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Hotchpotch From mythological series to soaps based on small towns, from reality show frenzy to the launch of new TV channels, year 2007 has a varied fare to offer viewers

As the ‘Adspend’ grew, the bands got populated with many new channels like 9X, 9Xm, NDTV Good Times, Bindaas, MetroNation and News 24, catering to different spectrum of audience.

Niche was no longer the buzz word as more and more general entertainment channels came into the fray.

However, teenage entertainment turned out be a growing segment after that of housewives. Bindaas was launched with this segment in mind. SAB and Pogo twisted its programming to cater to this segment.

It was the news channels who went into the specialisation drive with NDTV taking the initiative.

The step could have been governed by the market but this could help in checking the current trend where a ghost story is followed by Nandigram and a farmer suicide story is preceded by what a new spa in town has on offer.

At the start of the year, the rating agency TAM increased its base by putting people-metres in smaller towns which were earlier unrepresented in calculating TRPs.

This had a direct impact on the plots of serials. Suddenly, production houses discovered stories based in towns like Agra and Kanpur.

It’s another matter that in most cases the change turned out to be cosmetic. Take the case of AmberDhara.

Set in Panchgani, it turned out to be a usual soap full of stereotypes in the garb of “a noble effort” espousing the cause of conjoined twins.

The focus of the stories changed from cool dudes to girls in the neighbourhood with whom the lady with the remote control could identify with! From Durgesh Nandini to Anu Ki Ho Gayi Wah Bhai Wah to Sangam, the directors managed to bring the female characters out of the bahu mould.

Now, the stories are told from the daughter’s perspective. The trend found its reflection when the biggest bahu of all, Smriti Irani quit Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and turned to production with Viruddh and Mere Apne.

Both managed to find an audience, while Kyunki… is going through rough weather.

Meanwhile, male central characters increasingly became an endangered species on small screen except for the mythology series where Prithiviraj Chauhan and Ravan managed to hold interest.

The year also saw big names like Vinod Khanna, A.R. Rahman, Jeetendra and Urmila Matondkar appearing on the small medium with success.

This was also the year when the reality of reality shows failed to dawn on the viewers and the genre grew by leaps and bounds. People came out on streets in support of an Indian Idol and turned volatile when somebody passed an uncalled for remark on his nationality.

It started with the unprecedented hype created around the alleged racist comments faced by Shilpa Shetty on Big Brother in the U.K., which eventually won her the show and resurrected her sagging career.

Its clone in India, Big Boss failed to find many takers but by the end of the year we had people losing weight and conning people (Champion Chalbaaz No1) to be on television and earn some money.

The genre had its own stars and rules.

Here, the likes of Rakhi Sawant and Ravi Kissen could turn the tables in their favour with dramatic flourish.

Here, regional bias has been the order of the day. Even ‘safe’ shows like Indian Idol and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge, Jhalak Dikhla Jaa and Nach Baliye turned volatile to rake in the TRPs. With celebrity judges eager to make their presence felt, the producers turned to drama.

They made use of news channelsto break stories of ‘fights’ on the sets and the ‘affair’ between the host and the participants.

Towards the end, things reached a new low when the participants and judges of Jjhoom India fought it out in full public glare.

That the participant was Shekhar Suman and judges were Mahesh Bhatt and Shabana Azmi proved that the craze for publicity knows no standards.

Amidst all this chaos, Mission Ustad on 9X stood out for its sense of purpose without diluting the entertainment quotient. The line between news and entertainment channels blurred further.

The dangers of the trend came to the fore when the sting operation of Live India went horribly wrong, putting the life and reputation of a school teacher in the dock.

The incident strengthened the need for a content code and introspection for channels . In between Documentary 24X 7 and Bombay Lawyers reminded all was not lost.

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