Hatim: STAR's new gambit in the 8.00-pm slot

STAR’s latest offering in the 8.00-pm slot on Fridays has big production values, a Hindi film actor and the enduring saga of good versus evil

Fantasising, they say, is child's play. And fantasy-ridden tales find a ready audience with children. However, when a drama attempts to capture the conventional as well unconventional audience, "widening the canvas", as one would put it, becomes mandatory.

For weekly costume drama Hatim, telecast on Fridays at 8.00 pm and based on the popular Hatim Tai tales that deal with the exploits of a young prince of Yemen called Hatim, getting the kids as well as grown-ups in, is precisely the challenge. The slot, as Deepak Segal, senior vice-president, content and communication, STAR India, explains, tends to bring in the kids. "Our line-up is strong with kids shows and they are guaranteed to come in," he says.

This inherent strength has assured that the debut episode of the show on December 26, 2003, opened with a TVR of 5.3 in the base population of four-years-plus audiences in cable and satellite homes across India. In Hindi speaking markets, the figure is higher at 7.9.

Produced by Ramanand Sagar's Sagar Arts and directed by Amrit and Shakti Sagar, the show has all the elements of a costume drama - endless characters, sets that are out-of-this-world, special effects - intertwined with the enduring saga of good versus evil. Hatim, played by Raahil Azim, is the polar opposite of evil incarnate Dajjal, played by Hindi film actor and NSD graduate, Nirmal Pandey. The first episode zips the viewer through the lives of the central characters, portraying Dajjal's machinations to marry the Rajput princess Sunayna, even as Hatim is seen romancing the Princess of Paristan, Jasmine.

Hatim is tasked with helping Sunayna in her hour of distress, as he loses sight of his ladylove and sets out on a journey to seek answers to seven questions that can save the world. The story, as Segal maintains, is "well told" with the canvas encompassing a number of elements. "We were clear from the very outset that we did not want Hatim to end up looking like another mythological show," he says.

Cross-media promotions in print, television and outdoors ensured that there were enough viewers to sample the show on debut. "During the week of the launch we had 30-feet inflatables of Hatim put up at strategic points in Mumbai," says Segal.

The channel also organised a procession of warriors carrying swords through the city of Mumbai with paint transfers or tattoos of the central characters distributed across the country by volunteers. "A fantasy or costume drama calls for an unfettered imagination with no social parameters or restrictions binding you," says Segal. "I am hoping that the show grows and ropes in more audiences in the coming months," he adds. © 2004 agencyfaqs!