KBC3’s replacement is a new soap, ‘Meri Awaz…’

After a fairly up-and-down performance, the third season of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 3’ (‘KBC3’) will come to an end on April 19. The Shah Rukh Khan-anchored quiz show will be replaced by a daily soap beginning April 23.

‘Meri Awaz Ko Mil Gayi Roshni’ (‘Meri Awaz’), a replacement for ‘KBC3’, will be aired on Star Plus Monday to Thursday at 9pm. The daily soap is being touted as a musical saga and is produced by Fox Television Studio.

‘Meri Awaz’ is the story of a 19-year-old girl (played by Ashima Bhalla, a newcomer) from a small town. She is a singer and goes to Mumbai for an audition. The story revolves around her trials and tribulations in the big city.

According to Deepak Segal, head of Fox Television Studio (India), “This soap has been made specifically keeping the needs of the Indian audience in mind. ‘Meri Awaz’ is a love story and has been presented like a film, set with the background of songs. It is an emotional story and is about relationships.”

Segal adds, “The primetime slot has traditionally worked really well for Star Plus. The responsibility for us is huge as ‘Meri Awaz’ replaces ‘KBC3’.”

The transition from a game show to a daily soap is not new for Star Plus. When ‘KBC2’ got over, the slot featured four different shows aired Monday to Thursday. This time, though, the channel has preferred to stick with a single daily soap. Explains Harsh Rohtagi, general manager (marketing and content), Star India, “‘Meri Awaz’ as a choice for replacing ‘KBC3’ is hot as in today’s Indian television scenario, daily soaps are the formula that rocks. We never doubted this philosophy.”

Rohtagi says that the target audience for the soap is the entire family, though youngsters and women belonging to the age group 15-35 years will form its core target audience.

Apart from Ashima Bhalla, the soap will feature actors Karan Grover of ‘Saarthi’, Soumya Tandon of ‘Aisa Des Hai Mera’, Saleem Shah and Shama Deshpande.

© 2007 agencyfaqs!