By: Yohan Chawla
In an attempt to strengthen its pre-primetime slot of 7.30 pm, Zee TV has launched a new fantasy drama called Manmohini. A love triangle involving a witch. The story is set in the backdrop of Rajasthan along with tales of bhura magic, something the makers claim to be is new and never done before on Indian television. The show premieres on 27th November and will be aired from Monday to Friday. Godrej is the title sponsor for Manmohini.
I caught up with Aparna Bhosle – Business Head, Zee TV, at the launch of Manmohini to understand her rationale behind the show, promotion plans and some key takeaways from the new offering.
Sharing her thoughts on the latest offering by Zee TV, Bhosle said, “Manmohini is an attempt to be a slot leader and reach a certain number of TVRs along with identifying the right genres you need to offer. We identified a gap at the 7:30 PM time slot in the fantasy drama genre and we needed a weekday strong show. With the sole motive to break the clutter and offer something completely different, and that is why we came up with this concept. This is a differentiator, a clear differentiator. There is no show like this at the 7:30 PM time slot.”
Fantasy Drama Bharmarakshas too had succeeded
Speaking about how the fantasy drama genre has done for Zee Tv, Bhosle said, “Around two and a half years ago we did Brahmarakshas, and it did incredibly well for us. In fact, that was a weekend show. We still have people writing in to us asking us to get Brahmarakshas back for another season. And we are thinking about it.”
Targeting Pre-Primetime
Bhosle discussed how she plans to capture audiences from 6.30 PM to 10.30 PM; practically wants to be a slot leader across. She said, “Building pre-primetime is what I took on three months ago, because 9 pm to 10.30 PM we were doing great. We had a gap to fill from around 6.30 PM to 9 PM.”
“The previous two shows I launched, Guddan and Tujhse Hai Raabta, are doing well, after which we are quite good between the time slots of 8 PM and 10.30 PM. Manmohini is the 7.30 PM launch and very soon we will be coming with a 6.30 PM launch as well. Our aim is to lead all the slots from 6:30 to 10:30 and be as good as ever.”
Story and characters over special effects
Talking about the key takeaways from the new show, Bhosle said, “The supernatural element, bhura magic, and ghaghra paltan is the whole backdrop that explains the story. But what we really have at the heart of it all is a love triangle. We will focus more on characters and story. Of course there will be certain special effects because Manmohini is a witch at the end of the day, but special effects won’t be the key takeaway from the show. I want people to say ‘Wow! what characters!’ and ‘Wow! what a story’.”
Target Audience and Promotional Plans
Slicing and dicing the target audience, Bhosle said, “At the core my TG is anyone in the age group of 25 years to 55 years. But I do expect anyone above the age of 15 to watch the show. My cast is so good looking with great clothes, you tend to attract the younger audiences.”
“A giant outdoor and a burst print campaign across Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan and UP has been executed for the show,” Bhosle said, adding, “The digital campaign includes horror banners, info-graphics on bhura magic and sand art, which has been doing the rounds on social media.”
“So it’s a comprehensive campaign which includes print, outdoor, digital and not to forget the great supported from the Zee Network which takes promotions to another level, with some sensational promos of the show,” Bhosle said.
The creative concept and marketing plans of the show should work for the show. We’ll know in a few weeks if the initial audience reactions and BARC ratings will bear that out. A love triangle, set in Rajasthan, with bhura magic and a ghaghra paltan? They should. This should be a show to watch out for.
