MUMBAI: With every new show that Star Plus adds to its platter, the format seems to be veering evermore towards an urban and contemporary look and feel. Hello Dollie , the latest offering for the young and restless from Hindi entertainment television’s lead channel, is no different.

After more than two years ensconced in the 7:30 pm slot, UTV’s Shaka laka boom boom is coming to an end and makes way for Hello Dollie, which debuts 25 October and will air Mondays through to Thursdays.

Produced by the makers of Hatim (Sagar Group), Hello Dollie comes from the third generation of Sagars, which tells a story of an average teenager going through the agony of puberty dealing with frumpy hair and pimples. Having grown up in a sheltered, single parent environment for 15 years, this adolescent is taken by surprise when she finds out that that she’s a real life princess.

Interestingly, this show, which is slotted at a band where the programming has been targeted at kids, addresses the early teens. When questioned on the same, Star India’s senior vice-president content and communications Deepak Segal points out, “With Shaka laka boom boom, the TG that tuned in did not progress to Dekho Magar Pyaar se, which is a romantic tale. But, with the slightly older age group of kids tuning in to Hello Dollie, there will be a natural progression to DMPS at 8 pm and then to a Kasautii Zindagii Kay (KZK) more mature love story at 8:30 pm.”

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Another point of note that was made was that the loyal audience of SLBB has also grown and hence this initiative. Also, behavioral patterns of viewers show that younger kids usually go with what the older one’s watch but the reverse does not apply. Hence with Hello Dollie, Star Plus not only hopes to sustain its current viewership but also expand it in this particular band as well as the adjacent ones.

Also, capitalising on the Navratri festive season, the channel tied up with one of the biggest dandiya groups at the Kora Kendra located in Borivali in Mumbai for a unique contest wherein the best dressed young woman was crowned princess each night.

A glittering tiara studded with semi-precious stones was the winner’s crowning glory. This activation was to announce the launch of this daily as also to create hype and curiosity around the same.

Hello Dollie, apart from being fast paced and racy, is nicely peppered with a mix of English (the way it is spoken, and not with an accented undertone) that depicts a natural scene at a school. The coming of age story of a 15-year-old is a simple story but more importantly simply told. With a finite number of episodes, this property looks extremely promising and lends itself a good chance to hit it off with teenagers.

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