The Hindu Business Line : A strong Gujarati flavour

Serials with a Gujarati backdrop seem to be dominating the Hindi entertainment space today. Take your pick from the popular serials ... Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, the recently launched Baa Bahoo Aur Baby — both on Star Plus, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai on Star One, Sony's Yeh Meri Life Hai and the latest, Kudkudiya House No. 43. And that's not all. So popular are Gujarati characters that family dramas with other regional settings sometimes introduce them to increase their ratings.

Starting from Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka on Sony, serials with a Gujarati milieu have managed to strike a better chord with audiences compared to other regional settings. For instance, one of the costliest productions on television, Balaji Telefilms' Kahani Terrii Merrii on Sony, which had a Bengali backdrop, and the latest offering on Star Plus, Shanno Ki Shaadi, with a Punjabi backdrop, have not managed to create waves. In fact, Kahani Terrii Merrii was withdrawn after a few months.

So what makes the dhoklas and khakras (both popular savouries) dished out at these households click with viewers?

"The Gujjus are fun-loving people much like the Punjabis. In contrast with the Punjabi sense of humour, the Gujjus have a subtler sense of humour. Nevertheless their joie de vivre is very infectious," says one viewer. Also audiences in the Hindi-speaking belt find the cultural ethos and stories easy to relate to.

According to the channels, the focus on Gujarati culture owes to high television consumption of this group. Though audiences in the North like to watch soaps, they tend to straddle across various genres of entertainment such as local pop music, movies and so on, but the Gujaratis enjoy the twists and turns of family sagas. Also, Mumbai, which is a key market for broadcasters, has a large population from the State.

Unlike other markets that have regional language channels dominating prime time, local channels in Gujarat are not very strong. In the South or in Bengal, audiences can choose from over three-four popular regional channels that dole out content specifically targeted at them. In Gujarat, it's almost a vicious circle — regional Gujarati channels do not make much money and therefore broadcasters do not invest in programming. The lack of good-quality Gujarati language programming comes as a surprise because the region is known to have a strong theatre culture.

Also, it is important to remember that the reach of mass entertainment channels goes beyond Indian shores. Currently, there is a large Gujarati diaspora in the UK, US and some other markets hankering for desi fare. With almost all popular entertainment channels beaming into Indian homes abroad, channels want to woo these audiences too.

But for now only Daksha Ben and Godavari Ben seem to be ruling the airwaves.

Star-studded television shows

Television seems to be all about following trends. A few years ago, Star Plus met with super success when Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), and other channels followed suit by launching game-shows anchored by film stars and with huge prize money. So you had Manisha Koirala-Anupam Kher hosting Sawaal Dus Crore Ka and Govinda in Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke.

Circa 2005 and Bachchan is back with KBC-2 and so is actor Madhavan on Sony. Sanjay Dutt and Manoj Bajpai will anchor shows on Sahara One and Zee respectively. The stakes for viewers have also gone up. While KBC-2 has already given out about Rs 11 crore in the first 52 episodes, Sony has budgeted Rs 15-20 crore for the first 50 episodes on Deal Ya No Deal. Similarly, budgets have been planned for Sahara One's Mission One Crore and Kam Ya Zyada on Zee.

In the past, except for KBC, none of the other game-shows featuring celebrities have managed to create much of a stir. But will stars other than the Big B cast a spell on viewers this time round? Only time will tell.

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