Despite their big screen charm, Bollywood bigwigs are failing to make an impact on television, most of them raking in around 0.9 on the TRP scale When Amitabh Bachchan first started hosting Kaun Banega Crorepati back in 2000, it created euphoria akin to the kind generated during the telecast of ’90s hits Mahabharat and Chandrakanta. Families got together and sat around the television set in rapt attention as TV sets across the housing society resounded with a roaring ‘deviyon aur sajjano’. Shah Rukh Khan, who later sat across the hot seat too, garnered high ratings. Cut to 2015, two shows hosted by the same two megastars (Aaj ki Raat hai Zindagi and Sabse Shaana Kaun) have garnered a rating of not more than 0.9. To add perspective, 4.5 is the rating that the most popular shows on TV enjoy.
It’s not just these two shows though. Most recent shows that have roped in Bollywood stars (Farhan Akhtar’s I Can Do That or Bipasha Basu’s Darr Sabko Lagta Hai) have failed to make a mark on the TRP charts. Even the man with the Midas touch, Salman Khan hasn’t been able to keep the Bigg Boss ratings up. Giving the big tickets, a tough competition are television staples. According to the Broadcast Audience Research Council India, the top three shows this month are the weekend shows Naagin, Saath Nibhaana Saathiya and Kumkum Bhagya — the rating of which the Bollywood reality shows can’t even touch.
An exception to this rule of late is possibly Anil Kapoor’s 24. Adaa Khan, who stars in the recently launched Naagin that has been topping the charts, explains that film stars don’t have the same connect with the audience that TV actors do today. “Fiction shows are like dal chawal. The audience wants it daily. They connect to the characters, who become part of their lives. Film folks on the small screen do attract attention, but finally content wins the audiences’ heart. I feel that today, no Bollywood star can guarantee TRPs. TRPs are unpredictable. It’s all about the audience-connect.”
It rings true when one looks back at shows that roped in Madhuri Dixit, Shahid Kapoor, Sonali Bendre on different occasions. Another young TV star Faisal Khan, who won the last season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa will now be seen in Khatron Ke Khiladi hosted by Arjun Kapoor believes that TV actors have carved a niche for themselves and are no longer overshadowed by their counterparts from the big screen. “People are used to watching Bollywood actors on the big screen and do not easily accept them on TV. Majority of the viewers of reality shows comprise women who love to watch their TV actors over Bollywood actors.”
TV actors also have the advantage of continued audience support that grows with each show, points out Gautam Rode. “If an actor has done daily soaps before, then there is a certain following from fans which tends to translate into the new show. While there is an audience for both films and TV stars, the ideal TV audience from rural areas thinks very differently — they adore TV faces.”
Producer Vikas however attributes the viewership drop to a bunch of reasons. “Content creation in any programming bouquet is based on an overall content strategy derived on the back of research insights. Big star backed shows apart from offering differentiated content also help in creating an instant and high brand recall value for any platform. Similarly, dramatic shows, delivering fiction content, which many term as staple diet shows, are also created by same research insights. It’s a fair balance between the two together is what I feel that compliments a successful programming mix.”
Horror queen Bipasha Basu seems to have understood the code and hence opted for a fiction show instead of the regular celebrity reality show. In an earlier interview the actress had told us, “I can think of anchoring a regular reality show when I am two or three shows old. My first one had to be special. The TV audiences are looking for something new and we must cater to their demands. My role in the show is not of a stereotypical narrator; I am key to taking each story forward. I had been getting TV offers since the past four-five years but I waited for something that would leave an impact, rather than just another show.” Bipasha will now be doing another TV show, a 12-part television miniseries, Client, which is reportedly based on the hit American political thriller, Scandal.
