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H for Hungama
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Purnendu Bose, COO of UTV's upcoming channel for children, Hungama TV tells SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY that their choice for a kids board of directors is just an extension of what today's children are anyway doing at home - decision-making.
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PURNENDU BOSE is quite proud of the novelty - kids as board of directors for his company's upcoming children's channel. To be launched by September this year, UTV's Hungama TV, he emphasises, "will be the first home-grown Hindi channel which will be for the kids, of the kids and by the kids."
"We will have elders behind the shows but the final seal of approval would be given by the kids board of directors," he says. Not ready to buy the argument that as his channel's target audience is between the age group of four and 18 years, which is an impressionable age and whether is it correct to give them a free rein, Bose argues his case: "Today's kids are definitely smarter than yesteryears. They anyway call the shots at home. They now decide which TV to buy, which movie to watch, which dress to wear and where to go. So, they definitely have a point of view and there is nothing wrong in allowing them to choose what they like to watch for their entertainment." Not interested in delving into the thought whether or not it has the moral license for it and rather more concerned about swaying along the winds of commerce, Bose makes it clear that there won't be any edutainment shows on the channel either.
"Our shows would be just fun. Kids anyway have enough of their studies to do in school. Let them have some fun when they watch Hungama TV," he says. Even while deciding on the name of the channel, Bose avers the company did a random polling among kids in many cities. "The close runners were `masti' and `josh'. But finally, `Hungama' won," he adds. Going beyond animation, though some of the programmes on the channel would be produced by UTV but some other would also be outsourced. "But, then again, the kids board of directors would take a decision on it," he harps on.
So then, who forms the part of this board of director? "We have not finalised the list yet but shall arrive at a decision very soon," says Bose. Let's then wait to see which kids become adults overnight.
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