Synopsis,Character Details & Articles - Page 8

With their reach restricted to cable and satellite homes in metros and big cities and watched by people with higher purchasing power, satellite channels' programming was and still is targeted at the affluent upper middle class, middle and lower middle class urban viewers. But now there is a subtle change happening in their programming content. With the number of cable and satellite homes increasing from 40 million two years ago to nearly 65 million now, satellite channels have started revisiting their programming so as to target viewers in middle-level cities and towns.

After capturing eyeballs in the Hindi heartland with Saath Phere, Kasamh Se and, to a certain extent, Jab Love Hua Zee's new show Banoo Main Tei Dulhan deals with the life of an illiterate girl from Benaras who has a fairytale wedding. As the story moves to Delhi after marriage Vidya realises that her dream of a happy and loving married life is shattered, thanks to her in-laws and husband who ill treat her because she is unlettered.

On the other hand, Star Plus's forthcoming show Karam Apna Apna is the story of Gauri who hails from a small hamlet of West Bengal. She is a simple and semi-educated girl without any ambition who puts the interest of her family before herself and dedicates her life to make her father and her sister happy. Her dream of marrying her fianc Shashank gets shattered when she is compelled to work as a servant in a rich household because of an old unpaid loan that her father owes to the owner of the haveli.

A year or two earlier, these subjects would not have even been given a thought, leave alone giving them prime time space. But market reality has changed considerably in the last three years and channels can ignore it at their own peril. The high level of competition and consumption saturation in metros and big cities has forced business houses, especially fast moving consumer goods manufacturers (they also happen to be the big advertisers on TV), to target consumers in smaller cities, towns and semi-urban areas where household incomes have shown impressive growth.

As television business in India is largely driven by ad revenue and less on subscription income, general entertainment pay channels have no option but to act in tandem with the changing economic reality.
Ashish Kaul, Zee's senior vice-president, corporate brand development, doesn't disagree with the broader changes in economic and business scenario. But he says Zee's primary focus has always been the Hindi heartland. "For us the metros and big cities are secondary unlike Star and Sony which take pride in being upmarket channels," he points out.

"The essence of our programming is determined by the elements and values of the heartland because in any case the upper middle class families don't watch these shows. The audience for serials primarily comes from C and D classes (middle, lower middle and labour classes) though majority of consumers for FMCG and durable goods come from B (upper middle class) and C classes. The D class watches TV because it aspires for economic mobility."

Shailja Kejriwal, senior creative director, Star India says the B class also watches general entertainment channel but she admits that the real eyeballs comes from C and D classes. However, in keeping with the changing market reality Shailja says Star Plus is also focusing on small cities and towns. "Having captured the lead position in metros we are increasing the weightage for viewers of smaller places in our programming.

While the primary viewer of a mass channel is always the housewife, the spread of programming mix must keep pace with economic reality. One can't ignore the urban market but one also can't ignore the emerging middle and small town markets as well," she elaborates. Nina Jaipuria, Sony's vice-president, marketing and communications, denies that Sony caters to only upmarket audience. "Our programming revolves around middle class families and values and our target audience has always been the aspirational viewer who identifies with heartland value system," she clarifies.

He's the guy every girl wants to take home to mama. As Nahaar Singh in the popular show Saat Phere, actor Sharad Kelkar has fans ranging from 16 to 60. And he's delighted with all the attention.

You have an awesome female following. Comment.
I sure do. My fan mail can vouch for that. It's funny but I often hear women remark 'jamai ho to aisa'. Recently I was in USA and the girls out there couldn't believe that I was married. They were heart-broken.

And whom would you attribute this sudden popularity to?
Of course my well sketched character in Saat Phere. Nahaar is a perfect guy with all the good qualities one can imagine a man to have. Also his complete devotion to his wife makes him likeable. He has an emotional side, which shows up when his mysterious past is unearthed. Also what stands in his favour is his aristocratic personality. We worked on the look to make it look rich and outstanding.

Did you have to audition for the part?
Actually I was doing Sinndoor Tere Naam Ka when my friend Shweta Kawatra spoke to me about this show. She was supposed to do the show and had recommended my name for this Rajasthani aristocrat. So I went and auditioned for it. Fortunately, I fit the role to a T and they signed me on. And guess what, Shweta had to drop out because of date problems.

Weren't you apprehensive about doing a woman-oriented show?
Not at all. The show is essentially Saloni ka safar, but the other parts are also pivotal to the main plot. They have as much importance if not more be it Akshay Anand, Apara Mehta or myself. Moreover my character has so many shades to it which gives me a lot of scope to emote.

How is the rapport between the cast?
Fantastic. There are times when we don't even realise when the day draws to an end because we are having so much fun. Rajshri and I are always up to pranks. People who see us together remark 'bacche hai, bigad rahe hai' (laughs). But the tension-free atmosphere helps us in delivering our work well.

You are said to be a family man?
It's only a year and half that I am married to Kirti Gaekwad (she played his ex-wife in Saat Phere). We had worked together in my first show on DD titled Aakrosh. There were no sparks at all at that point. It was only during the audition of CID Special Squad that we developed feelings for each other. Though she couldn't do the show, it helped us in coming close. Today I am happily married. I am trying to give time to my marriage which is becoming very difficult because we both are working.

Any more projects on the anvil?
I was doing two dailies till now. As a result I ended up shooting for almost 16 hours a day and that was getting very taxing. So now I have decided to concentrate only on Saat Phere and have taken up hosting Shaabash India on Zee TV. I am on the lookout for a weekly which will take less of my time and will also keep me sufficiently busy.

Rakesh Bapat admires producer Sunjoy Wadhwa but refuses to work any further in his show Saat Phere. The actor is quitting the show mainly because he has

prior commitments to follow and is also not too happy playing the character Neel in the show.

"Somehow, I've reached a stage where I fail to derive any creative satisfaction from my character in Saat Phere. The track went well for a long time but somehow there isn't much for me to do in the show. Also, I cannot connect with Neel as a person. I am really not blaming anyone for this. This is the way television functions here, though I'd love to work with Sunjoy in future," says Rakesh who will shoot for ten more days for the show.

Rakesh had taken a break from Saat Phere for one month when he was busy shooting for his film Jai Santoshi Maa. Later, he started shooting again from July so that his character gets terminated from the show in a proper fashion.
The actor is currently gearing up for a Canadian film titled If I Could Love You More produced by Canadian Film Association and directed by Pasha John.

"I am the only Asian Indian guy in the film along with other Canadian and American actors. It's a love triangle and I play Sahil, an Indian guy. They wanted a fresh face to play the character, so they called me. I was touched when they narrated the story and needless to say it's a beautiful role," smiles the actor who will go to Canada in November for one and a half months to shoot for the film.

Apart from his professional life, things are also looking up for Rakesh on the personal front. He celebrated his birthday in Pune on 1 September at a friend's farmhouse.
"I drove down to Pune to seek my parent's blessings. Also, I was pleasantly surprised when my friends threw a surprise party for me on a beautiful rainy day.," adds the Pune bred actor who is looking forward to the release of his film Jai Santoshi Maa in September.
Not many know that the actor is dating a film actress for the past six months and is taking time out to know her better. Though he refuses to reveal who his lady love is, all he says is, " I met her on the sets of a film about six months ago. We're just getting to know each other and as of now nothing is fixed."

So, looks like the actor is obviously not ready for the Saat Phere in his life?