch show… and is a runaway hit, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    Four reasons why KBC has Aged so well

     

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    We have known for years that there’s no one like him. But how he keeps getting better at it is still a mystery of sorts

    In its 18th year and its 10th season, Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) got off to a solid starting, catapulting Sony to the No 1 position in HSM Urban in the process. In the second week too, the show and the channel maintained the momentum. It’s one thing to rate 2+ over a 30-minute daily show. But managing that over 90 minutes is thrice as hard, if not even more. Yet, KBC has done that. Last year, and now this year too, for the first two weeks anyway.

    The pioneering format has met with limited success internationally over the last decade. But in India, it is a runaway hit. Two out of the previous nine seasons performed at levels that can be termed below par. But every time there was talk about KBC being past its expiry date, it has bounced back.

    In a media environment where fatigue is an increasing issue and new things become passé before they even establish themselves firmly, how has KBC managed to age so well?

    Here are four reasons:

    4. Because the soaps have not aged so well

    While most credit for KBC’s success goes to the show itself, it has also benefited from the inert evolution (actually, the lack of it) of the daily soap genre over the last half a decade. When the staple fails to deliver, the alternative will become the staple. Daily soaps have struggled to keep pace with changing viewer expectations, leaving a yawning gap between the quality of entertainment expected from Hindi GECs and the actual quality being delivered. Every season of KBC, for the last few years at least, has cashed in on this opportunity.

     

    3. Evolution of the idea of ‘Entertainment’

    As tastes evolve and exposure to entertainment widens, aided by digital exposure in particular, the expectation from ‘Entertainment’ itself will evolve. Over the last few years, the dichotomy of frivolous entertainment versus meaningful content has melted away. You need not be all-masala-no-brains or all-brains-no-masala. Viewers are increasingly looking for the golden middle, where Entertainment and Meaning (call it Awareness or Inspiration or anything else on those lines) merge seamlessly. The film industry has understood this to some extent over the last few years. The biggest film director today is a master craftsman of this amalgamation. If Raju Hirani even made a reality show, it will be like KBC in its spirit. Meaningfully relevant, yet highly entertaining. Again, this is something daily soaps have missed (barring exceptions that you can count of the fingers of half your hand), making KBC’s presence even more striking.

     

    2. The family factor

    In a nation of 95%+ single-TV households, KBC offers that unifying quality that can connect members of a family across their age and gender. It’s the classic sit-together-and-watch show. It was always that since its launch in 2000, but as the need to sit together and watch goes up, so does KBC’s appeal. It helps, of course, that unlike daily soaps, KBC is not a 52-weeks-a-year show. The anticipation of an upcoming season works at a familial level today. Even the youth, who till a few years ago thought of KBC as the not-so-cool show for their parents, have warmed up to it nicely.

     

    1. Because Bachchan has aged so well!

    KBC without its host Amitabh Bachchan is unthinkable. With every passing season, he seems to find a subtle new way of engaging differently with the participants and the home viewers alike. Incredibly, even at his age, he is very aware of the emerging trends in the young generation today, and often makes fun of them, in a way that’s adorable and entertaining, but never condaescending. Watch him comment on the lyrics of new Bollywood songs whenever a question to that effect plays out. In context of entertainment, respect and awe often have a secondary connotation of boredom. In Bachchan’s case, he can entertain you and inspire you, while you look at him in awe of the sheer gift of gab, and the unmatched grace his personality exudes. We have known for years that there’s no one like him. But how he keeps getting better at it is still a mystery of sorts.

  • Will the sequel be the elusive 4+ show on GECs? Till then, let non-fictions sail the category through troubled times, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    September 2018: Kasautii GEC Ki

     

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    September 2018 promises to be a fairly eventful month for the Hindi GEC category. Using the word “eventful” for this category is unusual, giving the inertia we have seen it display over the last 3-4 years. But at least in relative terms, there’s a lot more happening this month than in any typical month.

    The big highlight is the return of the iconic Kasautii Zindagii Kay on Star Plus. The channel gave several hits in the 2000-2005 period, most of which were produced by Balaji Telefilms. This is the first franchise attempt at recreating that success, more than a decade later.

    The campaign has registered well so far, tracking higher than established non-fiction shows like KBC and Bigg Boss, which is a rare feat for a fiction show to achieve nowadays. The show is still more than two weeks away from its launch, but if it opens well and then goes on to sustain, we could see a barrage of franchise launches on GECs.

    But let the irony in Kasautii’s case not be lost. The K-serials were much-maligned by consumers in the late 2000s, paving way for Colors and forcing Star Plus to relook at their offering. A decade later, the second season of one of those much-maligned serials is the most looked-forward-to fiction launch. Clearly, what has happened in between, especially in the last three-four years, has to be very poor for this reversal of perception to happen.

    The other big highlight of this month is the launch of two big reality shows. KBC went on air this week, while Bigg Boss launches next weekend. There was not much I thought of this, till last night’s announcement by Colors that they have relooked at the Bigg Boss weekdays slot, and the show will now be aired at 9pm on all days, instead of the usual 10.30pm on weekdays and 9pm on weekends.

    Whatever thinking led to this after-thought is good thinking indeed. Fiction has been struggling across the board, and Colors’ recent fiction launches have been, at best, average in their performance. Putting a marquee property in the heart of the primetime is a confident move that only reinforces how Hindi GECs have started looking at non-fiction as stronger bets than fiction.

    Bigg Boss will take KBC head on. Two or three years ago, this would have been a no-contest, when KBC was a big family show and Bigg Boss a niche youth show. But times have changed. Acceptance for ‘edgier’ content has increased, be it in the kids’ category with shows like Shinchan finding morefavour, or in GECs, with Khatron KeKhiladi, Bigg Boss and their ilk growing into bigger versions of themselves. It will be a contest to watch out for.

    It would have been even more fun if Kasautii was being launched at 9 PM too. But that’s not the case, as the show gets a strong early-prime slot (8 PM). The channel has been proactively replacing its non-performing assets with new ideas over the last few weeks, and the results are beginning to show.

    Will Kasautii be that one elusive 4+ rating show that the category lacks today? We will know only over the next few months. Till then, let non-fiction sail the category through troubled times. Yet again.