Mythology reigns TV screens

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

: of the Indian population is around 25 years of age, they were too young when Ramayana or Mahabharata were aired on Doordarshan, the only channel available on television in the 80s. Even the television penetration back then was only into 9 million homes against the 67 million homes today. So it serves the dual purpose of catering to a larger viewer base as well as creating a recall factor for the youth,” explains Kejriwal.

Due to the increased competition amongst channels, there is an emphasis on quality content. Most of the channels are resorting to advanced production quality to motivate viewers to watch these age-old epics packaged differently.

Says Ashish Kaul, executive vice president, Essel Group and Zee network, “Costume dramas have the scope to showcase production skills in terms of the opulence, grandeur and the larger-than-life sets that these dramas require. Since the Indian audiences have been exposed to technological advancements and special effects through numerous Hollywood and Indian films, effective programming and high quality production will be of great value.”

But will the remakes succeed? “The sheer scale that we will use to retell the story of the Mahabharata will captivate entire families. It will be a compelling narrative, which will capture the imagination and get audiences involved with the characters and tracks. We’re confident of matching up to BR Chopra’s Mahabharata right from direction, screenplay, special effects and acting performances and creating another historic television epic. We’re portraying the epic with a completely different look and feel,” quips Keertan Adyanthyaa, general manager and executive vice-president, Star Plus.

The main reason why these stories click with the audiences is because viewers are used to understanding a basic plot of a television show, the moment there is a difference in the content platter it simultaneously enhances the consumption pattern. Due to the flood of GECs there is stiff competition among TV channels to replace each other from a given time band. The key lies in being different and relevant at the same time.