Miditech puts reality TV in marriage mandap for SaharaOne

Miditech has almost become synonymous with reality programming in India. After producing some of the more successful reality shows for Indian television such as Indian Idol and MTV Roadies, Miditech is working on yet another reality show, Dil Chahta Hai – this time for SaharaOne.

The show will be launched on February 15 and will be aired from Monday to Thursday at 9.30 pm. A very confident Nikhil Alva, one of the co-founders and now CEO of Miditech, told agencyfaqs!, “This will be one of the driver shows for the SaharaOne channel.”

Dil Chahta Hai is a reality show on relationships and marriage. In a 13-week series, the show is all about one girl, who chooses her future soulmate from eight potential grooms through a series of interactive rounds.

What's interesting is that even Sony had tried its hands with a similar kind of a show called Kahin Na Kahin Koi Hai. However, the channel had burnt its fingers as even Madhuri Dixit failed to bring in viewers to the show.

Alva says, “Dil Chahta Hai may be a similar kind of show but it's treatment and presentation is quite different from the UTV production. While Kahin Na Kahin Koi Hai was basically restricted to one single location, we have taken our show to multiple outdoor locations across India.”

Apart from Dil Chahta Hai, Miditech is currently involved with yet another talent hunt show, Dance Dance, for the number two general entertainment channel, Sony Entertainment Television.

The production house has recently revamped the roles of its respective branches in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Singapore. Alva says, “While the Mumbai office is focusing more on entertainment shows – be it reality or fiction, the Delhi office is mainly working on documentary films and shows.” The Bangalore office will be serving as a helping hand for both Delhi and Mumbai branches.

Miditech is also working on three new international films on disasters for National Geographic. These shows talk about the science and reasons behind some of the world's greatest disasters. While the first two films are features on natural disasters such as earthquakes and cyclones, the third documentary talks about air disasters.

Alva says, “We call them international films as we have shot them at international locations such as Kazakhstan, Shanghai, Japan and South America. And apart from this, the show has been produced by our Singapore office and has been commissioned by the EDB (Economic Development Board), Singapore.”

Apart from these, the production house is also working on a show for an upcoming business channel. Alva, however, declined to elaborate on this project.

Talking about Miditech's future plans, Alva says, “We are also eyeing the South Indian television industry. We will certainly pick up a few projects by 2005- end or early-2006.”

The company hopes to have shows on all leading channel across India soon, and is also planning to launch its IPO sometime next year.

© 2005 agencyfaqs!