Star Plus Lightens the mood as soap opera Fatigue Sets in

Star Plus Lightens the mood as soap opera Fatigue Sets in

STAR PLUS

Come Monday and Star Plus will tickle the funny bone with Krishna Sharma - C.A. Yesterday producers Cinevistaas Ltd. and Contiloe Films Pvt. Ltd. announced the launch of the weekly comedy series. The show airs from 8-8:30pm.

With game show Kamzor Kadii Kaun and the Balaji Soaps Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki showing a gradual drop in ratings. Star Plus needed to do something different to maintain its leadership status by ensuring viewer loyalty.

Also Star Plus lags behind in the comedy genre where rivals like Sabe TV and Sony Entertainment Television have scored points with shows like Office Office and Hubahu.

Krishna Sharma C.A. represents the second venture between between Cinevistaas Ltd. and Contiloe Films Pvt. Ltd.The first venture Shhh... Koi Hai is a suspense drama that airs in the night on the channel.

On Star Plus Cinevistaas also has the religious show Dharam Aur Hum. The show hosted by Anup Jalota airs every Sunday morning. Cinevistaas also has the mythological Draupadi running on Sahara TV.

The director of Krishna Sharma C.A. Vijay Krishna Acharya said that the aim was to strike a delicate balance between serious and comic elements without sounding preachy. The show has a slapstick element to it. The show is also aiming to hit a nerve by dealing with basic issues that affect everyday lives like eve teasing, dowry, the controversial issue of child marriage. The focus is on the clever manner in which the lead protagonist gets out of tricky situations. Each episode deals with the intensity of a different issue.

He also said that though Krishna Sharma is a cartoon artist the word C.A. could lead to people thinking of a chartered accountant. Through the title the director said that he wanted to put across the point that the nature of people can be both dual and deceptive.

Regarding his background he mentioned that he aided Kundan Shah for three years on Kabhie Na Kabhie.

He also mentioned that he had earlier worked on a pilot for Cinevistaas. He also pointed out the difference between working for national broadcaster Doordarshan and private channels. With DD one has to take care of advertising in addition to conceptualising the story. However one has the rights to the show.

With a private channel things work in a reverse fashion. Finding advertisers is the channels headache but the rights remain with them. It is somewhat similar to writing an article for a newspaper he said.

The channel also pitches the idea to the show producers and the show is monitored by an executive producer for the channel. Abrupt changes in future episodes are not uncommon if ratings are not upto scratch.

About the choice of Shradhha Nigam for the title role he said that he found that she was able to tackle subtlety and difficulties of different situations in a natural fashion. He also found her quick on the uptake.

Anjan Srivastava plays Krishna Sharma's father. He said, " This concept is about true spirit and what television is all about i.e. a programme about ethical values with a message for the common man'. Other cast members include Ravi Baswani, Neelu Kohli, Sandeep Mehta.