History, the new face of Indian television
The small screen is increasingly falling back on history and mythology for rich ratings.
Buzkashi, a traditional sport of Afghanistan, came to the notice of Bollywood viewers when Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi engaged in the sport in the opening sequence of Mukul Anand's gigantic Khuda Gawah, made in 1993. Decades later, the sport again hit the Indian screens, but this time on television. Sameer Dharamadhikari as Bindusara and Ankita Sharma essaying Noor Khorasan recreated the action-packed horse-riding sport sequence for the show Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat. Shooting for seven days in arid deserts in Jaisalmer, for once the producers did not mind going over budget to create the defining sequence for the series.
As epics continue getting huge response on the small screens, various channels are exploring new characters from the past and taking the audience into the fantasy world through extravagant shows. Colourful costume dramas are getting bigger in terms of grandeur as epics emerge as sureshot hits among couch potatoes.
To keep novelty of the genre alive, channels are wisely picking heroes from the past who fit the taste of the Indian audience and offer a melodramatic spin to the infinite episodes. Characters like Ashok, Razia Sultan and Noor Jahan have struck a chord with channel heads as the new show take off the block.
TECH GIMMICK
Going by Indian television's favourite format, unending episodes incorporate plots that more often than not have little semblance with history. We get to see several episodes that are scripted solely on the basis of popular anecdotes and folklore. Fictional plots, imaginary characters and staged situations continue to be highlights of the epics but the viewers do not mind getting mesmerised by the colourful extravaganza. Liberal use of advanced technology such as VFX has given an edge to the costume drama. Technology is used for set extensions, crowd multiplication and animation besides 3D modelling. For instance, a roaring lion in the newly launched show Chakravartin Samrat Ashok is an outcome of superior computer-generated Imagery (CGI).
GROWTH IN GENRE
The success of epics such as Devo Ka Dev Mahadev, Jodha Akbar and Mahabharat only confirm that costume dramas comprise a crucial genre in a channel's programming format, Jodha Akbar, despite running a disclaimer of being a fictional story, invited severe criticism for being factually incorrect. Devon Ka Dev Mahadev that ran for over 800 episodes was one of the highest rated shows that was a compilation of folklores.
Going by the strong leanings for the genre, a new channel named Epic was launched last year. The venture backed by Anand Mahindra, Mukesh Ambani and Rohit Khattar is solely dedicated to history, folklore and mythology, and has been introduced for the niche audience. Mahesh Samat, head of Epic hopes to drive on the "market for segmented content". Raj Nayak, CEO of Colors, admits the historical and mythological show as a genre has immense potential. "One can tell a story from various perspectives and still not lose the essence if the treatment is good," said Nayak at the launch of Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat. This explains why Sony is all set to woo a section of the audience consisting of kids with its new show, Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman. After several versions of Mahabharata, Epic TV now takes a refined look at the aftermath of the battle in the show Dharamkshetra, to impress the intellectual audience.