Article: Thodi si Zameen is ending

Smriti Irani's Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan is being pulled off air. Apparently the reason is the same old, same old: poor TRPs

Smriti Irani's much-hyped weekly show Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan has finally come to an end. The soap that took off with a bang did not fare too well, hitting rock-bottom TRPs, and leading to its discontinuation.

Thodi Si… had high hopes riding on it as Smriti's first venture as producer. Her then-good-friend Ekta rose marvellously to the occasion, and chipped in to jointly produce it with her. The serial professed to be a real-life depiction of chawls in Mumbai. Its USP lay in its script which was unlike the staple diet of saas-bahu sagas the audience is ritually fed with. Being at an advantageous position on the weekend slot, it did reasonably well in the initial few weeks.

A still from Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasman

Although the show had a good cast, the TRPs could not sustain even an average run and started dropping phenomenally. After a year, co-producer Ekta Kapoor backed out of the project. Now, Star Plus also seems to have abandoned Smriti in her creative efforts at social service. In a bid to revive their weekend programming, and they have decided to scrap it altogether. A new show will replace will Thodi Si…very soon.

When contacted, Anupama Mondloi, senior creative director of Star confirmed the new development. "Thodi Si… is going off air, as we want to revamp our weekend programming. We have Voice of India, Baa Bahu Aur Baby, Prithviraj Chauhan and Sai Baba on our weekend slot which makes for good variety. There are plans to bring in some innovative changes for our viewers," she said.

So, is Thodi Si… not fit for weekend programming? "Yes, you can say that. Thodi Si…is going to be discontinued in two weeks. We are yet to decide on the new show which will replace it" said Anupama.

However, when quizzed about the poor TRPs of the serial, she added diplomatically, "Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasman does not air daily. As a weekend show, it has moderate TRPs. We have no complaints with it and Smriti is a wonderful producer. This is just a new planning process," she said.

Smriti was not available for comment.

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