News Broadcasting
Balaji’s ‘K Nights’ to replace ‘KKR’ on Star
MUMBAI: Kaahin Kissii Roz (KKR), the long-winding social thriller which morphed into a supernatural drama somewhere along the way, is finally coming to an end.
Come September and Balaji’s KKR (it launched in April 2001) will be replaced by a show tentatively titled K Nights from the same stable.
It is worth recalling that mid-March this year, Star India COO Sameer Nair had told indiantelevision.com, “There are shows where the programming and creative team will have to take the call, thus far and no further. In this process, there is no such thing as chucking the producer off air. In fact, I’ve told most producers, ‘You guys must figure out your own replacements.’ Why should they get stressed that if the ratings are not doing well the channel will throw them out. Instead, if, for example, they have four shows on Star Plus, they should be thinking on the lines that okay, here are three shows that will stay. What will I replace the fourth with? Who knows they might then deliver something better than anything they’ve done before.”
Nair could well have been hinting at Ekta Kapoor’s late-night thriller KKR. Kapoor’s Kasautii Zindagi Kay, Kahaani Ghar Kii, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahiin To Hoga are still rocking, but KKR had been a cause of worry for quite some time now – much before the main protagonist Mouli Ganguly (aka Shaina) opted out. Actually, the show lost its way ever since Kapoor and Star Plus decided to reincarnate Shaina and Kunal (played by Yash Tonk) and allow Ramola Sikand (played by Sudha Chandran) to go over the top with her devious ways.
In the same interview, Nair had also stated, ‘We’ve said KKR has to get done by May. Or it’s finished.”
Since thenKKR ‘s TRPs have slowly but surely slipped. Forced by circumstances, Star has lived up to its word, albeit two months late.
Kapoor told indiantelevision.com last evening, “The telecast date for the first episode of K Nights is tentatively 7 September. Shooting begins next week.”
Now that the channel and the production house know the amount of time remaining for the outgoing serial, one would only hope that KKR is allowed to culminate sensibly.
K Nights will be a social suspense thriller (similar genre as KKR) starring newcomer Jasmeet Kaur. The other probables on the cast list are Rituu Raaj (Sanjay Doshi of Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii), Ashwini (C.I.D), Vikram Kapadia (Banegi Apni Baat) and Vaishnavi (Chotti Maa), among others.
Having been asked not to divulge the plot, we cannot let you in on the details of the high voltage drama. All we can say at this moment is: K Nights is the name of a mansion and spooky things keep happening in its vicinity.
Electronics engineer Hansal Mehta has been assigned the task of wielding the megaphone. This will be Mehta’s second experience with Star, his first being Star Bestsellers. However, he has done a lot of work on television for Zee TV – Khana Khazana, Kalaakar, Lakshya, Riishtey, Yule Love Stories.
On the films’ front, he has directed- Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar, Chhal and Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai. Just last week, Mehta was signed to direct a film titled Monika (inspired by the lifestyles of women like journalist Shivani Bhatnagar, poetess Madhumita Shukla and other similar real-life characters who set their own rules) which will go on floors in mid-August after Mehta is through with his ongoingRaakh (Mithun Chakraborty, Sohail Khan, Ishaa Koppikar, Neha Dhupia, Aamir Ali). On date, he has just wrapped up an adventure thriller, Humrahi (Aamir Ali, Ishaa Koppikar, Kay Kay).
Will Ekta’s K Nights live up to Nair’s statement, “Who knows they might then deliver something better than anything they’ve done before.”? Time will tell…
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
