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Showering the show (Jassi...) with a liberal dose of praise,
Noorjehan said that she had been flooded with numerous calls from
media about the preferential treatment meted out to Jassi.
Rightly so, as she and the speaker before her - Sony Entertainment
Television India's CEO Kunal Dasgupta - informed that the special
cover with special cancellation was normally offered only to commemorate
meretious services of over 50 years and above.
"Even to consider the proposal and to process the demand,
the postal department requires one year's time," Noorjehan
said. So what makes Jassi so special that she could jump
the queue? "She rescued us from the weepy dramas. General masses
like you and me can identify with her. She has shown us that its
is not really important to be good looking but you can succeed if
you have enough grit and determination," she said.
The same sentiment was echoed by the Sony team and as executive
vice president programming and response Tarun Katial put it in his
inaugural speech, "One year already since we introduced the
masses to this unlikely heroine with spectacles and braces. Despite
being labeled an ugly duckling, she has shown the world that you
can succeed just on merit with your grit, determination, intelligence
and hard work."
But hasn't the show been slipping lately. "Not really. It
is just a cyclic phenomenon. In fact, we have quite a few changes
in the pipeline to pump in the vigour." Although he said that
Jassi won't really be shedding her braces and spectacles soon, but
viewers will witness a transformation
in her attitude, Katial informed. "Plus we will have a
climax to the current build up of the plot, where Jassi becomes
aware of Armaan and his devious plots and falls in love with Purab,"
he added.
What the show has offered to television besides a different storyline
is a case study for marketing innovations.
"We get numerous phone calls every day from educational institutes,
who want to speak to us about the effectiveness of the marketing
innovation and the excellent adaptation," DJ Creatives producer
Deeya Singh said. But she did admit that the story wasn't following
the original very closely. "But it has worked wonders for the
show. Look at the way Purab's track has been accepted by the masses,"
she argued.
A clear indication of the popularity of the show was the Centrium
Auditorium at the World Trade Centre in Mumbai, where the press
conference was held. Professionals working in the neighbouring offices
were trying constantly to sneak in to get a peek of their favourite
telly character.
And what did the star of the show Jassi aka Mona Singh have to
say about it, "I am extremely honoured and deeply humbled."
It needs to be noted here that in February this year, Sony's sister
channel Max had also introduced branded postcards wherein they had
tied up with the Indian postal department. The post
card, apart from carrying the Max logo, also promoted the 5
pm movies on the channel with a message: 'Har shaam paanch baje
dekhiye.'
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