Changing storylines -

On the fast track to success

There is mayhem in practically every household on television today. Marriages are breaking up, unborn children are dying in accidents and fiancés are absconding at the altar. The daily twists in the storylines have driven the original plots haywire with the persistent chaos, turmoil and problems. There is logic behind the chaos, though - a logic called the ratings.

For the last few weeks, Aruna Irani's Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand and Balaji's Kasautii Zindagi Kay and Kyunki Saas…and Kahaani…have been waging a TRP battle through their respective stories. Mandira died in Kyunki on Monday night, killing Tisha's unborn child in the process. Anu, one of the lead characters, was murdered by a jealous relative the same night on Des Mein…. Kasautii... was number one last week, this week Des Mein... usurped the spot.

These are just the less extreme "course corrections" producers are undertaking in tandem with the channels. The spectre of the ratings has wrought heavier changes on many shows. Kehta Hai Dil on Star Plus, Kya Haadsa Kya Haqeeqat, Sanjivani, Krishna Arjun on Star Plus all started off with unusual themes and out of the ordinary storylines.

Both Gautami Shroff and Aman Verma had to disappear from Kehta Hai Dil's plot to make the series work

When the original plots failed to fire the TRPs, the channel and the production house together turned the stories on their heads, resulting in gratifyingly good ratings. The bottomline in the track changes for all the serials was the same - the experimental theme was yanked out and stories with mass appeal substituted. The ruse worked for all. Kehta Hai Dil, which started as an Indianised Picket Fences, killed off both the lead characters, and is now a daily soap set in the daughter's marital home.

Sanjivani started as a hospital drama, complete with authentic surgical instruments in the background, but is now a story about love gone awry.

This cast had to bow out of Krishna Sharma CA when the series metamorphosed into Krishna Arjun

Krishna Arjun started life as a comedy, Krishna Sharma CA, found it tough to maintain ratings and became a successful thriller. Sony's Kya haadsa... was a thriller to begin with, but went supernatural when the original storyline did not hold.

Cinevistaas' creative director Siddharth Malhotra says the decision to convert Sanjivani from hospital series to soap was taken after periodic meetings with the channel. "It had to be

Only Simran (extreme left) remains of the original Sanjivani cast today, the story is a pale shadow of the original

done keeping viewer preferences in mind, and it worked," he points out. "TV today demands the kind of stuff seen in films in the 1980s, and if it boosts my TRPs and beats at least some episodes of Kyunki… , I am happy."

UTV director Zarina Mehta is not so happy with KHD's fate. At a recent seminar, Mehta lamented the fact that the same viewers who lauded UTV's Shanti in the last decade, did not accept a female doctor and her cop husband in KHD. Mehta too, gave in to the TRP game with success, but says one can find ways around the ticklish issue. UTV's Shaka Laka Boom Boom used its kid-centric plot to deal with the subject of blindness and plans to take up more such issues. "The trick probably is to get viewers hooked onto a popular theme and then sneak in social messages," she feels.

Cinevista's Namit Sharma justifies the soap, "I don't think that a show can be written with an end in mind. Storylines in television is basically an infinite style. Your product is constantly under scrutiny, so you have to reinvent it. If I had an urge to tell my story, I would rather make a film."

Krishna Arjun today bears no resemblance to the original and targets kids with its 'fun detective series' brand of action

Contiloe Films' Aditya Singh, who co produces Shhh...Koi Hai and Krishna Arjun, says that as Krishna Sharma CA, the series had only a finite number of issues for the lead crusader to take up. That and not the ratings decided that it was time to convert the series into KA, which is a fun detective series that slowly evolved with kids as the TG, says Singh. While broadcasters can take the liberty of experimenting with genres, producers still will have to wait for some more years for the viewers' tastes to accept different shows, as television in India is still growing, he says.

Singh says his team sits down with the channel (Star Plus) every quarter to evaluate the progress of each show and to re-invent within it. "There will be channels in the future where there can be shows that innovate and experiment," he adds hopefully.

Sony preferred winding up Dhadkan to giving it a new twist

Often, the blame for the track change is passed on to the channel, which finally has to bear the effect of viewership. Thus far, Star Plus is the one channel which has effected 360 degree story changes with success, while Sony's attempt to pump in adrenaline into Kutumb with a fresh storyline, bombed. Sony has in the last year, killed Dhadkan and Kahaani Terri Merri in their infancy rather than change their tracks. But Sony is also the channel which played host to the long running Ek Mahal Ho Sapano Ka, which reigned in its slot in the pre Kaun Banega Crorepati days.

Astitva - bold and different, yet successful

Zee, which publicly does not believe in the ratings game, has stuck to innovative plots like Astitva - Ek Prem Kahani and Kittie Party and Mulk. Astitva, in fact, is currently the highest rated show on the channel without any juggling of the original storyline.

Says Zee TV president Apurva Purohit, "It is not as if we do not take the public view in mind but we prefer to do our research beforehand. There are going to be highs and lows in a serial but that doesn't mean that you change the story track every fortnight. Look at Chausath Panne, it was a definite story with a definite time frame and the audience love it. So for that matter Astitva, we do not add a twist just so that the story is viewed well. If it is not there in the storyline, we don't cook it up. It is bound to show in the long run."

Astitva's lead actor Niki Aneja told the media recently, "Unfortunately, TRPs matter to the channels and I know fully well that the TRPs are being rigged. Wherever I go, in India or abroad, I cannot walk on the streets without people addressing me as Dr Simran. Doesn't this indicate the popularity of the serial?"

While Zee might be a godsend for producers looking for creative freedom, those preferring the ring of the cash registers are busy tweaking their stories to keep the viewer glued. Says Kyunki's writer Rajesh Joshi, "When you are writing for a daily, you are constantly at risk of being boring. So you have to constantly reinvent yourself. Generally for Kyunki, after every 50-60 episodes we introduce a new twist to keep the audience riveted."

Sony is another channel that says it believes that if a show is sagging and changes in the story are not likely to work, its better to drop the show. Says SET executive vice president Sunil Lulla," It does become necessary to keep periodic checks on the way a show is moving, keeping in mind the audience tasts and the pace of the show. Since the ratings are the current currency of measuring success, these too are employed." Perhaps that is the reason why Sony's Naam Gum Jayega has all but dropped the political angle implicit in the religious tangles caused by mixed babies, and is now concentrating on the 'romantic' angle of both lead protagonists. Lulla attributes the requirement of tweaking plots to a 'highly competitive environment.' KHKH, he avers, has not changed that dramatically, being a cyclical show. While right now, it borders on the supernatural, the next story will be about re-incarnation, he says.

Cinevistaas' Siddharth Malhotra - keeping a finger on the audience pulse

Star Plus' content and communication vice president Tarun Katial justifies the complete turnaround of the channel's serials thus,"The characters on these serials are already well estalished, and these serials do have a stable viewer base. It is better to fashion a new story around them and take the serial to a new level than to kill it and start all over again with a new show." Shows like Coronation Street have been on air in the UK for over two decades now, he points out.

As Katial rightly states, it is the family drama that appeals to the masses and hence most shows are reverting to the theme. But even the twists on mainstream channels follow trends. Some months ago, several serials, including Kasautii, Kyunki, Kahaani... had a series of deaths in the family. The trend is now veering towards marriages. Laughs Cinevista's Malhotra, "When we decided to bring in Juhi's marriage, we didn't know there would be a spate of marriages happening on TV." UTV's Ronnie Screwvala acceded to indiantelevision.com recently, "Bumping off is losing its charisma now." UTV's Shagun had come down 'a bit' and "we're changing the whole plotline there" says Screwvala. With preferably a marriage thrown in.

The herd mentality of the marriage track has in fact gripped an entire horde. Mandira and Mihir almost got married on Kyunki last week, as did Juhi in Sanjivani. Sambhav Asambhav on Sony had a marriage, as did Des Mein…

Asha Parekh - prefers to tread on the safer side

Producer Asha Parekh who has taken up the directorial baton for Sahara's Kucch Pal Saath Tumhara too rues the necessity of track changes but says, "I am wary of experimenting... though I would love to, I wouldn't really be keen on making something like Dhadkan if I have to take it off the channel or totally revamp it."

Kasautii's director Ravindra Gautam, who feels TRPs are the name of the game, is more practical. A few weeks ago, when Des Mein.. shot past Kasautii's ratings, he "removed all the unwanted scenes in that week. Predictability was thrown out from the nearest window. Importantly, I hastened to show that Bajaj was still alive. Else that was slated to be shown a little later. The public got a jolt, we went back to the top."

The story as envisaged by the scriptwriter suffers as a result, but as long as the viewers lap it all up, who cares?

The television trend though, is clearly veering towards emulating Bollywood films. What clicks on the big screen is slowly but steadily seeping onto the small screen as well. Feel good stories about happy families have been the trend setter. The thriller that has Bollywood in its hold currently is also showing in heightened ratings for Sony's Kya Haadsa... Thankfully, with experimenting in movies becoming the norm of late, the same trend could reflect on television, sooner rather than later.

Creativity is still around although there may be few takers. Malhotra says he is already toying with a new concept for a series that will be unlike anything seen on Indian television. Will it work? "I am not really thinking about that now. I have written it myself and it's exactly the opposite of the current crop of soaps."

It will be upto the viewer to give its verdict on this one.