By: Yohan P Chawla
Viacom18 has been on a roll with its constant show launches across the network. Be it their secondary GEC Rishtey, or their OTT platform Voot, they have been launching new shows back to back.
Here comes another show, promising to boost the prime-time offerings on its primary Hindi GEC Colors — Khoob Ladee Mardani…Jhansi Ki Rani, a period drama on the life of Rani LaxmiBai.
The show has been produced by Abhimanyu Singh of Contiloe Pictures, and the cast includes AnushkaSen as Manikarnika, Vikas Manaktala, Rajesh Shringarpure and Vijay Kashyap. Dabur Red Tooth Paste is the Presenting Sponsor while India Gate Basmati Rice is the Powered by Sponsor for the show.
I caught up with Nina ElaviaJaipuria – Head, Hindi Mass Entertainment and Kids TV Network, Viacom18, about the new offering from the channel.
Jaipuria said, “Colors is all about telling different stories. Telling stories that are untold, and telling them in a different way. There are stories of Jhansi ki Rani which have not been told or discussed, and we will be telling those stories through the show.”
“We are very brave and bold and experimentative, and we have pioneered a whole a lot of genres. Recently, we launched KesariNandan, which is another drama series. In the same light, we are telling another historic story.”
Elaborating on the story, Jaipuria said, “What you will see is not the Jhansi ki Rani as you know it. The story is about her bravery and valor of course, but it’s also about her struggles and conflicts. She will be shown from the time she was a small little girl who got married into the Jhansi royal family.”
The makers are not only confident about the story-telling of the new show, but also about the scale and quality of production, be it the sets, costumes or the opulent jewelry that a story like this demands, and hence the show makes it to the all-important prime-time slot of 9. 30 pm.
On how she thinks the show will give a boost to Colors, said, “The show boosts the variety of content on the channel. It’s a magnum opus, mounted on a very large scale, so to me it’ll add to COLORS’ diversified portfolio where we are looking at various different genres whether it is family drama, romance, adventure, fantasy, or crime with Courtroom. And now with Jhansi ki Rani, we have an historic period drama. To me it is about the offering of variety, and I think we have got it all as a package.”
On the kind of audience that would like the show, Jaipuria said, “Being a GEC we would like whole families to watch this show. I think this is one particular show that will cut across all demographics and psychographics because kids will love it because it’s history and a part of their syllabus. From kids to parents and to grandparents, everyone will be enticed to see what actually transpired in the life of Jhansi ki Rani.”
Speaking about marketing the show, Jaipuria said that “apart from receiving significant support of the entire Viacom18 network, a 360-degree marketing campaign will drive awareness with an approach to go deeper into 17 small cities across the country. In smaller towns they have advertised across railway stations and bus stands. Interestingly, auto rickshaws will have loudspeakers talking about Jhansi Ki Rani on COLORS at 9:30 pm from 11th February.”
With the NTO now implemented, broadcasters and content creators have upped the ante. COLORS, of course, is a string GEC. Now expect greater pull-elements like shows and engaging content from the second-rung and fringe channels too. In the post-No-implementation scenario, full from consumers will be the name of the game.
