Are costume dramas on TV losing their sheen?
In the late ’80s, the entire nation would stay glued to their TV sets watching Mahabharat and Ramayana every Sunday. The popularity of these epic dramas led to a flurry of mythological and historical shows on the tube. Be it Jhansi Ki Rani, Siya Ke Ram, Dharti Ka Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan, Jodha Akbar, Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev, Bharat Ka Veer Putra — Maharana Pratap, Suryaputra Karn or Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat, costume dramas formed a connect with the audience over the years.
However, unlike earlier, the number of such shows seems to have gone down now. Some of these costumes dramas such as Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush, Karn Sangini, Aarambh, Peshwa Bajirao, and Aarambh etc., even went off air within months. While some feel the trend would catch up soon, others cite the budget-revenue discrepancy as the reason for their low success rate.
A PASSING PHASE?
The factors that make such shows work are content and exploring anecdotes, feels Vikas Kumar, director of the hit ongoing show Vighnaharta Ganesha. “We ran two tracks recently, one is when Ganesha is sharing some lesser known facts about Maa Parvati and the transformation of atheist Chinna into a devout Shiv bhakt. Both these tracks did well because these are interesting facts,” adds Kumar.
Siddharth Kumar Tewary y, producer of hit costume dramas such as Mahabharat (2013), Suryaputra Karn, and Porus, says “this is just a passing phase”. “These are premium shows. I doubt they would lose shine so easily,” says Tewary.
WHAT WORKS BETTER?
Producer Sumeet Mittal points out that there are certain characters and storie e s that do better than the rest. “Stories of Gods like Shiva, Hanuman, Ganesha, Krishna, and historical figures such as Prithviraj Chauhan, Akbar and Ashoka, get attention because of our religious beliefs, value systems, and faith that good will always w in over evil,” says Mittal.
MONEY MATTERS
As opposed to a regular show, costume dramas require more budget. “The costumes and jewellery are costlier, sets are huge, unit members are more in number, and you require special effects for historical shows,” Kumar explains.
Producer Rajan Shahi states costs often go higher. “And when that happens, the revenue generation also needs to go up. But that isn’t easy to achieve,” he adds.
BUDGET VS REVENUE
Both Shahi and Mittal believe that the difference between budget and revenue is crucial. “The cost is increasing every day but the revenue generated isn’t enough. Such shows need to be aired on slots with more commercials to generate maximum revenue. But that isn’t possible always, hence many of them go off air sooner than expected,” says Mittal.
Shahi shares that viewers want everything in a show. “Drama, crime, action and love — things that they see in real life, too. Also, these costume dramas of late, have started looking similar. We need to experiment,” he says.
■ shreya.mukherjee@htlive.com