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The
star anchor of Sony Entertainment Television's Movers &
Shakers, Shekhar Suman is reportedly moving on, leaving
the channel's management all shaken up. Suman, who regaled
TV audiences with his takeoffs on Bihar chief minister Laloo
Prasad Yadav while he interviewed celebrity guests, informed
Sony yesterday that he would no longer be associated with
M&S, one of big draws on its SET channel.
He revealed that he was more than fed up with the uncertainty
and indecisiveness of the Sony Entertainment and production
company Inhouse Productions' management.
"Despite fixing dates they could not live up to their promises
on introducing Movers & Shakers in a new format," Shekar
says. "An actor cannot just sit around. I am an actor first
and then an anchor."
He adds that he was not taken into confidence when M&S
was moved to the 10:40 slot from 10:00 pm. "There was total
confusion all around. I did not want to be part of office
politics, so I stayed away," he says. "There was a new COO
at Inhouse, a new programming head at Sony - which further
added to the chaos."
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Shekhar
Suman reveals that he was more than fed up with the uncertainty
and indecisiveness of the Sony Entertainment and production
company Inhouse Productions' management. |
Sony
Entertainment Television programming head Rekha Nigam says
she had no idea that Shekhar had quit from the show. "I got
to know about it from the newspaper this morning. I know as
much as you do."
She however, added that the decision to move the show to a
later time slot was taken much before her time and she had
no say in the matter. "As far as the new format is concerned,
we have done our best to come up with one. We were ready,
but brainstorming takes time and were constantly adding new
elements as ideas kept cropping up."
Nigam added that she would be speaking to Shekhar to find
out what plans he had in mind. "Only then, would we know what
to do," she says. "In the meanwhile, we are continuing to
air the best of Movers & Shakers." Queried whether
there were any fresh episodes in the bank which the channel
could use in the interrim, Nigam said no.
Inhouse Productions promoter Mani Iyer was in south Africa
when contacted and said that he was not really in the know
of developments back in India.
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Sony
Entertainment Television programming head Rekha Nigam
says she had no idea that Shekhar had quit from the show.
"I got to know about it from the newspaper this morning.
I know as much as you do." |
Former Inhouse COO Sailesh Dave - who developed and produced
the M&S format - reveals that the decision to push
back the show's time slot was entirely the channel's, and
it had cost it a plenty. M&S TRPs plunged 50 per cent
after it was shifted to 10:40 pm," he points. "The new format
was ready and was to be executed in mid-June. Everything was
ready on paper and the ideas was to start execution quickly."
An industry observer wonders whether Shekhar's announcement
is in the same vein as Mihir Virani's much hyped-up death
in the numero uno Star Plus soap Kyunki Saas Bhi kabhi
Bahu Thi. "It could be a tactic to create excitement around
Movers & Shakers and draw more audiences in after the
new format is announced," he says.
Well, only time, can tell us if this is true.
Click
here for Shekhar Suman interview.
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