MUMBAI: This time last year, amidst the World Cup euphoria, Sony Entertainment announced five new shows and its plans to launch a couple more every season.
As for this summer, the channel seems ready to buttress its strong weekend programming. After revamping its existing shows, the channel will launch next show from the Balaji Telefilms stable Kkehna Hai Kuch Mujhko, from 11 March 2004 at 8:30 pm.
Although the show will telecast its debut episode on Thursday, it is actually a Friday - Sunday show with bankable stars Pallavi Joshi, Kiran Karmarkar as the protagonists. The launch of KHKM will also coincide with another Balaji weekend show - the supernatural suspense thriller Kya Haadsa Kya Haqeeqat - turning from a one-hour show into a half-hour one.
'Balaji meets Astitva (the movie)' as Ekta Kapoor calls KHKM, is a soap with a non-commercial story line.
Talking to indiantelevision.com, Kapoor offers that the show is about the life of an Indian woman after 35. Typical to the Indian scenario, the woman realises that she is reduced to being just a mother or a wife. The soap details her journey of self rediscovery.
As for the Thursday debut episode, the channel will be airing a special "Shagun" (the astrology angle again?) episode to introduce the story and the characters.
But it is not just the weekend franchise that the channel is planning to build. The channel will also be launching its youth centric show Yeh Meri Life Hai , produced by Optimystix Entertainment India Limited in the 10 pm slot on weekdays sometime in March-April period.
Meanwhile the channel is all set to introduce a fantasy daily Chandrakanta, on 23 January 2004 at 8:30 pm. Directed by Nirja Guleri, the show was a big hit on Doordarshan in the early 90s. Back then, the show with a big canvas and bigger budget amassed a whopping Rs 670 million in revenue for Doordarshan.
Later, in 1999, Prime Channel - the production house - shot the next season for DD1. Later Star Plus began airing the repeats of the show, but unfortunately the show didn't work and was pulled off.
Based on a novel of similar name, Chandrakanta is the story of eternal love set against the battle and strife between two kingdoms Naugarh and Vijaygarh. Starring Shikha Swaroop, Shahbaz Khan, Mukesh Khanna, Parikshit Sahani, Pankaj Dheer, Kruttika Desai and Kalpana Iyer, the show was canned on sets worth Rs 3.5 million and designed by ace designer Nitin Desai.
The show that will air from Monday to Wednesday is almost a decade old. Will the audience (the kids) lap it up? We will just have to wait and watch.
