Rival Site-Interview of Prashant Bhattt-MB

There is hardly any difference between the number two (Zee 215) and the number three channel (Colors 214) in the GEC (General Entertainment Channel) sweepstakes; the TRP numbers keep on fluctuating. Colors is doing well with its fiction properties like Madhubala (4), Balika Vadhu (4.4), Uttaran (3.1) and Sasural Simar Ka (3.0) hitting high ratings every week.

In order to get into the depths,Tellychakkar.com speaks to Colors, Head of Fiction, Prashant Bhatt for our Behind The Lens segment. Excerpts:

Colors is doing well. Some of your properties are rocking the TRP charts especially Madhubala which has, as a matter of fact, raced ahead after a slow start?

(smiles) We are happy that our efforts are finally paying off. Looking ahead, we need to work harder on our shows so that this momentum does not slip away and we go forward from here. Coming to Madhubala, we are quite happy with its growth trajectory. After a slow start, this show has really taken off. As a matter of fact, we were always confident of its potential. The show's start was required as we needed to establish various characters and the back story. Since then, the pace of the drama has picked up and the only reason why the audiences are liking it is because they are witness to the slow growth of the characters. Like one has seen from where Madhubala has come from, has looked into her background and how she was born and the kind of struggle she and her mother have gone through as well.

Does drama always win?

The success of Madhubala and other properties reflect that drama is indeed very important; it has high repeat value. People like to talk about it and there is also an anxiety about what will happen next. What is very important at this point of time is to balance the drama with good doses of emotions as well.

Will not the changing of lead actress (Pratyusha Banerjee to Toral Rasputra) in Balika Vadhu harm the show?

(pauses) The recent ratings have shown that content is always that king. If you tell the story with conviction, you have to take the audiences into confidence and stay true to your plot. This works.

Your 7 pm show Jai Jag Janani Maa Durga is not really doing well on the numbers front?

We have huge expectations from every show; some are met while a few fall slightly short of our expectations. Nevertheless, Durga is being made with a lot of dedication but is a difficult show to mount. A mytho requires lots of computer graphics and this challenge is made even tougher given the daily format. All said and done, whatever the numbers, we are happy with the way the show is framing up.

Where do you see Sasural Simar Ka now?

Sasural Simar Ka is a steady ship, occasional waves come and shake it, but it will not veer off its course or topple. It is not a Titanic.

The language used in your new 10.30 pm show Gurbani is very much Punjabi. Will this not affect the show's chances in other states? Who is yout TG (Target Audience) for the above show?

Our TG is for everybody who watches Colors. As for the language, it is not rustic Punjabi; rather it is colloquial which others can easily pick up. I am a Gujarati and whenever I watch the show I make it a point to see if I can understand the dialogues or not.