What’s wrong with Indian entertainment and why Rs 100 Cr Bollywood club is not cool?

We recently interviewed Abhigyan Jha Founder & CEO of Undercover Productions Ltd (the man behind JayHind TV and hits like Movers and Shakers). We asked him what he thought about the Rs 100 Cr club which Movie makers feel proud of and what challenges Indian entertainment industry is facing. The answers he gave are very candid, fascinating and revealing. Read them with your eyes wide open 🙂

Mehak:

Why do u think 100 Crore Bollywood club is not cool?

Abhigyan:

We have 121 crore people in this country so accordingly it doesn’t make sense. If a movie is making 100 crores business that means it’s collecting less than Rs 1 per capita which is extremely low. If we take example of US which has 310 million people, and movies there make upto 3-4 dollars per capita, we can see a huge difference. The simple reason for this huge disparity is that most Indians are not watching Bollywood movies and it proves that the content of our movies is getting pathetic. These figures about how much a movie has collected from the success at box office are misleading for a country like India. 3 idiots was the only movie that came close to selling 3 crore tickets in last 30 years. The top 3 Bollywood films by Box Office Gross ever are Mughal-e-Azam, Ganga Jamuna & Sholay and 3 Idiots is at a lousy 36th spot. (as per Box Office Bollywood Gold Standard). Shahrukh Khan’s movies are not even in the top 40. Mr. Bachchan has only 2 movies in top 50 – Sholay and Amar Akbar Anthony and he was not the solo actor in both. Mr. Dilip Kumar comes out as the biggest hero. Most of his films are in the top 20 grossing films. What went wrong was that after 1980 our filmmakers started making really bad movies.

When you call movies like Sholay and Mughal-e-azam, Superhits with collections close to or higher than Rs.1000 Crores, in the same breadth you cannot call movies like Housefull, a hit by any standard. We should not be told how much money, the movie made but instead how many people are actually watching the movie: How many tickets were actually sold. Movies, Television shows and Music in our country are not serving the right content but everybody is in denial mode that nothing is wrong. We are being told numbers which mean nothing: no one can get a sense out of TRP and Box Office Gross that very few people are actually watching even the so called HITS! Nobody will be able to tell you how many viewers are watching a “2.5 TRP rated show” ! Not even the channel people would know except for the strategy and marketing team. The Hindi Speaking market in India is at least 50 crore people out of which only 70 lakhs would be watching a show whose TRPs are 2 or more. In 1992-93, on a Hit series like say Dekh Bhai Dekh: each episode was made between 5.5 or 6 lakhs and unbelievably, the amount spent per episode of a show is the same today as well. After 20 years of inflation & Rupee Devaluation.

Mehak: 

So you think the content as whole is degrading? Not just movies?

Abhigyan:

We all remember Altaf Raja? He sold 27 lakh cassettes of his non-movie album near the end of 1990s and today an artist cannot sell even 2 lakhs. People are paying to get Airtel’s own jingle as ringtone but not Hindi Bollywood music. What can you do when everybody is in denial?

The recent show Satyameva Jayate had received a TRP of 3.0. Apparently Amir Khan has spent 30 crores on marketing and 7 crore per episode. They were trying to reach around 12 million people of India by telecasting the show on Doordarshan apart from Star Network. But this is not enough if they got 3 ratings for the show. It is a complete waste.

Let’s take another brilliant example- UK has a population of 60 million people and its number one show is the Music reality show done by ‘Simon Cowell’ which has around 9-10 million viewers. That’s a whopping 17-18% of the population.

Mehak:

Why these days no “real” blockbuster Movie is coming out of industry?

Abhigyan:

They have forgotten how to make a blockbuster and they have given up. It is like ‘Baniya’ game. Just like a small merchant would not like to make it big, similarly the Indian filmmakers never think of scale. They put 20 crores in a film and getting back 100 crores and this is sufficient for them. Nobody has been able to scale as they are satisfied. The filmmakers are looking at small number of people and at a much smaller universe. We don’t have the reach or the ambition to scale. Nobody is attempting to make it big. We don’t want to grow and we look at everything from the wrong side. A question to the filmmakers – Why do u make a film? Is it because you want to make money or you want people to watch your movie by showing them an amazing story and screenplay? If it is just the money then these filmmakers should have chosen the job of bankers, merchants or something else.

Can we even think of putting Yashraj Productions in comparison to Walt Disney? Can we compare what SRK does in terms of movies in comparison to Tom Cruise?

This year, IPL connected around 20 crore people in one or the other way. IPL alone is more than half of our Bollywood industry in terms of theatrical revenues. This proves that Bollywood is failing massively at attracting audiences to watch it’s movies.

Mehak:

Has Hollywood movies doing extremely good in India affected Bollywood?

Abhigyan:

No they are not doing extremely good but they have started doing well now. It started from the first Spiderman in India which had made the highest collection by a Hollywood film at the time.

Mehak:

Do you think Hollywood will surpass Bollywood in India in upcoming times? If yes, what lessons Bollywood needs to learn?

Abhigyan:

Yes, it can. Distribution system of Bollywood is to be blamed primarily. These are family based distribution systems that need to be changed.

Mehak:

Is there a hope that this pathetic content being delivered continuously can change?

Abhigyan:

Content can change and it is possible. It might change tomorrow or day after tomorrow. It doesn’t take much time/effort to change.

Vicky Donor was a recent good example. If an average film is like Vicky Donor, in quality then it’s a good sign. Paan Singh Tomar is another example of a movie which was not marketed properly but if it had been marketed like Kahani then it could have done better than Kahani.

So here we are throwing some really open questions to our Movie and TV show makers. What do you think of Indians as an audience?

Jhalak Dikhla Jaa Season 5 – First Week, First Look!

It was finally time for the Dancing Stars to show their talent on the floor of ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa‘. Yes after a lot of time and publicity, Colors was back with Season 5 of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. It was also time for the audience to see the 3 judges in action, that included Madhuri Dixit, Remo D’Souza and Karan Johar. There were 13 contestants on the show which included, Darsheel Safary, Archana Vijaya, Isha Sharvani, Sanath Jayasuriya, Gurmeet Choudhary, Talat Aziz, Shibani Dandekar, Ravi Kishan, Jayati Bhatia, Pratyusha Banerjee, Bharti Singh, Gia Manek. And there was some suspense that  was created for the 14th participant, and it was none other than KBC Winner Sushil Kumar.

So did you miss the opening episodes of the show? Well dont worry, iDubba is here to give you the review of the opening week. The opening episode of season five was as good as an award function. The huge set did create a larger than life feel along with an impressive line-up of celebrities. A host of TV and Bollywood celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Shaan, Sonu Sood, Malaika Arora Khan and Ayushmann Khurrana were invited to introduce the contestants. Another highlight of the show was a power-packed performance by Remo and Terence Lewis, who danced together on the “Singham” title track. It was a two-hour, star-studded show and was full of Bollywood masala. But at times there was a feeling that the audience would have got confused as to who were the real contestants. Were you also confused?

Well, lets move on to the second episode of the season 5 of ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa‘. The second episode did present some electrifying performances by Madhuri Dixit, Remo D’Souza and Karan Johar. And soon it was time for the celebrity contestants and their choreographers to impress the audiences with their moves. Well if you thought that there was just dance, well as expected the famous Gazal singer Talat Aziz did end up doing what he is best at – “Singing”.  Well there was more, Stand-up comedian Bharti Singh turned out to be one of the most entertaining celebrities, and also did perform well with her dancing moves. But the surprise package was Sri Lankan master blaster Jayasuriya who took to the stage, the audience and the judges by storm. The judges actually did give him a standing ovation.

Jhalak Dikhhla Ja created a lot of buzz on the social media sites and also a lot of views and feedback was circulated. There were fans who said that ‘Jhalak’ should experiment with some new choreographers as it gets a little boring to see the same faces year after year. Also some are of the opinion that it gets tough to sit through a two-hour television show. Well  the show promises to be bigger and better than the previous seasons. But Is ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa‘ season 5 really bigger and better? Let’s wait and watch what the future episodes have in store for us.

Do send in your feedback and views regarding ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa‘ season 5.

Happy Dancing and Viewing

Indian TV projects unhappy lives- Do you agree?

Sounds strange? Surprised? Well, this is just a statement made by one of the most successful film director and producer. But do you think he is right is saying “Indian TV projects unhappy lives”? Some of you might agree, some might not. Also i am sure that there will also be a section that might not like to accept this harsh reality. Well by now you might have been eagerly waiting to find out who has made such a statement. Here you go, it’s our very own “KJo” aka Karan Johar.

You will soon be able to see him back on television as a judge for “Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa“. So what does he exactly mean by this statement? In one of the interviews he was asked “How aware are you of TV content? And this is what his answer was –

I know it because when I have dinner with my mother, I watch them all. I know exactly what’s happening in “Pavitra Rishta“, I know that “Bade Achche Lagte Hain” is going to take a leap, and I know the trauma going on in “Balika Vadhu“, the trauma that went through “Uttaran“, and I know all the problems that go on in these shows because I spend the maximum time with my mother between 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., which is when she watches all this.”

But the real question is that is it right to talk about television, when almost similar drama is been served in Bollywood? It’s a tough question to ask. But off lately Television has taken its content and quality to the next level. Although there might be some shows that still run the old fashioned drama, but majority of them have moved on with the time. Shows such as “Pavitra Rishta“, “Bade Achche Lagte Hain” are setting a trend and creating their loyal audience base. You might question that they too took help of the “Leap Factor” to regenerate the interest of their audiences, but that is the need of the hour. The same is also true for Bollywood, when all you can see south remakes, one after another. After a time this formula might not work, but it is so far so good.

There are eras that come and go, some shows are successful and some fail. Some try to add in loads of emotional content in order to ensure that the audiences will connect with their story. Indian audience have been through Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahani Ghar Ghar ki era and they have also been through the trauma in the shows such as  Balika Vadhu and Uttaran. But such shows have also delivered a strong message to the society and with an emotional quotient. So can we say that Indian Television projects unhappy lives? Well you can’t rule out the fact that such shows are Prime Time Shows 😉

Do let us know your views about this topic. And also don’t forget to set in a reminder about your favorite shows with the help of iDubba app.

“Satyamev Jayate” 6th episode video, reviews and reactions – “Persons with Disabilities”

Aamir Khan and his TV show “Satyamev Jayate” have been dodging the constant bullets from the Doctor’s and the Khap Panchayat too. It seems that both the parties had not taken the issues raised in the right spirit. Well now it was time for the 6th episode, and time for another social issue. There were some tweets about what the 6th episode might be “Is it good looks, talent or something else? Find out what makes you a hero on Satyamev Jayate ” The earlier 5 episodes were about Female foeticide, Child sexual abuse , Marriages and dowry harassment , DoesHealthcare Need Healing? and “Where is the love?”  So what will be the 6th episode about? Well here you go.

The show started with two videos and their touching story. The first one was about a 11yr old girl, Shreya Chaturvedi. She was talking about her sweet relation with her mom and how she calls her as a Friend. The strength and the courage she has, very few of us could have had. Although she is not able to walk and live a normal life, she says that she is really happy with her life, and thanks god for what she is. The second one was about Sai and his life. Even though he could not live a normal life, he is living his life to the fullest. He was among the top 5 of his university. Sai also pointed out that the biggest problem in India is infrastructure for the disabled. Soon it was clear that this episode was about the rights for the Disabled.

Aamir had also invited school teachers and principals to have a discussion about this very important topic. There were some shocking videos about how the disabled were forced to live their life and how they travelled to their offices. The lack of ramps was very evident. And you end up saying “Ramp should be Must in All Buildings”! Schools, Colleges, Offices should introduce basic infrastructure facilities for physically disabled people. What are the fundamental needs of the disabled? Is our infrastructure equipped enough?

The third story was about Krishnakant and his life, how he managed to live his life and live it in the true sense. Krishnakant Mane, reveals, “World is going to be kind & cruel to everyone and that is how it should be for the disabled too“. There was a moment when he said “Call me KK” 😉 It was like AK interviews KK and soon KK was joined by his wife, Sayli. And guess what, KK’s handicap is not at all a handicap; it is an Eyeopener for us, who have almost every facility in our lives.

Now it was time to face more facts and to ask ourselves this question “What about the Right to Free Education act”? The Right to Education ACT says that each and every child, able or disabled has equal rights to get education.  But as this show is always known to surprise you and show you that there is HOPE alive. It was time to take a tour of Amar Jyoti School and the kind of facilities that they had for the disabled. We need more schools like Amar Jyoti to treat every child equally. Is it that difficult to replicate these kind of schools? As they say nothing is impossible, all we need to do is just take the first step. Blindness does not mean end of life but it means beginning of another golden life, says Mr. Kothari.

Aamir Khan disclosed that in the past 12 months, no case of polio has been reported. Well there is still a ray of hope and hope we all make the most of the lives that we have. To take the show to a new level Nisha was also invited to talk about her life. Her parents did say that we also complain about every thing in life, but Nisha never complains. The story of Nisha and her parents had touched the audiences in the show and I’m sure that those watching the show on television too were touched. Touching and unforgettable!

Strangest part is that Disabled people were not even included in census report. Almost 50% of people in India think that people get disabilities because of sins committed in last life. Strange!! Well don’t be, Javed Abib also shared some more shocking statistics such as “The first 10 of India’s five-year plans did not find any mention for the Disabled. Are we wrong in asking for our rights?”  He went on as also said “Just a strict circular from the HRD Ministry can make Universities disabled-friendly”.

Now it was time for a power pact performance by Joginder Saluja who started his own disabled-friendly, inclusive gym. There were amazing visuals of his Gym and soon Aamir Khan too was in action to match up to Joginder’s power. It must be said that Aamir khan and his team never fails to impress, today’s episode too was an eye opener. Satyamev Jayate is no doubt a clear reflection of the insensitive Indian mental attitude towards the disabled. Soon it was time for the 6th song of this series and as always melody of Sona Mohapatra and Rama Sampath managed to thrill the audiences. To add to that amazing melody there were some awesome acrobatic performances by the kids from “Unlimited Ability”.

Do let us know your views about this Show and also do follow us on Twitter (iDubba) for more updates about this show as and when it occurs.

[TRP Talks] Madhubala HIT & Byah Hamari Bahu Ka did not match up to high expectations!

Television Shows	TRP (This week)	TRP (Last week)
Diya Aur Baati Hum (StarPlus)	5.0	5.5
Saath Nibhana Saathiya (StarPlus)	3.2	3.2
Ek Hazaron Mein Meri Behena Hai (StarPlus)	3.3	3.8
Balika Vadhu (Colors)	3.3	3.7
Pavitra Rishta (Zee TV)	2.6	2.5
Iss Pyaar Ko Kyaa Naam Doon (Star Plus)	2.9	2.5
Parichay (Colors)	2.6	2.3
Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata hai (Star Plus)	3.5	3.4
Mann Ki Awaaz Pratigya (Star Plus)	2.6	2.1
Sasural Simar Ka (Colors)	2.3	2.1
Uttaran (Colors)	2.9	2.4
Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma (Sab TV)	2.5	2.3
Punar Vivah (Zee TV)	2.9	2.9
Ek Dusre Se Karte Hain Pyaar Hum (Star Plus)	1.4	1.8
Bade Acche Laggte Hain (Sony TV)	2.8	2.6
Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha (Colors)	2.1	1.6
Parvarrish – Kucch Khattee Kucchh Meethi (Sony TV)	1.9	1.8
Kyaa Hua Tera Vaada (Sony TV)	2.4	2.2
Phir Subah Hogi (Zee TV)	2.2	1.8
Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein (Zee TV)	2.2	2.3
Madhubala-Ek Ishq Ek Junoon (colors TV)	2.8	1.5 (Veer Shivaji)
Byaah Hamari Bahu Ka (Sony TV)	0.5	0.6 (KTLK)
Kuch Toh Log Kahenge (Sony TV) (11 PM slot)	1.4	–

GRPs !!! Wk’22 2012

Television Channels	GRP (This week)	GRP (Last week)
Set Max	183	237
Star Plus	272	266
Sony TV	206	219
Zee TV	233	217
Colors	221	201
Sab TV	121	115
Life Ok	112	113
Sahara One	41	40
Star Gold	127	134
Movies Ok	68	76

Some other popular shows:

• IPL T20 Final (Max): Sun 9.1
• DID Lil Masters (Zee TV): Sun TVR: 3.1 (3.4), Rch: 10.5 (12.3), TSV: 31.2 (28.0), Sat TVR: 5.0 (4.7), Rch: 15.0 (15.0), TSV: 34.5 (29.2)
• Satyamev Jayate (Star Plus): Avg TVR: 3.0 (2.6)
• Satyamev Jayate (All 9 Channels): TVR: 3.7 (3.3)
• Indian Idol (Sony TV): Fri TVR: 2.1 , Rch: 8.9 , TSV: 20.3, Sat TVR: 2.1 , Rch: 9.9 , TSV: 19.2
• Madhubala (Veer Shivaji) (Colors): Avg TVR: 2.8 (1.5), Avg Rch: 7.1 (4.2), Avg TSV: 15.5 (11.0), Day wise TVR: 2.7, 2.9, 2.4, 2.8, 3.0 (Mon was 1 hr ep)
• Byaah Hamari Bahu Ka (Kuch Toh Log Kahenge) (Sony TV): Avg TVR: 0.5 (0.6), Avg Rch: 2.3 (2.1), Avg TSV: 7.4 (9.3), Day wise TVR: 0.9, 0.5, 0.5, 0.4, 0.5
• Adaalat (Sony TV): 1.1 (1.7)
• CID (Sony TV): Fri – 3.2 (2.6), Sat – 3.6 (3.7)
• Crime Patrol (Sony TV): Fri – 2.9 (3.3), Sat – 3.5 (3.9)

Too many things happened in last week! Sony TV opened 11 PM slot and Kuch Toh Log Kahenge is shifted to the same. It gained 1.4 ratings. A superb answer to all those who thought the show will not work. Interesting step!

Byaah Hamari Bahu Ka which replaced Kuch Toh Log Kahenge did not quite live up to the expectations in terms of ratings. It is too low for the opening week. Well, the show is practically good, all the best to the team. Wish next week brings out the maximum ratings!

Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon on Colors TV, which replaced Veer Shivaji got an awesome opening of 2.8; spontaneously super hit! The entire concept, execution and editing has been crisp and interesting. Let’s see how far it takes colors TV in terms of GRPs. But, as per first week, the show is a HIT HIT!

Indian Idol opened with 2.1. Again, it was not as per expectations according to the intriguing and heart touching promos. Last week was a major one for Sony TV; too many new steps taken by them, one turned out to be great, others not so great! Also, it lost GRPs as well.

GRP wise Star Plus is still at number 1 in GECs; Zee TV has again regained its number 2 position, followed by Colors and Sony TV.

Well, that’s it for today. Let’s see what surprise next week brings. Till then, keep watching your favorite shows and keep yourself entertained! 🙂

11th Indian Telly Awards – Telly World ka ‘Tally Nama’

Why Blue Carpet?

Attendees of the 11th Indian Telly Awards would have been surprised to note a blue carpet rather than a red one when they entered the venue of India’s leading television performance recognition ceremony. Not many knew what it was about.

The decision behind having a blue carpet came about to bring to people’s minds the increasing degradation and pollution of India’s rivers and the government’s apathy towards this rising menace.

Founder of The Indian Telly Awards, Anil Wanvari tweeted: “Why was the red carpet at the 11th Indian Telly Awards blue? Because it was moaning the polluted state of India’s holiest river – Ganga.”

The initiative clearly indicated how even trademark and leading events can be used to highlight certain social issues and causes.

Lets find out who turned out to be the Winners:

Best Child Artist (Female)– Anchal Munjal (Parvarrish – Kuchh Khattee Kuchh Meethi, DJ’s A Creative Unit, Sony Entertainment Television)

Best Child Artist (Male)– Raj Mange ( Jai Jai Jai Bajrang Bali, Sagar Arts, Sahara One)

Best Anchor– Amitabh Bachchan (Kaun Banega Crorepari season 5, Big Synergy Media Ltd, Sony Entertainment Television)

Best Actress in a Comic Role– Kavita Kaushik (FIR, Edit II, SAB TV)

Best Actor in a Comic Role– Dilip Joshi (Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltha Chashma, Neela Telefilms, SAB TV)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role– Rupal Patel (Saath Nibhana Saathiya, Rashmi Sharma Telefilms, Star Plus)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role– Anoop Soni (Balika Vadhu, Sphere Origins, Colors)

Television Personality – Male– Ronit Bose Roy (Adaalat, Contiloe Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Sony Entertainment Television)

Television Personality – Female-Ankita Lokhande (Pavitra Rishta, Balaji Telefilms Ltd, Zee TV)

Actress in a Negative Role– Kanika Maheshwari (Diya Aur Bati Hum, Shashi Sumeet Mittal Productions Pvt Ltd, Star Plus)

Actor in a Negative Role– Karanvir Bohra (Dil Se Di Dua… Saubhagyavati Bhava, UTV Software Communications Ltd, Life OK)

Fresh New Face (Female)– Aakanksha Singh (Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha, Sunshine Productions, Colors)

Fresh New Face (Male)– Kushal Tandon (Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai, Cinevistaas Limited, Star Plus)

Actress in a Lead Role– Giaa Maanek (Saath Nibhana Saathiya, Rashmi Sharma Telefilms, Star Plus

Actor in a Lead Role– Ram Kapoor and Samir Soni (Bade Acche Lagte Hai/Parichay, Balaji Telefilms Ltd, Sony Entertainment Television/ Colors)

Ensemble– Parvarrish Kuchh Khatti Kuchh Meeth (DJ’s A Creative Unit, Sony Entertainment Television)

Programme with a Social Message– Afsar Bitiya (Village Boy Production, ZEE TV)

Daily Serial– Diya Aur Baati Hum (Shashi Sumeet Mittal Productions Pvt Ltd, Star Plus)

Weekly Serial– Adaalat (Contiloe Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Sony Entertainment Television)

Continuing TV Programme– Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, (Director’s Kut Production, Star Plus)

Drama Series– Balika Vadhu—Kachchi Umar Ke Pakke Rishte (Sphere Origins Multivision Pvt Ltd, Colors)

Thriller Programme– C.I.D and Crime Patrol (Fireworks Productions/ Optimystix Entertainment India Pvt Ltd, Sony Entertainment Television)

Kid’s Programme -Bournvita Quiz Contest (Derek O’Brien & Associates Pvt Ltd, Colors)

Sitcom/Comedy Programme– Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (Neela Telefilms Pvt Ltd, SAB TV)

Reality Show– Bigg Boss (Endemol India Pvt Ltd, Colors)

Game Show – Kaun Banega Crorepati – Season 5 (Big Synergy Media Ltd, Sony Entertainment Television)

Dance Talent Show – Dance India Dance – Season 3 (24 Frames, ZEE TV)

Singing Talent Show – X – Factor India 2011 (Fremantle India Television Productions Pvt Ltd, Sony Entertainment Television)

Comedy Talent Show– Jubilee Comedy Circus (Optimystix Entertainment India Pvt Ltd, Sony Entertainment Television)

Mythological Series – Veer Shivaji (Contiloe Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Colors)

Judge panel on a TV Show– Dharmendra, Kiron Kher, Sonali Bendre (India’s Got Talent Season – 3, Fremantle India Television Productions Pvt Ltd, Colors)

Youth Show – Fiction – Dil Dostii Dance (Cinevistaas Limited, Channel V)

Youth Show– Non Fiction– MTV Hero Honda Roadies 8 Short Cut To Hell (Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltd, MTV)

Televised Awards Show – STAR Parivaar Awards 2012– (Sol Production Pvt Ltd, Star Plus)

Televised Entertainment Show– Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil Champ Finale (Big Productions, Zee TV)

On Screen Couple– Barun Sobti & Sanaya Irani ( Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, Panglosean Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Star Plus)

Production House of the Year– Optimystix Entertainment India Pvt Ltd

Gary Bhinder Most Promising Young Director– Shoojit Sircar

Special Award (breaking into films)– Ekta Kapoor

Well, seems like there was a lot of FUN and hoo-haa at the grand event! And the hosts were none other than the 2 popular hottest men of Indian Television – Ronit Roy and Ram Kapoor.

Almost everybody from the Telly land marked their presence with of course few Bollywood biggies too! Every year, everyone exclusively waits for the Indian Telly Awards. Fans vote for their favorite stars and make them win. Jury spends a lot of time watching almost all shows, to just give out the award to the most deserved candidate. Well, at the end, it’s all about the Telly game. Or how about call it a “Tally” game!

Cheers to all the winners! And do catch the event on Colors TV channel soon.

(Sources: Tellychakkar.com and @Colors TV on twitter)

Indian Idol Season 6 set to bring the best of India’s talent to your television sets!

It was time for Sony Entertainment Television India to bring on one of its most successful interactive reality talent show. Yes we are talking about Indian Idol Season Six. The show, which was dropped last year for the launch of ‘X Factor India’  has made a comeback this year and as mentioned in our earlier post “Indian Idol is back again”, Mini Mathur and Hussain Kuwajerwala who have previously hosted the show are once again back to host Season 6 of Indian Idol. So have you managed to catch the 1st episode (Auditions)? Did it live up-to the expectations of the audiences? Will it shock the audiences with great talent?

Let’s find out more about the 1st episode and the events on the show. As expected Anu Malik, Salim Merchant and Sunidhi Chauhan were all set to judge the contestants. But hang on, soon they will be joined by the famous and really talented playback singer of Hindi cinema, Asha Bhosle. The 1st Episode was in Capital of India – Delhi, but there were also contestants who had come all the way from neighboring cities like Amritsar to show their talent.

As mentioned in the promos  this year `Indian Idol` will not only strike an emotional chord but also promises to shock the viewers by showcasing the amazing talent that breeds in the country. There were many amazing contestants who did live up-to the high expectations of the judges. As always Anu Malik was at his best with his so called jokes. Sunidhi Chawan was looking as young as ever, giving glimpse of her golden voice. Salim Merchant was as cool as ever with his looks and style. The show also had Shreeman performing on ‘Desi Boyz’ for a huge crowd. There were many occasions when all the three judges made a unanimous decision and gave the entry to Mumbai for the Piano round. There were also some emotional stories of participants who were sharing their dreams, and the struggle that they had to go through in order to reach on this show.

There was a crazy moment in the show when one of the contestants was all set to show his magical software, when he almost covered his mouth with this hand and started singing. The judges were zapped watching it and I’m sure that the viewers too had a great time watching it. There was a rocking performance by Amit Kumar  who made Sunidhi Chauhan get off her seat and ask him for a hug! Vipul Mehta from Amritsar who was trained in music, also managed to wins judges’ heart with Sukhvinder’s song! Although this was the first episode, there are many more sensational singers who will be seen in the coming episodes.

Auditions will be across India including Delhi, Mumbai, Aurangabad, Orissa, Kolkata, Lucknow, Jaipur, Amritsar. So which cities will be covered next? Well for that you will have to watch the show on Friday and Saturday on Sony Entertainment Television at 8:30 pm and to do that do set a reminder using our iDubba app so that you don’t miss the show. Do let us know your views about the 1st Episode and who was your favorite singer.

Happy (Singing) Viewing 🙂

Jhalak Dikhla Jaa Season 5 – Time to meet the Dancing Stars!

It’s time for the celebrities and well-known faces to perform with professional dance partners on a highly competitive stage. This time Colors is back with Season 5 of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. As mentioned in our earlier post “Dhak Dhak Girl is back on television with ‘Jhalak Dikhla Ja’ season 5″  Madhuri Dixit will be one of the judges for this show. So who are the other two judges?  Well, guess what? Karan Johar and Remo D’Souza will be judging the contestants on this dance reality show. So now that you are aware of the 3 judges would you like to know the 14 participants that they will be judging? Are you excited to know all the celebrity participants?

Here are the top 14 contestants for you:

Isha Sharvani: She is a dancer and actress. Well known for her stylistic and difficult dance performances. She has also starred in some Bollywood films such as Kisna: The Warrior Poet, Darwaza Bandh Rakho and Rocky: The Rebel. She does have a strong chance to bag the top position this year, based on her strong command on this art form.

Talat Aziz: We all know him as a very popular ghazal singer and is also known to perform in front of large audiences. But will he be able to charm the audience with his dancing moves? Well only time will tell if he is able to do that.

Bharti Singh: Bharti Singh aka the “Lalli” of Indian television has certainly made an impact and is also all over Comedy Circus. It will be interesting to see her dance to the tunes of the choreographer.

Ravi Kissen:  Popularly known as Ravi Kishan, is an Indian film actor, voice actor and television personality, who works in Hindi cinema and Bhojpuri cinema. In 2006, he participated in Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother. This show might not be a tough task for him as he has done many films and dancing should come easily to him.

Sanath Jayasuriya:  Is a former Sri Lanka cricketer and was an all-rounder, who had an illustrious international cricket career that spread over two decades. He is also a politician in Sri Lanka. So will he be able to pull it off on this dance arena?

Darsheel Safary: He is best known for his acclaimed portrayal of a dyslexic child in the 2007 film Taare Zameen Par. It must be noted that Darsheel was selected for his debut film from a Shiamak Davar class, so needless to say that the 16 year old will be quite a force to reckon with on the show!

Gurmeet Choudhary: He has made his debut in the 2008 television series Ramayan as Lord Rama and was also know for his role in one of the most successful and popular show on STAR One Geet – Hui Sabse Parayi. Currently he is playing the role of Yash in Punar Vivah on Zee TV. So are you excited to see him put on his dancing shoes!!!

Karan V Grover: He is best known for his portrayal of Arjun Goenka in Saarrthi that aired on STAR Plus, establishing him as a household name. He is also currently working for Rajshri Productions’s show Yahan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli opposite Suhasi Goradia Dhami. Will he be the dark horse?

Meghna Kaur (Gill) Malik : She is a TV and film actress, who is popularly known as the high-handed Ammaji of Na Aana Is Des Laado, a show focusing on female infanticide and other atrocities against women. Will she be able to rock this show with her woman power?

Manish Paul is an Indian television actor who gained recognition after he hosted singing and dance reality. He also hosted Dance India Dance Li’l Masters on Zee TV and he is currently hosting Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar on Zee TV.  Before getting into anchoring, manish paul has acted in many serials like Radhaa Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayengi on NDTV Imagine, Zindadil (ZeeNext), Ssshhhh…Phir Koi Hai on Star One.

Avika Gor: Our very own Anandi. Yes the child actress, famous for playing Anandi in the show Balika Vadhu will also be part of this show. Will this Child Actor be able to win the hearts of the audience with her dancing moves?

Pratyuksha Banerjee: Also know as Sr Anandi. Yes she is the one who had stepped into the shoes of Avika Gor will be seen in this show. Can she beat Jr Anandi? It will be interesting to see the two fight it out on the dancing arena.

Hina Khan : She plays a lead Protagonist role in the Indian TV drama series Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai on Star Plus. No doubt that she has won numerous awards as Favourite Bhabhi, Favourite Patni and Favourite Beti. But will she bag the title of Jhalak Dikhla Jaa Season 5?

And finally we have Giaa Manek, she is currently playing the lead role in Star Plus‘s serial Saathiya. She too is a popular household name, but will she be able to stand out on the dancing arena?

So who do you think has a bright chance to bag the title of Jhalak Dikhla Jaa Season 5? Do let us know your views on these top 14 contestants who will fight it out and take away your hearts with their dance moves. You can also follow us on Twitter (@iDubba) for more updates about this show as and when it occurs.

Happy Viewing.

Should you really care about 2% of TV viewing audience?

Let’s start with the tweet which triggered this post:

Sneha Rajani ‏ @SnehaRajani

Do people on Twitter realise that they represent less than 2% of the TV viewing audience in our country?

When it comes from Senior Executive Vice President and Business Head of popular TV channel, it got to have some weight. Well you might not care about “this” 2% of TV viewing audience (which turns out to be a whopping 8 million) as this does not affect your TRPs “yet”. But just to bring out this question today- Don’t you think this is anyway a subset of existing TV viewing audience? Also it is probably the only audience with a face and platform to reach out to you?

So what’s the real story behind all of this?

The show “Bade Acche Laggte Hain” till now (it’s been a year) offered an outstanding storyline and audience loved how this couple who got married and fell in love with each other and their consummation sequence. Not only that, there were such awesome episodes and most cherishing scenes of Ram and Sakshi, which one can keep on watching a million times. Even their phone-cut scenes were shot so beautifully, one could easily feel their happiness as well as sadness. The show had such interesting charm and was in top 10 shows for first few months. Bade Acche Laggte Hain is definitely ‘the-most-talked about’ show on social media (a rare feat in India). Everyone must not be watching it, but they all know about it. The freshness of the show was something that kept audiences glued to the show.

But, unfortunately, these days, fans feel, that the show has lost its charm and its original storyline. Not only the fans, but even the Director of the show felt the same; when she tweeted to a fan

sangieta rao ‏ @sangieta3

@heartrider_anu. I can only say u all were thr wid us in our good time… Hope u stay wid us now, as this phase shall too pass..

This is because the current track is sort of a separation of the lead couple. The loyal fans do not want to see the separation track and instead want to watch how the couple faces challenges of their life ‘together’. They surely do not wish to watch the same K-soapy stuff which is like ‘been there, done that’ sort of a thing for them!

rajalaxmi sahu ‏ @rajsah1982

@PositiveMe2 @sangieta3 Why d shows are being made? for fans and viewers?then it shd go in way we expect it.cut the crap pls, dnt ruin BALH

 Tullika ‏ @tullikarastogi

@PositiveMe2 people are suffering from heart attacks sadness syndrome please bring Ram and Priya together and bring love strong moments

 Priyanka Kannan ‏ @Kannan_Priyanka

@ramkapoor1973 @PositiveMe2 @sangieta3 The way the story is progresing – both the viewer interest n TRP wil DIP! 0-out of box thinking..SAD!

Also there is news about a leap happening in Bade Acche Laggte Hain. Just one article somewhere and FANS go BOOOM! The outrage has no END! They just do NOT wish to watch the leap. Few fans have gone to the extent of saying “we will stop watching the show if there is a leap”. This is insane! But that shows how strongly and emotionally fans are attached to the show and they do not like it being ruined in such a worse way. There is a petition which fans have created and have been broadcasting it to other fans, asking them to sign it if they don’t wish to see a leap in the a show:

@kogupta#noleapinBALH, show is too unique to be thrown into leap fest already. We want a happy pregnancy track with cute RaYa moments!!

Bade Ache Lagte Hain ‏ @BadeAchche_RKR

With rumors of 4 year leap coming up in the show, we have created a petition to let the creatives know that the…

So you have a got a fair bit of idea now, this in all probability looks like the first case where fans have taken the show-makers of a channel by storm (In India). Show makers are forced to reply to fans and since they cannot take the decision of changing their story-line based on few “thousand” tweets, they have gone defensive. Importantly, the show’s TRPs are not low and hovering around 2.4-2.6, which might be holding the makers to listen to this “2%” of TV audience.

Since people on Twitter might also get influenced by peers, we thought of taking neutral views of our audience at iDubba regarding the same issue. (In just one day we were able to register more than 150 reactions) Here are the results-

Q1. Do you feel Bade Achhe Laggte Hain has lost its content quality?
Yes- 58% (50)
No- 30% (26)
Maybe- 12% (10)

Q2. Do you think there should be a LEAP in the show?
Yes- 53% (46)
No- 42% (36)
I don’t know- 5% (4)

Surprisingly the results here indicate people would like to see a leap as it might give them some new content.

Here are some of the reactions from our users:

“It should continue like the way it had started, all lovey lovey.. no vamps/villaneous roles… should end off in another 20 episodes.. then maybe season 2 could start :)”

“They shud put some sensible plots in the shows n make RAM(the lead character) some head to think n see the truth….how can the lead character be so dumb….”

“Coolest show ever watched on tv u could add some funny stuff to have a good laugh with family. missing the sense of humor of the story writer “

“Show has totally gone boring. If nothing changes for good in next few episodes, I ll quit watching it. Make it something exciting. Like death of any characters or intro of new chars.”

Conclusion:

So as we can see the reactions about the show are mixed but one thing is clear- viewers believe the show has lost its original charm and quality and they want it to be back on track (which even show’s Director agreed to). Put aside TRPs, with platforms like Twitter and iDubba, TV viewers get a chance to make their voices heard. Whether some actions are taken or not is a completely different thing as it requires the involvement of various other stakeholders for same. But we believe that very soon show makers will consider including “qualitative” data too instead of just “quantitative” data while deciding the path of a show. In U.S. for example Nielson found out that TRPs of shows are in accordance with various social TV conversation analyzers like Trendrr TV. Which means you can NO longer leave people’s voices unheard. With internet users growing by leaps and bounds (in India) th3 trend is only going to get strong – from 2% to 20%, could you afford to neglect these viewers then??

Satyamev Jayate 4th episode reviews and reactions – “Does Healthcare Need Healing?”

It was time for the 4th episode of Satyamev Jayate and time for one more social issue. The earlier 3 episodes were about Female foeticide, Child sexual abuse and Marriages and dowry harassment. Hence as expected the 4th episode too was about serious issues that we are facing in our daily lives. The audience was eagerly waiting to know about this episode and it was about “Doctors and their intentions”.

The show started with Aamir Khan talking about health and how important it is for us. He had invited youngsters who want to become doctors. Most of them said that they want to serve the people who cannot get quality health care facilities in India. The show started with a shocking story of Venkatesh and Arvind and their story about how the treatment went wrong. Venkatesh lost his toe, more than Rs 2 lakh towards treatment & underwent severe trauma and Arvind developed a fear of doctors due to being misdiagnosed and forced to spend 1.4lac. How often do we hear this? I guess most of us might have heard it from friends or relatives who have gone through this. After hearing this it is obvious that you might ask this question “Has the noble profession of medicine lost its nobility?”

There was a shocking revelation that Doctors were asking for 40 to 50% commission to refer patients to path labs. And Aamir did also share a term called “Basin test”. In this the doctors refer patients for a blood test, even though it was not required and the blood given as sample was literary thrown in the basin. Yes Basin. There was also a story of Dr. Pichad who initially did resort to malpractices to run his lab, but he changed his stance later despite losses. Wait till you hear this “Dr. Pandit says big hospitals encouraged him to scare patients into opting for treatment” and he had to leave India because it was against his ethics to agree to what he was told. Shocking? Once again the audience in the studio was shocked to hear such stories. Are our doctor’s really becoming SICK?

Soon it was time to hit the nail on the head. Aamir had invited Prof. K.K.Talwar who is the Chairman, Board of Governors of Medical Council of India. And it was time to ask tough questions and show the real world.

How many licences have been cancelled permanently for medical malpractices? The answer is Zero since 2008. And on the other hand almost 60-80 licences have been cancelled in England. So does this mean that Doctors in England are worst that the ones in India? There was one more issue that was raised “Capitation fees for medical colleges”. Do you think the high amount of capitation fees for medical colleges is responsible for this issue? No wonder Doctors end up trying to recover the money that was invested.

PS: Aamir did repeat many times that the idea is not to defame the doctors but to ensure that the doctors give justice to their profession.

Dr. Gulati says that more government hospitals need to be set up & medical care needs to be given top priority. And soon Aamir was ready with statistics about Medical Colleges in India. Guess What? In 2001 there were 31 Government Medical colleges in India and 106 Private Medical Colleges in India. Strange? 

Dr. Gulati says that 6% of GDP must be spent on health care for medical care to be given to all, like Belgium does. And India spends 1.4% on the GDP on Health Care. Dr. Devi Shetty was also invited to talk about the programs that they are currently running successfully. Dr.Devi Shetty’s Yashaswini scheme no doubt is a super example of coming together and support each other’s healthcare needs.

The show always talks about the problems and the evils of the issues that are being raised every week, but as always also talks about how we, we the people can discuss the issues and be a solution to our problems. No doubt being a Doctor is a very Nobel profession but now a days it’s a business and many are misleading their patients. Now it was time for the 4th song of this series with some amazing melody by Ram Sampath and Suresh Bhatia. I’m sure that the audience who watched the show on their television sets must have gone through some of these cases. Be it visiting the doctor, or buying expensive medicines or paying extra money as donation to the medical colleges. But it is in our hands to stay safe and be aware of the events around us.

Do let us know your views about this show and also do follow us on Twitter (@iDubba) for more updates about this show as and when it occurs.