Action and adventure to rule Zee’s prime slot

After its music talent hunt, ‘Cine Star Ki Khoj’, and game shows, Zee TV plans to get into a new genre of reality. It will air ‘Shabaash India’ from Monday to Wednesday in the 10.30pm time band.

‘Shabaash India’ will feature episodes of stunts and action-packed feats done by ordinary people in an extraordinary way. ‘Sadharan Bharatwasion ke Asadharan Karname’ is the way the show is being positioned.

The show will be hosted by television actor Hussain Kuwajerwala and it is being produced by Soft Focus Productions. It promises some unbelievable feats such as that of a lady allowing 50 motorcycles to pass over her stomach and an entire adult body passing through the head of a badminton racquet. Believe it or not!

One is reminded of the international show, ‘Ripley’s Believe it or Not’, which featured similar content. “Not quite,” says Ashwini Yardi, programming head, Zee TV. “We came up with this show after two years of extensive research in India to hunt for people who would dare to do such adventurous things fearlessly.” So, according to Yardi, such a show has never been done before on television.

Nandini Dias, vice-president, Lodestar, differs in opinion with Yardi. According to Dias, the concept exists in various forms on different channels and there is nothing completely new in the show in the real sense. She cautions that such shows haven’t ever really taken off in the past.

Jyoti Bansal, head, MPG Mumbai, thinks of it as a new genre of entertainment on Zee TV, which could bring the channel a whole new audience with a different mindset.

But for that to happen, Dias of Lodestar says, “the show’s content will have to be such that the normal middle-class audience identifies with it. It will have to be digestible in the first place and not too gory.”

The consensus is that given the kind of programme ‘Shabaash India’ purports to be, it will appeal mainly to men and maybe children in metros and small towns. Its popularity in the metros, however, will depend on the production and packaging quality.

But Dias argues that there are more male skewed shows on Sony and that Zee is more women-centric in its content. So, getting the initial sampling might pose a problem.

What might solve the problem for Zee is its new show, ‘Johny Aala Re’, which airs at 10pm. ‘Shabaash India’ might get its audience from there, according to media planners.

Hiren Pandit, general manager, MindShare, feels that while ‘Shabaash India’ will get the initial sampling, it will fail to garner huge TVRs. According to him, even ‘Johny Aala Re’ has failed to meet expectations.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!