Popular shows on the telly are suffering from the sudden death syndrome, a condition that was non-existent even a year back when longevity was the name of the soap dish game. This year, more than 10 leading shows across channels have been scrapped without much of a notice. The reasons, programming heads, producers and actors tell SANGEETA YADAV, are aplenty — and it’s not just about falling TRPs
Be it due to low TRPs or to make way for new shows, the soap dish is being frequently reshuffled, often without much of a notice. Shows like Kuch Toh log Kahenge, Iss Pyar Ko Kya Naam Doon and Saas Bina Sasuraal went off air all of a sudden. Badalte Rishton Ki Daastan, Tota Weds Maina (Sab TV) and Hongey Judaa Na Hum (Sony TV) failed to run even for a year.
“Kritika Kamra (Dr Nidhi), the show’s main protagonist, wanted to take a break from TV. We had no option but to shut shop. We didn’t want to continue without her so we wound up. It was a difficult decision to take. Kritika is a very professional actresses and I didn't want to replace her in the show,” Rajan Shahi, producer of Kuch To log Kahengey, says. The show, loosely based on famous Pakistani show Dhoop Kinare, ended abruptly on March 28, 2013, after running for two years. Back then, Shahi had refused to talk about the reasons and there was talk about him not being given adequate notice by the channel.
Shows closing down because of the leads wanting to quit is nothing new for the TV industry. When the dashing Barun Sobti, aka Arnav Singh Raizada of Iss Pyar Ko Kya Naam Doon, decided to try his luck in Bollywood, the directors chose to take the show off air. According to BizAsia.com, more than 2,34,400 audience tuned into the final episode between 8-9 pm, the biggest ever for any show. Buzz is that Star Plus is bouncing back with Season 2, albeit with a different starcast and storyline.
Saas Bina Sasuraal, Sony’s much-liked show, left without so much of a formal farewell. But due to popular demand, the serial will be back in its second avatar at the end of this year.
If not for the unwilling leads, nosediving TRPs have also been forcing the shows off the air. The most recent example was Badalte Rishton Ki Dastaan which managed to pull through for three months only with a dismal TRP of 0.5 points.
“We had a very powerful starcast and an amazing story. We were all hoping that it will be the showstopper for the channel. With a decent opening week, our hopes had risen. We were shocked when the channel informed us that the show was being scrapped. Samajhne se pehle hi show bandh ho gaya. Channel ko band kerne me ek minute nahi lagta,” Kiran Karmarkar, a TV veteran and mainstay of this show, says.
But do actors get compensated if their show goes off air without a noticeIJ “It depends on many factors. If the actor has signed a contract with the channel, then he is absorbed in another show on the same channel. But if the actors are cast on a per show or per episode basis, they leave when the show ends. It is not the channel’s responsibility to ensure that they find jobs elsewhere,” Anil Wanvari, CEO and founder of Indiantelevision.com, says.
Shahi, meanwhile, has a different take on the reasons behind this all-new instability in the industry. “With reality shows, competition has heated up. There is no space for lackluster scripts, so producers are always trying to innovate in their shows,” he says.
But does the channel make a profit out of show that has lasted for only a couple of monthsIJ “The channel doesn’t even break even. For them to make a profit, the show has to run for a minimum of 300 shows. It is the producers who invest money in the show and they recover all costs in no time,” Wanvari says.
It’s pack up
More than 10 Hindi serials were axed within three to 12 months of being launched. A list:
Tota weds Maina (Sab)
Starring: Kavita Kaushik & Gaurav Gera
Runtime: Three months
Replaced by: FIR
Reason: Constant dip in TRPs. Also, Kavita Kaushik was back in FIR and didn’t have time for two shows.
Hum Aapke Hain In laws (SAB)
Starring: Karan Grover and Pooja Pihal
Runtime: Five months
Replaced by: lapatagunj 2
Reason: low TRP of 0.5 points
Badalte Rishton Ki Dastaan (Zee)
Starring: Additi Gupta, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Kiran Karmarkar
Runtime: Three months
Replaced by: Repeat Jodha Akbar
Reason: The show was launched for the 10 pm slot but shifted to 11 pm to make way for Connected Hum Tum. In that slot, it could only manage a TRP of 0.5
Dil Ki Nazar Se Khoobsurat (Sony)
Starring: Soumya Seth, Rohit Khurana
Runtime: Five months
Replaced by: Repeat telecast of Adalat.
Reason: launched with fanfare, couldn’t take off
Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuchh Kaha SEASON 2 (Colors)
Starring: Kunal Kapoor, Aakanksha Singh
Runtime: Eight months
To be replaced by: Bigg Boss 7
Reason: Season 3 in pipeline
Hongey Judaa Na Hum (Sony)
Starring: Raqesh Vashisth, Aamna Sharif
Runtime: 6 months
Replaced by: Modern Bahoo
Reason: Poor TRP start of 1.2 which remained between 0.4-1.2 in 2012
Sanskar... (Colors)
Starring: Jay Soni and Kadambari Kadam
Runtime: Eight months
To be replaced by: Bigg Boss 7
Reason: 1.4 TRP by July 21, 2013.
Anamika (Sony)
Starring: Shivani Surve, Simran Kaur, Mudit Nayar and Annie Gill
Runtime: 10 months
To be replaced by: KBC 7
Reason: Protagonist Annie Gill wants to take a break. TRP rating, 0.6.