‘We are trying to spread the reality bug for prime-time viewing in India’

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: With some well-known globally successful formats adapted to shows like Big Boss, Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi and Deal Ya no Deal to its credit, Endemol India has managed to catch the pulse of Indian television audiences. Whether its shows based on talent hunts or stand-up comedy acts, Endemol India has produced a wide variety of programmes for a cross-section of broadcasters. The country head, Endemol India Deepak Dhar tells FE’s Sagorika Dasgupta that soaps may have dominated Indian television screens for quite some time but reality shows are here to stay. Excerpts:

Fear Factor - Khatron ke Khiladi, the new show on Colors managed to record 2.3 TRPs in the first week of its launch. Since there has been an overdose of reality shows featuring celebrities on Indian television, didn’t you feel there would be viewer fatigue with the show?

We were quite confident about the format of the show as Fear Factor is an international property and has done quite well in many countries. But what worked for it was the way we managed to create a ‘pressure cooker’ scenario for the 13 female celebrity contestants. We wanted to bank on the emotional connect that these 13 ladies have with audiences and have tried to build on that aspect. The contestants were mentored by Army officials, which was the main twist in the show. This added the extra zing that was successful in grabbing eyeballs. Of course, Akshay Kumar’s presence was really beneficial in generating curiosity simultaneously, adding the initial thrust for the show.

Endemol is known to produce a host of reality shows. Do you all do fiction as well?

We have a division that caters to fiction shows as well. This department was launched in January this year. As far as fiction shows are concerned, we launched two weekly sitcoms—Jamegi Jodi for 9X and Full Masti 88.2 for Sab TV. Our fiction shows are catching momentum with the audiences. In India, fiction draws a large segment of the audience. Currently, the entire television market is evolving and due to fragmentation, viewers are expecting change. Although reality shows do have an audience, it is fiction that mainly dominates the Indian viewership pattern in a huge way.

How is the market for reality shows in India?