And now a music album on Jassi
SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY
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Is the all-new Jassi better than the Plain Jane? Find out as Sony TV Executive Vice President Tarun Katial keeps up the tempo with an album on Jassi.
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To further strengthen Jassi as a brand, you would see her in cameos in Bollywood films. Tarun Katial EVP, Sony TV
Dwindling popularity? Jassi in the made-over look.
`IF YOU love me, love me the way I am. Look beyond my oversized spectacles, my tooth brace and those extra-large outfits. Wade through them to know the real me.'
Surely, the USP of this honest-to-the-core girl Jassi of Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin on Sony TV matched no one. The channel had suddenly leapfrogged to the second position in the entertainment segment mainly with Jassi... 's ratings though nothing so daunting in comparison to Star Plus's K brigade even to this date.
Looked different
But ratings aside, she looked different from the usual and we welcomed her.
But alas! This plain Jane has turned yet another glam girl on TV now. In real life, it would be an altogether different case of a bumpkin turning `mod,' but Jessica Bedi on television looks no different from the umpteen tube glamour dolls in full make-up, ready to deliver loaded dialogues and those rehearsed postures.
The channel would definitely not agree here, for we all know how it went to town end-February about Jassi's makeover plans. It so affectedly declared how socialite Queenie Dhody would give Jassi styling tips, especially on designer jewellery; how Vandana Luthra's VLCC would provide Jassi grooming and diet tips; how Kaya Skin Clinic would get that glow on her face; Bausch & Laumb would replace her spectacles with contact lenses, etc, etc. And it used all the marketing gimmicks to make a splash.
The media too, followed as closely as it could.
No curiosity anymore
But alas! Nothing is left to curiosity anymore. Importantly, it is the viewers' huge curiosity as to how Jassi would shed that Sadhana hairstyle and specs for a new look that took the serial's ratings to an all-time high of 10.91 in the initial changeover week.
And as gradually the viewers got used to her new look, the TAM ratings too took a nosedive. In the third week of her makeover, in March itself, the serial clambered down to 4.67. Its TAM rating between May 8 and May 14 reached 5.10
Counters Tarun Katial, Executive Vice President and Business Head, Sony TV, "In fact we have better ratings now than Jassi's pre-makeover days. We are now at five-and-a-half, compared to the earlier days of three-and-a-half. We have all the more reason now to believe that her changeover has worked with the audience."
Does that mean the old admirers of Jassi have been replaced by a new audience?
"I won't like to speculate on that, but either way, it is good news for us," says Katial.
Having decided not to retrace steps to put Jassi in specs and oversized outfits again, Katial however adds, "But we shall try to keep our viewers hooked with new elements." The recent case being the entry of Aman Yatan Verma as a lawyer in Jassi...
"But it is a cameo. It would soon end. But the court scene has given us good ratings," says Katial.
It was the same tactic that Star Plus once used in Kehta Hai Dil to ward off viewers from Jassi... All said and done, the court scene drags on and on, debating whether Jassi is indeed Jessica Bedi.
Sakshi Tanwar
Another carrot for faithful viewers is the entry of Sakshi Tanwar, of Parvati fame in Star Plus' Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki for yet another cameo.
In one more attempt to gauge the viewer pulse, all episodes now flash an SMS number seeking viewers' take on whether Jassi should have transformed herself.
Album on Jassi
Meanwhile, to keep up the tempo, Katial speaks of an audio cassette on Jassi.
"The album will be released next month. It would have singers like Kunal Ganjawala, Shaan and Abhijeet Sawant singing songs on Jassi."
Also, there are plans to bring Jassi in cameos in Hindi films.
So, does the channel want to make the Jassi brand a long-lasting sensation?
"But she already is one," counters Katial. Well, certainly a marketing success.
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