On new tracks

But in the last year or so,Balaji seems to have lost its niche audience and in turn,has been urged to undergo a makeover.

Taking a leaf out of its past,Balaji is once again seeking to diversify its content. To begin with it unveils a new entity called ALT. “ALT will cater mainly to a younger audience base with slightly different sensibilities. All the content creation and development — be it for television,big screen or even new media — that has an edgy twist to it,will be produced under the ALT banner,” says Ekta Kapoor,joint managing director,Balaji Telefilms,who has already finalised a few shows for the gen-next entertainment channels.

Seems like many other production houses have also decided to follow suit by producing shows which appeal to many different groups of people. They’re trying to churn out something different in order to keep the ball rolling and the viewers guessing. Diversification is definitely the mantra of the day. Hemal Thakkar’s Playtime Creation,which produced popular comedies like Hamara Bajaj,Kab Honge Kam yaab!!,Bhagvan Bachaye Inse is now turning to drama with Laagi Tujhse Lagan. Similarly Deeya and Tony Singh’s DJ’s Entertainment,which was known for its decidedly urban and bold shows like Banegi Apni Baat and Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin,is now doing a social drama called Aise Karo Na Vidaa which is set in a village. “This is a first for them,” says Saurabh Tewari,creative director,fiction,Colors,who despite knowing the production house’s strengths asked them to deliver something that the viewers of the channel would like to see. “The way television is changing,it is absolutely necessary for a production house to take risks and redefine and reinvent them,” he says.

It is the same philosophy that animates Fireworks Production. After its massively popular thrillers CID and Aahat,the production house is treading a risky,but excitingly innovative,path with the launch of a silent comedy on SAB called Gutur Gu. “When we started off 16 years ago,our plan was to provide viewers with all types of shows. But the success of our two special shows never gave us the chance to think of any other genre,” says BP Singh,producer. “But with Gutur Gu,we are now stretching the horizons of television.”

JD Majethia of Hats Off Productions decided to go in for a change of content when he was faced with too many imitators. Since he is known for his feel good family entertainers like Baa,Bahoo aur Baby,Khichdi and Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai,it was quite a shock when he moved on to produce a supernatural show like Shree. “Other production houses had begun to bring out content similar to ours and the formula started to become repetitive,” says Majethia,who then decided to change the game,and is now also producing Star Plus’s family drama Behenein. “I am also planning to launch a non-fiction show,” says Majethia.

However,that doesn’t mean a production house should completely forego all connections to its past content. Majethia stresses that it is important not to stray too far from the content that a production house becomes known for. As Kapoor puts it,“It will be difficult to digest the radical change,if the producer of a cartoon series started making adult movies. Similarly,it is difficult for us to move away completely from our core content. We are only diversifying.”