GECs
Sony hopes soaps will do for the near term
It’s all about strategy. If Zee tried the “its raining serials” approach as part of its relaunch, Sony Entertainment believes in building the brand “brick by brick”, as SET CEO Kunal Dasgupta puts it.
And if strategies are important so are catchlines. And Sony’s is the ‘T strategy’ with its focus on prime time viewing. The strategy aims at capturing viewer interest in the two and half hour time band during which people watch TV daily, according to Nachiket Pantvaidya, vice president, programming and production, SET India. Nine – 10 PM from Mondays to Thursdays and 8 – 11 PM on Fridays are the time bands the channel will target in the coming months. This will be done by airing a plethora of soap operas in these focussed bands.
The stress would be on general entertainment, but a re-assessment of the situation would be undertaken in January 2002, according to Dasgupta. “We would not like to hit the market with multiple shows in one go, but would prefer to launch new programmes in a phased manner,” he said at a press conference on Monday. Sony’s flop celebrity game show, Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke, meanwhile, will be taken off air from 16 November after completing 75 episodes. A new game show, either homegrown or licensed, is also on the cards in the next six months.
Among the 10 soaps that will shortly go on air is Kutumb, a Balaji production, that will be telecast at 9.30 PM from Monday to Thursday.
Unlike Kkusum and Star’s Kyunki Saas…, Kutumb, another Ekta Kapoor concept, treads a slightly different track although it remains firmly in the Indian extended family domain. There is a spoilt rich brat whose efforts to woo a determined, morally upright girl are all in vain till he manipulates matters so that they have to get married. The ‘saas-bahu’ feuds have been brought into the ‘husband-wife’ domain. The family determined not to accept the daughter-in-law in the fold, her efforts to maintain her dignity while seeking love and affection are the tangles that Kutumb seeks to unravel. Ekta’s own one-liner for the serial, meanwhile, is “They hated each other so they married each other”.
GECs
Vikram and Ajinkya Gandhe win Masterchef India season finale
Chef Sanjeev Kapoor joins judges for emotional MasterChef finale
MUMBAI: The latest season of MasterChef India concluded on a high note, with brothers Vikram Gandhe and Ajinkya Gandhe crowned winners in the grand finale aired on Sony Entertainment Television.
The duo from Nagpur lifted the coveted trophy and donned the show’s signature golden apron after a season that celebrated India’s diverse culinary traditions under the theme “Pride of India”.
This edition of the popular cooking reality show introduced a new jodi format, with 50 pairs from across the country competing in the Masterchef kitchen. Contestants brought personal stories, regional flavours and family bonds to the competition.
The grand finale featured the final three pairs: Vikram and Ajinkya Gandhe (brothers), Saisree and Chanda (mother and daughter), and Anju and Manju (sisters).
The finale was attended by celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, who joined the show’s judging panel comprising Vikas Khanna, Ranveer Brar and Kunal Kapur.
Kapoor said the show has long served as a platform to celebrate India’s rich culinary heritage and provide passionate home cooks with a national stage. He noted that the current season reflected a confident India that takes pride in its roots while embracing new culinary ideas.
Judge Vikas Khanna said the contestants’ journeys and the memories created during the season would remain with the team long after the show’s conclusion. Ranveer Brar described the show as a family that continues to grow with every season, while Kunal Kapur praised the contestants’ creativity and determination.
With the finale now concluded, the latest season of MasterChef India once again highlighted how food can reflect identity, heritage and storytelling, inspiring home cooks across the country to pursue their culinary ambitions.
