Movie Channels
Mummy helps HBO climb into the top 100
MUMBAI: An HBO movie made it to the top 100 programmes in the week ended 13 January 2002, setting a record of sorts for the channel.
Mummy, the Hollywood blockbuster of 2000, entered both ORG Marg’s Intam list and AC Nielsen’s TAM data with Intam ranking it 28th with a TVR of 2.6. TAM on the other hand, gave it a higher rating of 2.88 but placed it at number 62 on its chart. The reason for the difference is that TAM data records a show’s TVRs according to the number of times it is on air during the week, while Intam registers one show on any given time slot only once, however many times it may appear. The data collected was for all C&S homes in all 24 panels.
Mummy, aired on 12 January, was touted as the channel’s first big movie of the year and was surrounded by a lot of on and off air promotional activity. The ratings by themselves are impressive. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon that premiered on AXN in December 2001 earned a rating of 1.2 among Indian cable AB viewers in the top five metros, making it the top programme on international channels between 1 and 29 December, according to AXN Asia MD Todd Miller. Mummy thus stands head and shoulders above the other English channels.
Nevertheless, Mummy was not able to break Titanic’s record score of 8.2 (TAM data for nine main cities 4+) when the movie premiered on Star Movies on 31 December 1999.
The Mummy seems to have succeeded where the Band of Brothers failed, for HBO. The 10 part miniseries BoB was pushed aggressively across media but failed to strike a chord with viewers, and rise on the ratings scale. Mummy has turned out a much sounder investment for the channel.
Movie Channels
Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat Premieres 14 Feb on Zee
Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat world TV premiere 14 Feb at 8pm passion meets politics.
MUMBAI: Cupid’s arrow just got a plot twist and it’s heading straight for your TV screen. This Valentine’s Day, Zee Cinema is turning up the heat with the world television premiere of Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat, a raw, rule-breaking romantic drama that proves love doesn’t always come wrapped in roses.
Set to air on Saturday, 14 February at 8pm, the film stars Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa, directed by Milap Zaveri. It dives headfirst into obsession, heartbreak, and the kind of unconditional love that leaves scorch marks. Rane plays Vikramaditya, a powerful politician whose all-consuming passion for actress Adaa spirals into chaos when his feelings go unreturned unleashing a storm of emotion, misunderstanding, and life-altering consequences.
The timing couldn’t be sharper. Audiences are clearly craving intense love stories over sugar-coated ones, and this film taps straight into that vein. Harshvardhan Rane already has a loyal fanbase from his cult hit Sanam Teri Kasam, which cemented his status as the go-to guy for heart-wrenching romance especially among younger viewers who keep the film on repeat.
Milap Zaveri captured the film’s beating heart, “This film is about love that doesn’t follow rules. With Valentine’s Day being a time when audiences gravitate towards romantic narratives, the television premiere of Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat on Zee Cinema felt like the perfect fit. The continued love for intense romances shows there is a strong emotional appetite for such stories.”
Rane himself called it a story rooted in messy, honest emotion, “Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat explores love in its most intense and vulnerable form where emotions are messy and deeply human. It’s a story that doesn’t shy away from passion or pain on Valentine’s Day making it even more special as it reflects the many shades of love people experience.”
Sonam Bajwa added her take, “Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat is not a conventional love story, it’s raw, intense and emotional. Valentine’s Day is usually associated with happy romance but this film explores love in its most vulnerable form.”
So if your Valentine’s plans include more than chocolates and clichés, tune in to Zee Cinema at 8pm on 14 February. Because sometimes the most unforgettable love stories aren’t the ones that end neatly, they’re the ones that leave you questioning just how far passion can push before everything changes.
