A Bollywood filmmaker spending Rs 100 crore on a movie is no longer unusual. A Bollywood film earning Rs 100 crore has become even more common. It’s now the turn of television broadcasters to come up with Rs 100- crore shows.
Star India is launching the Mahabharat on its flagship channel Star Plus on September 16 more than two decades after national broadcaster Doordarshan ran the epic series.
The mega-serial has been produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary’s Swastik Production. The show will be telecast Monday to Friday in the 8.30 pm and will be a half-hour show consisting of a 128 episodes.
The new Mahabharat is being touted as the country’s most- expensive TV series — Star has invested Rs 100 crore on the project and spent another Rs 20 crore on marketing the show.
Nikhil Madhok, Senior Vice President for Marketing at Star India, says the channel is targeting the youth with Mahabharat. The channel has made huge investments to create visual effects that would excite the younger audience, he says. "The characters have been given an edgy look so that today's youth relate to them," he adds. "We have tried to bring out different facets of human behaviour which one could relate to even in today's days and times."
In order to generate excitement, the channel has set up Mahabharat museums at shopping malls in eight cities. In these museums people can catch a glimpse of the jewellery, costumes and weapons that have been used by various characters in the show.
There is also a virtual tour to the sets of the show. For smaller towns, there is a museum on the wheels. The broadcaster has also taken Mahabharat to college campuses across the country, where students get to interact with the characters.
Star India, says a senior media planner, is charging its usual rate of Rs 2 lakh for a 10-second spot on Mahabharat. "Prices may shoot up once the programme goes on air and gets a decent rating," she says. Madhok of Star says the channel already has close to 10 advertisers on board and the inventory is filling up fast.
The cast: Pooja Sharma, a Delhi girl, will play Draupadi in her television debut, while Saurabh Jain will be seen as Krishna. Rohit Bharadwaj will play Yudhisthir, Shaheer Sheikh will be Arjun, Aham Sharma will be seen in the role of Karn, and Puneet Issar who played Duryodhan in in earlier Mahabharat on Doordarshan will be seen as Parshuram this time around. Arpit Ranka, also making his TV debut, will enact Duryodhan, while Praneet Bhatt will play Shakuni. Arav Chowdhary will be seen as Bheeshma, Ratan Rajput has got the role of Amba, Sameer Dharmadhikari will play King Shantanu. (Agencies)
http://in.omg.**********/news/rs-100-crore-mahabharat-launches-on-sept-16-100751026.html
Star India is launching the Mahabharat on its flagship channel Star Plus on September 16 more than two decades after national broadcaster Doordarshan ran the epic series.
The mega-serial has been produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary’s Swastik Production. The show will be telecast Monday to Friday in the 8.30 pm and will be a half-hour show consisting of a 128 episodes.
The new Mahabharat is being touted as the country’s most- expensive TV series — Star has invested Rs 100 crore on the project and spent another Rs 20 crore on marketing the show.
Nikhil Madhok, Senior Vice President for Marketing at Star India, says the channel is targeting the youth with Mahabharat. The channel has made huge investments to create visual effects that would excite the younger audience, he says. "The characters have been given an edgy look so that today's youth relate to them," he adds. "We have tried to bring out different facets of human behaviour which one could relate to even in today's days and times."
In order to generate excitement, the channel has set up Mahabharat museums at shopping malls in eight cities. In these museums people can catch a glimpse of the jewellery, costumes and weapons that have been used by various characters in the show.
There is also a virtual tour to the sets of the show. For smaller towns, there is a museum on the wheels. The broadcaster has also taken Mahabharat to college campuses across the country, where students get to interact with the characters.
Star India, says a senior media planner, is charging its usual rate of Rs 2 lakh for a 10-second spot on Mahabharat. "Prices may shoot up once the programme goes on air and gets a decent rating," she says. Madhok of Star says the channel already has close to 10 advertisers on board and the inventory is filling up fast.
The cast: Pooja Sharma, a Delhi girl, will play Draupadi in her television debut, while Saurabh Jain will be seen as Krishna. Rohit Bharadwaj will play Yudhisthir, Shaheer Sheikh will be Arjun, Aham Sharma will be seen in the role of Karn, and Puneet Issar who played Duryodhan in in earlier Mahabharat on Doordarshan will be seen as Parshuram this time around. Arpit Ranka, also making his TV debut, will enact Duryodhan, while Praneet Bhatt will play Shakuni. Arav Chowdhary will be seen as Bheeshma, Ratan Rajput has got the role of Amba, Sameer Dharmadhikari will play King Shantanu. (Agencies)
http://in.omg.**********/news/rs-100-crore-mahabharat-launches-on-sept-16-100751026.html
,,unlike older version...
