| Interview with Yantra Media head Shyamsunder |
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"A
serial is a brand. When it's doing well, make all efforts
to prolong that success"
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| Posted
on 21 December 2004 |
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His
name is synonymous with 'soap operas' in the
Malayalam southern regional language
space. Shyamsunder is the man who heads one of South India's topnotch
production houses Yantra Media Private Limited. Shyamsunder, who
introduced the soap genre to Malayalam audiences with the highly
successful show Sthree on
Asianet, is now a household-name
across television homes in South India. Having worked in all the
South Indian languages, Shyam is now looking to get into the Hindi
space with an interactive thriller.
During
a hectic schedule in Mumbai recently, this media-shy creative whiz
spoke to indiantelevision.com's
Bijoy A K.
Excerpts:
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Tell us about the launch of Yantra.
I started my career acting in films at the age of 24. I launched
Yantra Software while I was producing my first venture on television,
a Kannada weekly serial Bisilu Kudure (The Mirage) for DD
Kannada.
My
maiden venture for satellite television was for Asianet in '93 -
a weekly serial Adheham Alla Idheham. After our highly successful
Asianet show Sthree, Yantra Software was re-launched as Yantra
Media Private Limited.
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What
makes Yantra tick?
We are a trendsetter down South. We always try to be ahead of our
competitors creatively, visually, content-wise and production-wise.
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"Quality-wise,
Southern shows are at par with Hindi shows. Here, you are
able to cut the cost and still deliver your best"
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Which
are the new projects coming up?
We are planning an interactive thriller in Hindi which would mark
Yantra's foray in this space. It will be a weekend show which we
hope to launch in February. We haven't finalized on the channels,
but we will be announcing details shortly. The production will be
based in Mumbai and we will start our work in a month's time.
In
Malayalam, we have two shows in mind: One a regular drama-based
serial based on a published work. The show will be launched after
three months. The second one is a comedy programme, a political
satire.
In
Tamil, we are launching a mythological serial on Lord Subramanya
titled Murugan Arul for Sun TV. In Kannada for Udaya TV,
we will be launching a daily soap in two months. In Telugu, we are
launching a crime-based show Crime File.
In
Telugu, for Gemini's soon-to-be-launched 24-hour music channel Aditya,
we will be doing a couple of shows. One will be a youth-based sitcom
while the other one will be a political satire show.
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How
tough is juggling with all the four South Indian languages like
this?
I have to be on my toes. I have to speak all the South Indian languages
[laughs].
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How
do you rate South Indian channels compared to Hindi channels?
Taking into account the kind of returns one gets from South Indian
channels, they are better managed. Here, the shows are made on a
fraction of the budgets while in Hindi it is not the case. But quality-wise,
Southern shows are on par with Hindi shows. Here, you are able to
cut the cost and still deliver your best.
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Which
is your favourite South Indian channel in terms of creative resources?
The Sun Network, which holds 70 per cent of the revenue share. They
dominate because of good quality programmes. The management is 100
per cent professional and that makes the difference.
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Why
did you move out of Asianet and Vijay TV and join Sun?
Sun has an extensive network which covers the whole South India.
When I do shows for Asianet, I can't work for any other network.
That is a clause in the deals made here. So I left Asianet to join
a wider network as it offered more opportunities. Apart from its
reach, the management is also very professional. Then comes the
brand factor. When you do a show for the Sun Network, that programme
becomes a brand altogether. That is what we are looking at.
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"Churning
out comedy on a daily basis is tough. The team has to be innovative.
Once they get into the pulse of the viewer, it becomes easier"
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How
crucial is the crime genre on television?
The genre re-creates crime in front of you. Here you get an opportunity
to see things which otherwise you wouldn't believe. It manipulates
the human interest factor to the core. The crime genre is very popular
in Kannada. Udaya and ETV are having very popular crime shows on
air. That is what inspired me to launch crime shows in Tamil and
Malayalam.
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What
is your opinion on remakes and dubbed shows?
Personally, I prefer not to dub shows. I prefer to do shows
from that respective region and in that regional language. Remakes
will do as it is taking success to another language. It is a formula
that works.
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Is
your Malayalam comedy show Ettu Sundarikalum Njanum [ESN]
going to be taken off? Creatively, the show seems to have lost its
initial glory.
No.The daily is doing pretty well in terms of numbers. Since a story
is completed in a couple of episodes in ESN, there is scope for
revamp any time. We have already revamped the show last month. I
agree, churning out comedy on a daily basis is tough. The team has
to be innovative. Once they get into the pulse of the viewer, it
becomes easier. Your formula should be right.
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Tell
us about your core team in Yantra.
Yantra
doesn't have a complex set-up. The core team is very small: me and
my brother. Then we hire the creative, production teams project-to-project
basis. Retaining the same team for all the projects makes the proceedings
bit dull.
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Can
you take up the challenge of producing a family soap sans mother-in-law
and daughter-in-law in central roles?
We made a soap Snehanjali with this idea in mind. It had a
hero-central structure. That was an experimental project. But it didn't
deliver. After 50 episodes, we had to revamp the show and make the
subject female-oriented. Even the third version of Sthree which
narrated the story of three women and the professional challenges
they face didn't work. Melodrama didn't deliver there and we had to
add family elements to the story to make it deliver. |
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"Retaining
the same team for all the projects makes things a bit dull.
So, while retaining the core team we hire the creative team
project wise"
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According
to you, which is the genre that is easier to attempt on?
Each genre has its own USP. That should be delivered to the core.
You should be very clear about what you are doing. The basic game
is in black & white. You should be clear about what is white and
what is black. There shouldn't be any grey areas. |
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Which
one of your productions impressed you most in recent times?
Ettu Sundarikalum Njanum. From a weekender, it went on to become
a daily because of sheer popularity. As a daily, it even beat Asianet's
Kathanar's ratings. ESN broke the myth that Kerala TV
audiences won't react to comedy. Male dominated comedy didn't work
on Malayalam television. The TG is woman and the show should be packaged
accordingly. So I decided to do a subject packed with women characters
[laughs]. |
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What
is your opinion on fixed-duration serials? Asianet recently aired
one, which got completed in 44 episodes.
These are all games of branding, telling the viewer that my product
is different. The genre is the same. The same director would have
done that show in 100 episodes if the soap had been alloted 100
episodes.
The
success of a soap lies in making your audience watch the show without
complaints. A Kyunki… hits its all-time high after four years,
that is called success. A serial is a brand. When it is doing well,
make all the efforts to prolong that success. It is possible and
we have done it many times.
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Who
do you consider as your toughest competitor in the South?
Radaan and Cine Times. Once we start dominating in Tamil, we will
reach the number one position. |
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Why
don't you direct these days?
One can't do everything. I have to run this company. I quit acting
to take up direction. Then I gave up direction to manage this firm. |
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"The
success of a soap lies in making your audience watch the show
without complaints. Kyunki… hits its all-time high
after four years, that is called success."
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Any
plans to launch a channel?
No. We tried to launch a Kannada channel Kaveri with Asianet and Zee.
But the project didn't click. The funds didn't flow in as planned.
Today I realize that we lost about three valuable years on that project.
My aim is to make Yantra a very strong production house in India. |
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Comment on the evolution of soaps. Has the audience changed too?
Nothing much has changed in content. What is new is the visual slickness.
The drama element is the same. But there are a few things you feel
to be bold about. Today's youngsters talk in a different language.
Women characters have become bolder in all aspects.
Nowadays
people don't go to cinema just for entertainment. It is teenagers
who watch films in theatres nowadays. Film and TV co-exist, but
not for everyone. Also, housewives prefer television to cinema.
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Any plans to get into film production? What is the next big idea?
No plans at the moment. The next big idea is telefilms which will
exploit television's film slots. Everything is in the planning stage
at the moment. We are planning to form international tie-ups for co-production
of this project. |
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Tell us about Yantra's financial plans.
We have plans for disinvestment. We are also seeking strategic partnerships. |
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What is Yantra's turnover for 2003 - 2004? What is the projected
turnover for 2004 - 2005?
We recorded a turnover of Rs 80 million in 2003 - 04. Rs 110 million
is our projection for 2004-05.
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