ZEE TV's DID L'il Masters - 3 gets the right blend of talent

DID L’il Masters, subset of the successful dance reality property Dance India Dance (DID) on Zee TV has connected millions of people and given innumerable youngsters an opportunity to pursue a career through dance.  Post the stupendous success of Season 1 & 2, Zee TV is all set to bring back the ‘dance ke baaps’ with the latest edition of the show, DID L’il Masters Season 3. This season, the spectacular show returns on popular demand and with a unique positioning viz. Bachagiri. The show all set to premiere on Saturday, March 1st 2014 at 9 pm, has Geeta Kapoor and Ahmad Khan as Masters along with Sanam Johar, Raghav Crockroaz Juyal and DID 4 contestant- Swarali Karulkar as skippers. Joining them will be a fourth member whose name is still under consideration.

Ajay Bhalwankar, Content Head (Hindi GECs), ZEEL, said “This year, we have added another layer to our earlier positioning Dance Ke Baap. Dancing isn't just about the steps. It is also about the attitude. Looking at the effortless moves and the unperturbed disposition of the contestants this season, we have coined the term 

‘Bachagiri’ to define the attitude of these kids. These kids are immensely talented and they know it. At such a tender age they perform with so much passion and self-assurance that it can rattle any adult who is watching them.”

In its third season, the show returns with a unique positioning – ‘Bachchagiri’! Bachchagiri simply means a kids’ attitude towards dance. Children today have the ability to challenge anyone, peers and adults alike, with their talent. They are cool and confident and know their worth. They are also carefree, uninhibited and unafraid of anything that comes their way.

Nitin Keni, Producer, Essel Vision Productions Ltd said, “In India, we conducted the auditions in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Vadodara, Indore, Raipur, Jaipur, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Ranchi, Patna, Jammu and Lucknow and the response has been very gratifying and overwhelming. Over one lakh children participated and we have arrived at our Top 16 kids who fit exactly into the concept of Bachchagiri after a lot of deliberation. These are genuinely gifted children and little powerhouses of talent who astonished us with their unimaginable talent. Along with entertainment, Zee and Essel Vision has always endeavored to become the most coveted platform for aspiring youth and women in the country and with the third season of DID L‘il Masters, we only hope to strengthen that conviction of ours.”
Like always, the focus of the show will be on the talent par excellence, the fun and the passion the kids share for dance through several stages of progression. The skill, discipline, artistry and mental-physical development of the kids will be of utmost importance throughout the show.

Namit Sharma, who recently took charge as programming head (fiction and non-fiction) at Zee TV said, “DID L’il Masters’ is the most known and highly rated show within all subsets of ‘DID’.  It’s a huge responsibility to make it a brand and also to enhance the existing FPC of the channel. This year also we have received a great response and are bringing our audiences the spirit of Bachagiri, the right attitude of kids and their passion for dance.”

The auditions phase of the show has already been shot and moving ahead towards mega auditions. DID L’il Masters has always presented ace dancers and never before seen acts with highest quality of training with the help of reliable and efficient Skippers. This time round the Top 16 contestants aged 4 years-12 years will be put under the able-guidance of the Skippers who will strive to cultivate a positive environment for the children to nurture, develop and further hone their dancing skills and overall personality.

When asked if the channel plans to incorporate any new ideas and what audiences can look forward to in the latest season Bhalwankar said, “As a channel, we don’t have to do anything new, but yes we have plans to think about new dance forms, acts and visuals but what is really new is a fresher mind, passion and more of original talent. Kids are typically unformatted and they do what they feel like doing, which helps them to showcase their best talent. I couldn’t have imagined some of the steps they ended up doing during the auditions. Kids have the ability to change the format and mould it. . These kids, when they take the stage, they do it without a care in the world, without being afraid of what people will think.”

Bachchagiri is a cool and fun concept which will be incorporated in various ways in the content as well as across other mediums. Though the word is heavily borrowed from dadagiri, the term bachagiri in no way denotes over-smartness or cockiness.

Bhalwankar further spoke about the kind of competition the show would deal with, being a weekend property replacing DID 4.  He said, “We are not worried about ratings when it comes to DID L’il Masters. No one in the team right from children to judges to skippers are concerned about the TRPs. Children aren’t show-offs but they do have a “don’t mess with me” attitude when it comes to dance. They aren’t afraid of a little competition and stage fear means nothing to them.” Given the unique nature of the show the third season does not fear competition although shows like Mad In India and India’s Got Talent could pose a challenge for the upcoming show.
On television, the channel plans for TV spots worth 600 GRPs including 400 GRP spots on Zee TV alone and 100 GRP spots on other channels of the  Zee network. It will also include outside network channels such as Nick, Hungama, 9XM, Mastiii, AajTak, India TV, E24, ABP News and other regional channels.

The channel has lined up an innovative marketing plan and an increase of 15–20 % will be seen in the marketing spends as compared to the last season. A 360-degree marketing plan including outdoor, print, television and radio will be initiated to create buzz and increase popularity for the show.

As part of on-ground activity, the children will form special ‘Dhating Naach Tolis’ and visit various housing societies in Mumbai and Delhi to play Holi with the residents on the day of the festival.  Vignettes have been created for television where kids will be seen hosting and talking about a show before it starts and encouraging audiences to see them perform on the show.

Their digital initiatives include plans to create a hashtag#DIDLM for greater engagement with the viewers. The show’s presence on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube activations along with webcasts are the other innovations planned by Zee TV.

There will be 12-15 city tours post the announcement of Top 16 contestants. The channel is yet to announce the sponsors for the show which will be produced by Essel Vision Productions Ltd.

Jay Bhanushali will anchor the show and grandmaster Mithun Da will support the young talent to bring out the best in each contestant in his own charismatic manner.
To watch the right match of talent and attitude and awe-inspiring dance acts by the little powerhouses of talent, tune in to DID L’il Masters Season 3, starting March 1st 2014, every Saturday and Sunday at 9 PM only on Zee TV.