News Broadcasting
‘Hum Sab Baraati’ heading for premature end
MUMBAI: Zee has decided to pull its Sunday-Wednesday 8 pm comedy show Hum Sab Baraati off air around mid-August due to faltering TRPs.
About three-and-a-half months ago, 4 April to be exact, we thought Zee had done everything right to tickle the funny bone when it launched Sanjay Chhel Telefilms Pvt Ltd’s maiden television venture Hum Sab Baraati (starring Dinyar Contractor, Tiku Tulsania, et al). The show was described as a light and frothy sitcom with ‘a touch of soap opera,’ revolving around a family of wedding planners. Now it looks like show is coming to an premature end.
To mark the launch of HSB, Chhel had hired a music band, palmists, mehendiwali and flower sellers, among others. Speaking about the venture at that time, Chhel had said, “It’s a feel-good comedy with integrally woven songs and dances.” In addition to the dialogues, Chhel had also penned songs for the show.
When contacted, Zee programming head Ashwini Yardi confirmed the news.”We always keep on introducing new formats and are replacing Hum Sab Barati,, which has already run the stipulated number of episodes, with a new serial.” This is despite the fact that Zee had affirmed at the time of its launch that HSB had been commissioned for a year.
When contacted, Chhel, however, said, “This is news to me. Zee has not sent me any intimation in this regard. I am shooting the episodes as usual.”
A leading actor from the serial (requesting anonymity) also confirmed, “Yes, I have heard this rumour. But I think that the channel should observe patience. Comedies take a long time to register and grow.”
We also remember Chhel telling us, the road to its telecast has been easy. “I spoke to other channels as well about this show, but somehow thought that Zee TV was the least interfering of all.” Well?
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
