"Ethnic formats are a rave these days"

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it big on the big screen?

We are in no tearing rush. We do line production for feature films, meaning delivering on a fixed budget within a fixed timeframe but carrying no financial risk. We have three-four such projects lined up for the coming year but beyond that, we are happy with what we currently have. Having said that, the big screen definitely has more glamour quotient to it, so eventually we would get into it too.

Reality shows (and within that talent hunts) and game shows are the mainstay of your business. How long will this model last?

Forever—there is a lot of talent out there. This format won’t fizzle out, although you may not have so many singing-dancing shows. In time, this format may change into something else, an observational documentary for instance or another kind of a reality show.

You have worked a lot in the kids’ genre. How is that segment growing?

I would guess, at the rate of 30-35% per. Disney is ahead of Turner at the moment, but that may change. This genre is important as a lot of funnelling happens here. It’s a good training and testing ground for future audiences; so no broadcaster worth his salt can afford to miss out the kids’ genre.

Producers of reality shows are often accused of voyeuristic intentions, raising complex ethical concerns. As a producer of docu-dramas, how do you resolve this ethical dilemma?

I would say the news channels are more controversial than the entertainment channels. Reality shows fall in a pure entertainment space, so where and how do you draw lines in a show where nothing is being orchestrated? Who will monitor what?

We do take informed consent; proxy consent from legal guardians in case of children but beyond that what can you do? The situation that you are referring to could be a problem in the West, where they have shows like “cheaters”, which, I admit, is very revolting.

But I hope such shows won’t appear on Indian TV. Far more worse in my opinion are the media trials on news channels, where someone is being judgemental about someone else without sufficient facts or evidence.

What’s going to be the direction for Miditech over the coming years?