MUMBAI: The country’s numero uno general entertainment channel (GEC) Star Plus is definitely keeping pace with the changing taste of viewers. Star Plus, over the years, has changed the way GECs told stories and made the characters a household name.
A year back, with shows like Veera, Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara,Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, Ek Hassena Thi, India’s Raw Star, Airlines, Nisha Aur Uske Cousins and Everest – the channel had moved its programming strategy towards youngsters.
Star Plus general manager Gaurav Banerjee once stated that with consumer’s taste evolving, the channel, which entertains the youngest democracy in the world, needs to change as well. And more recently with Tu Mera Hero, Tere Shehar Mein and Dosti, Yaariyan, Manmarziyan, it has touched the hearts of the youth.
Taking another leap in storytelling, the channel has launched Phir Bhi Na Maane… Badtameez Dil, a love story between a VJ and a business head. Produced by Tequila Shot Productions’ Saurabh Tewary, it will air from 29 June from Monday to Saturday at 8.30 pm.
On the title of the show, Tewary believes that it is very important to name the show, which is clutter breaking. “In today’s scenario, the first communication that happens is the name and we wanted it to be little different at every level. Today, if anyone is discussing the name of the show for 30 seconds or a minute, I think the job is done,” he states.
The story is about two characters who get separated because of their misunderstandings and the manipulations of others only to meet again after seven years to resolve the unsettled issues and misunderstandings.
Tewary reveals that the narrative of the show is very different and because the narrative is different, it wanted to name the show slightly hatke. The characters are slightly edgy and over-the-top, but the production house has managed to keep it within the family space making it a hardcore family show.
Abeer Malhotra, played by Pearl V Puri is a VJ with Groove Music channel who leads a charming and luxurious life. Whereas Asmita Sood, who plays the character of Meher Purohit, is a practical and dedicated woman who is the business head of the same music channel and has reached this pinnacle of life with a lot of hard work.
For the first time on Indian television, a daily soap will have an album of five songs recorded exclusively for it, which is sung by Darshan Rawal, the runner up of the singing reality show, India’s Raw Star.
Finite Love Story
Tewary reveals that he plans to make it a finite show and thus has decided to create only 300-350 episodes. “It is impossible to narrate a love story for ages and ages. Love stories are always finite shows and cannot be kept running for a longer period otherwise the show will lose its relevance and visibility,” he reasons.
Challenging to produce content for six days a week
Tewary feels that producing a daily fiction for six days a week is a challenging job and becomes far more difficult when it is a love story. “In a love story there are not multiple tracks and it is generally around two characters and one has to write episodes and scenes around those two characters. And the moment you shift the gear from those two characters to the other, your show starts falling and at the same time you are creating content for six days a week which is little tough to crack,” he said.
He explained that it puts a lot of pressure on writers and the entire crew and team. “But I guess, this is the kind of madness one needs to deal with when you know that the outcome has to be good,” he said.
Tewary has written the episodic story. However, apart from him there are another six writers onboard. As of now, the production house has canned 12 episodes and by the time the show goes on-air, it will have another six-seven episodes ready to go.
Demanding Time Slot
The show will be competing with other shows like Jamai Raja on Zee TV, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah on Sab, Udaan on Colors, Muh Boli Shaadi on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) and Kalash...Ek Vishwaas on Life OK.
Tewary believes that all these are different shows, from family drama to social based to a family entertainer and he wants to cater to all the audiences, which these shows in today’s scenario absorb. “That is why we have kept the base like that and designed the story in that particular manner. We want to cater to the larger audience base starting from 16 years to 30 years old,” he concluded.
