Sony should be a multi-genre channel; exploring horror: Danish Khan

Sony Entertainment Television is sprucing up its early primetime with new show, ‘Peshwa Bajirao’, which is premiering on January 23, 2017 and will air Monday-Friday at 7.30 pm. The show will highlight the life of India’s only undefeated warrior/ commander, his unconventional ways, his principles in life, his passion and his ideologies. 

Rudra Soni will essay the titular role of Bajirao, while Anuja Sathe will be seen as Radhabai and Manish Wadhwa will be seen as Balaji Vishwanath. A warrior such as Bajirao is not born; he was nurtured and raised with values and principles by his mother Radhabai and the astute strategies of war with a fearless approach to life were ingrained into him by his father Balaji Vishwanath. It was in the court of Maharaja Shahu where he learned the art of politics and diplomacy, which made him a conqueror of both land and heart. 

Commenting on the new show, Danish Khan, EVP & Business Head, Sony Entertainment Television, said, “The inspirational and compelling story of ‘Peshwa Bajirao’ is relevant to our lives and our times. His love for the motherland, his unconventional approach in tackling challenges and his upbringing makes for a delightful and motivational television watch. We are delighted to partner with Sphereorigins – Sunjoy Waddhwa, Nilanjana Purkayasstha and their young creative team – to bring this story alive.” 

Sunjoy Waddhwa, CMD, Sphereorigins, added here, “We are very happy to be associated with Sony TV for the historical series ‘Peshwa Bajirao’. The show is based on the fierce Maratha warrior. The story focuses on the life of a legendary Peshwa, from his childhood to a great and fierce Yodha. We have infused all the authenticity of the story on the sets, as well as in the costumes, jewellery, armour, furniture, etc. We, at Sphereorigins, are excited at the launch of the show and are optimistic that the audience will enjoy it.”

Danish Khan, EVP & Business Head, Sony Entertainment Television, speaks to Adgully on the concept behind ‘Peshwa Bajirao’, expanding the primetime on weekdays and weekends, and more. 

What was Sony’s brief for ‘Peshwa Bajirao’?
The brief was to create a biopic, to narrate the story and journey from Bajirao to Peshwa Bajirao. We want to highlight the formative years of Peshwa Bajirao in our story – the man, who under the age of 40, had won 41 battles. He had a very unconventional way of living; even in battles, he was a very intriguing personality. The first half of the series, that is, for the first six months you will see the focus on the making of Bajirao, his upbringing, how his parents shaped him. We have, in fact, contextualised everything – so you will see the politics, the society that existed in the Maratha empire of that time, background that the GECs do not generally depict. We believe that without setting the context we cannot not tell Bajirao’s story. Hence, there is a lot of history in it. The next six months will see a leap in the storyline, where we will focus on the life and times of the grown-up Bajirao. 

How much of the show is fictional and how much is actual history?
The story is real. We have done a lot of research into Bajirao’s story, the characterisation, the casting, detailing in terms of the set, costumes, war scenes, which are based on facts. Obviously, keeping in mind the entertainment element in television, the screenplay has been dramatised. However, we have tried to keep it as close to the historical facts as possible. 

Is the show a finite one?
Yes, it is. The story will be told over a period of one year, but we will also observe the show’s progress week on week. 

What kind of traction are you aiming at for ‘Peshwa Bajirao’?
I personally believe that the show will resonate with our viewers. Obviously, everybody who launches a show thinks that way, ultimately it’s the viewer who decides. We are really happy and more than confident about the show that we have. 

What is the thought process behind launching the show in the early primetime of 7.30 pm?
Historically, Sony has not programmed for the 6 pm to 8 pm time band. So, when you want to expand the time band, you do so with strong content, and ‘Peshwa Bajirao’, we felt, is a very strong story to be told. That’s why we are placing it in the 7.30 pm time slot. The repeat strategy is there, but it keeps changing. As far as the time band is concerned, we wanted to expand it and bring it forward to 7 pm or even 6.30 pm and strengthen this band with differentiated content. 

Every channel is doing extremely well and the competition is very tough. Hence, you cannot just put up a new show and expect people to watch it. Every slot has to be thought through and so we thought that for the 7.30 pm slot, ‘Peshwa Bajirao’ will be a differentiator. We look to expand the 7 pm slot by April, keep expanding every 2-3 months. The idea is to have primetime of 6 pm-11.30 pm on weekdays and 7 pm-12 midnight on weekends. 

Could you tell us more about Sony’s weekend strategy?
Our weekend strategy is very straight. At 8 pm we have a talent show, we started with ‘Super Dancer’ and now we have ‘Indian Idol’. We have another talent show in the pipeline after ‘Indian Idol’. At 9 pm there is ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ (comedy), and after that we have ‘CID’ (thriller) and later ‘Crime Petrol’ (crime). So, we have a packed weekend which is doing very well and we are leading. We would like to continue with that strategy. 

Which are the genres that Sony will be focusing on in the year ahead?
Our programming strategy is based on three elements – Novelty, Variety and Quality. Thus, we will try to bring something novel in every time slot and every slot will be different from the other time slots. There will be more variety. We will explore all genres. We already have thrillers, comedy shows, sitcoms, mythos, love stories, family dramas and talent shows. We would like to include horror. Every half-hour should be different and Sony should be a multi-genre channel.

 

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