GECs
Zee TV’s India’s Best Dramebaaz bids adieu; Kapil Sharma hosts the grand finale
MUMBAI: Comedian Kapil Sharma brought to close season two of India’s Best Drameebaz (IBD) on Sunday, March 6 by hosting its grand finale. Produced by Frames Productions, season two completed its 26 episode journey. On 12 December 2015 Zee TV had once again brought back the second season of this home grown laughter dose which had children in the age group of 5 to13 years. .
Zee Enterprises Entertainment Ltd (ZEEL)’s flagship channel Zee TV has always provided platforms that have contributed talented performers to the entertainment industry. Being a pioneer in making its own home grown reality shows, Zee has always given some of the best entertaining reality shows. After producing a series of talent reality shows like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Dance India Dance, Dance India Dance Li’l champs, India’s Best Cinestar Ki Khoj, the channel had launched India’s Best Dramebaaz (IBD) in 2013.
Zee TV roped in a number of brands for the season 2 of IBD. These included Surf Excel as the title sponsor and Patanjali Atta Noodles as co-powered by sponsor. Besides, the channel also had other brands including Britannia Tiger Crunch, Yamaha Fascino, Epson, Vistaprint.in and Dabur Chawanprash as associate sponsors.
A source informed indiantelevision.com that the production cost for the show was Rs 70-80 lakh per episode, and the ad rate for a 10 second slot was Rs 1.5 lakh.
Zee marketed IDB season 2 aggressively. The campaign posed a distinctive challenge because it had kids at the forefront and hence would have been perceived as a kids show and would not appeal to the other audiences.
To specifically counter the unique challenge that IBD faced, a unique strategy was devised. All communication on IBD was contextual via customized communication for TGs and specific markets which was carried across all media vehicles including TV, radio and cinema.
Special promos resonating with various genres of TV audiences were created and run across different mediums including cinema, music, news and kids channels. Clutter-breaking and entertaining radio spots were specifically created for each market highlighting issues. A special print innovation was carried across key publications.
On the digital front, various innovations were a part of this campaign. Zee TV tied up with Facebook and conducted a Facebook bus activity wherein fun content was generated with the judges and participants and populated across social media.
As the show approached the finale week, Zee TV tied up with Twitter to provide a unique social media experience to its fans. The Twitter Challenger App was a unique initiative that brought forth the fun side of its participants through various challenges. The judges, anchors and the top 6 finalists created pictures and videos that were funny, topical and fresh. The same were populated across social media during the finale week.
The efforts put in by Zee TV to market the show seem to have paid off handsomely. In week 6 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), IBD emerged as the number one non-fiction show in Hindi GEC space with 8148 TVTs while in week 7 the show continued to be the number one non-fiction show with 7057 Impressions’ 000. In week 8 IBD remained at the top with an increase in viewership from 7057 to 7382 Impressions ‘000.
Frames Production’s Ranjit Thakur said, “India’s Best Dramebaaz has really won the heart of Indian audiences. The kids were fabulous and fantastic, also all the three judges Sonali Bendre, Vivek Oberoi and Sajid Khan, we all are like a big family now. Also working with Zee after a couple of years was amazing. I am happy that we have delivered this beautiful show.”
GECs
Asianet Television Awards 2026 celebrates women power in Malayalam TV
“She is the Colour” theme honours icons as ceremony airs on March 14 and 15 at 7 PM.
MUMBAI: If television lights up living rooms, this year Asianet decided to let women provide the colour. The Asianet Television Awards 2026 turned the spotlight firmly on women empowerment with the theme “She is the Colour”, celebrating the strength, resilience and achievements of women who continue to shape society and the Malayalam entertainment industry.
The ceremony honoured several distinguished personalities whose journeys have left a lasting cultural imprint. Among them was legendary playback singer Vimala Varma, widely recognised as the first Malayalam playback singer. The evening also paid tribute to Padma Shri awardees Devaki Amma and Vimala Menon for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
Leading women from the Malayalam film industry were also recognised during the event, including actor Shweta Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and National Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi.
The awards ceremony brought together a glittering lineup of actors and industry figures, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Asha Sarath, Lena, Esther Anil, Anumol, Akhila Bhargavan, Sarayu Mohan, Prajod Kalabhavan, Gayathri Suresh, Sabumon Abdusamad, Swasika, Tini Tom, Sijoy Varghese, Kailash, Veena Nandakumar, Sabareesh Varma, Ansiba Hassan and Dinesh Prabhakar. Kishan Kumar, executive vice president Malayalam at JioStar, was also present at the event.
Beyond individual recognitions, the awards celebrated excellence across Malayalam television, acknowledging artists and technicians whose work continues to drive the industry forward.
The evening also offered plenty of spectacle, with elaborate dance performances, stunt acts and comedy skits performed by popular television and film personalities, turning the ceremony into a full fledged entertainment showcase.
Viewers will get to watch the celebrations when the Asianet Television Awards 2026 air on Asianet on March 14 and 15, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 pm onwards, bringing the star studded tribute to homes across Kerala and beyond.
