MUMBAI: Balaji is set to bolster Sony’s weekend programming with a ‘socio thriller’ mini series that kicks off this Friday.

Kya Haadsa Kya Haqeeqat hopes to cash in on the fact that there is very little weekend programming across channels, says Balaji creative director Ekta Kapoor. The 39-episode story is a break from the staple Balaji diet of heavily dressed women and wimpy males. Packaged as a cross between Teesri Manzil, Gupt and Humraaz, the show will be unconventionally treated with no long scenes and no glossy lighting, the hallmark of Ekta’s serials currently on air. The Balaji creative head has obviously done her homework well. It will have elements of the American flick Scream, in which the thriller element is scary in itself’ without any gory scenes, of another US show Wild Things, which has a punch at the end of every episode, making it a complete show in itself.

The story of KHKH revolves around a girl, an ex boyfriend obsessed with her and the bizarre experiences she goes through after her marriage to a cop, blending reality and fiction in an unpredictable manner. Says Ekta: “Its an experiment. If after 39 episodes, the idea clicks, we will introduce another story with a similar thriller element. The idea is not to stretch just one story for too long.”

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Kya Hadsa Kya Haqeeqat, Sony Entertainment’s new “socio-thriller” weekend series.
The three episodes every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night at 8 pm will also be a complete capsule by themselves, says Ekta. She is targeting the youngster at home on weekends, but is also eyeing the additional audiences of men who are looking for some alternative weekend enjoyment. The one hour show will be supported by some more shows that the channel plans to introduce in the coming months, says SET executive V-P Sunil Lulla.

Balaji’s other show, Kutumb, which currently shares top honours for Sony in the ratings game, has also relaunched this week with a different story, although the central actors remain the same. Lulla agrees with Kapoor in maintaining that the sudden change in the storyline was more a viewers’ demand and that it would not cause a ripple in the ratings.

A scene from KHKH.
Sony’s other new show, Kahin Naa Kahin Koi Hay which has not shaken up the TRPs as yet, may also see some improvisations. There will be value additions, says Lulla, in terms of phone ins for viewers in which they can guess the groom the girl plans to pick as her husband, in the coming months. The show managed a 250 per cent increase in viewership in the 8:30 pm band for the channel in the first week, says Lulla. 

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