Cinevistaas, whose nearly two year old hospital drama turned love tangle Sanjivani, had been rising in the ratings stakes steadily since it metamorphosed into a soap nearly a year ago, has shot into the top 10 in the coveted TAM ratings. In the week ended 4 October, 2003, Sanjivani ranked sixth with a TVR of 10.1 (C&S households, 4+), becoming the top rated weekly among C&S households.

Sanjivani now lags just behind Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, while Kasautii Zindagi Kay and Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand, which were riding high till a few weeks ago, have slid perceptibly. Kasautiii...is now at number seven with a TVR of 9.5 while Des Mein... is at number 10 with a TVR of 9.4.

Sanjivani which was languishing in the 60s in the ratings stakes when it was a hospital drama, had been at a steady number 14 for a few weeks earlier.

Says Cinevistaas' creative head Siddharth Malhotra, "Sanjivani in fact has been rising steadily, specially after we changed the story track. It's essentially due to the fact that the Cinevistaas team and the channel (Star Plus) team sit down to discuss strategy every week. The results are now showing."

The sudden twist in the story however is the death of Dr Aman, one of the newly introduced lead characters. The suspense now revolves around who killed the medico.