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STAR Gold to be numero uno Hindi movie channel in 6 months: Sameer Nair
The channel now plans to air all blockbuster acquisitions, exclusively on STAR Gold
"STAR Gold will be the numero uno channel in the Hindi movie genre within six months," claims Sameer Nair, COO, STAR India. "We plan to acquire the biggest of blockbuster movies exclusively for STAR Gold," he adds.
Unlike the previous practice, when blockbuster movies were aired first on STAR Plus, and STAR Gold was always a second choice, all blockbuster movies or big titles will be exclusively aired on STAR Gold from now on.
Nair explains, "With KBC2 and a few other shows, STAR Plus' weekend line-up is already strengthened. We do not need a movie on STAR Plus to invite viewers during weekends. So, we have decided that all movies – hit or flop – will be first aired only on STAR Gold."
He further says, "Even if airing a big title on STAR Gold means low TVRs vis-à-vis STAR Plus, we are ready for it, as we need to strengthen STAR Gold."
To begin with, the channel will air the recent blockbuster 'Swadesh' on August 15. The channel has also launched a special programme around the movie - Project Swadesh. This initiative has been launched in association with the producer and director of Swadesh, Ashutosh Gowarikar, and Indianngos.com, an umbrella body of NGOs in India.
As per the project, STAR Plus plans to electrify Indian villages as it happened in the movie Swadesh. The channel is inviting viewers to contribute money for the cause by sending a SMS to 7827, which would cost around Rs 10. For every Rs 10 collected from the viewers, STAR Network will contribute another Rs 10 towards the fund.
As Nair says, "The cost of electrifying a village of 100 people is around Rs 7-8 lakh. We could have easily paid for it. But we wanted to be a part of this movement."
Ashutosh Gowarikar, director of the movie, described the move as "a new birth for the movie Swadesh".
The broadcaster is also launching three promos featuring three real life heroes, who have done something similar to Mohan Bhargava - the lead protagonist of the film. These promos will be aired across the STAR Network.
© 2005 agencyfaqs!