Weekend primetime

Is the 11am Sunday slot back? Once upon a time, 11am on Sundays was a prime-time band for weekend programming, and with competition almost non-existent in the late '80s and early '90s, State-run television channel Doordarshan used the slot for epic serials like Ramayan and Mahabharat, reaching a wide viewership. The advent of Satyamev Jayate in the same time slot generated a lot of buzz on whether this slot can get a new lease of life.

Star and Aamir Khan's Satyamev Jayate has concluded after 13 episodes, but both Star and rival network Zee TV have already launched programmes to fit the slot. While Star has launched Lakhon Mein Ek, Zee has launched a mythological serial, Ramayan. The first episode was telecast last Sunday. Like Satyamev Jayate, Zee's Ramayan is also being simulcast on DD. Sony, too, will air the next edition of Kaun Banega Crorepati in the weekend, leaving the Monday to Thursday primetime slot to soaps.

Analysts say Star wanted to continue with a show featuring powerful social themes after the success of Satyamev and hence launched Lakhon Mein Ek, 'a new series that will build on Satyamev Jayate and keep the focus on issues of social consequence.' The show, launched on August 5, features stories of real life people who rose above the ordinary through choices they made. Says Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India: "Satyamev Jayate reinforced what we knew about our viewers. They have an appetite for compelling stories that are built around communities that we live in and that have a material impact on the kind of country we want to build and live in. Lakhon Mein Ek is consistent with that philosophy. The show itself is part of Star's efforts to use TV's reach to shape society's outlook and mindset by making examples out of individuals who influence change."

... contd.

ALSO READ

Indian Premier League: A Mighty Six

‘The response to good cinema in small cities is overwhelming’

Love revisited

Saif Ali Khan talks about making a zombie film