BENGALURU: The second season of the Kannada version of the Who wants to be a Millionaire – Kannadada Kotyadhipathi (KK) which catapulted Star Network's Kannada GEC offering Suvarna to numero uno in the Kannada ratings race ended on July 25.

Hosted by one of the top actors from Sandalwood, Puneeth Rajkumar, KK ran every night Monday to Thursday for 90 minutes on prime time between 8pm and 9.30pm. Throughout this week the grand finale of Suvarna Super Jodi (SSJ) is being aired during this slot. SSJ's run will end Sunday, 4 August. SSJ was aired three days a week, Friday to Sunday between 8pm and 9.30 pm.

Early this week, Suvarna announced the launch of three new 30 minute daily soaps which will run six days a week, Monday to Saturday starting 5 August. The shows which will replace KK and SSJ are Priyadarshini, Milana and Aragini, at the 8.00pm; 8.30pm and 9.00pm slots respectively. The channel plans to air movies on Sundays' for a couple of weeks during this slot before announcing a new weekly property.

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Suvarna business head Anup Chandrashekaran said, "These three shows are very different from each other. They have a strong story line and narration. I am sure that our viewers are going to enjoy them. All the three shows appeal to the mass audiences and cater to the entire family. Suvarna as a brand has built a strong loyal viewer base. Our current fiction offerings have made us the leader in weekday prime time, with the launch of these three shows we intend to maintain this leadership and further strengthen our position in the KGE market."

The channel says that almost the entire inventory of spots for all the three shows has already been sold out. Suvrana's head of marketing and research Anil Narang said to www.indiantelevision.com ,"Spots generally are fully booked, and with the limit on ad spots, we have had to say no to advertisers and agencies often. We are planning a major outdoor campaign with over 100 hoardings across the state. Radio, print and magazines have also been planned."

An emotional drama Milana is revolves around three characters

Promos for the three shows began airing on Suvarna and the recently launched Kananda GEC Suvarna Plus. Outdoor and press conferences across cities in Karnataka, as well purchase of spots on radio stations are a part of the campaign to attract more eyeballs for the three soaps. Suvarna has purchased spots on Radio City in Bengaluru and on Red FM across the state.

The channel has roped in an all new cast for each of the three shows, two of which are being directed by Ravi R Garani. Milana will be directed by R Madhusudhan.
Priyadarshini is a story of two sisters (Kavya and Anjali). Anjali, a soft natured girl falls in love with a haughty Gaurav. Kavya, a boisterous girl falls in love with the ever courteous Gautham. A joint family which has been split from many years comes together because of these four characters.

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Suvarna says that the USP of the show is its lively and crisp narration. Its high emotional drama narrated with light humour is to attract youngsters and homemakers alike. Produced by Garani, the cast is Goutham – Gururaj V; Gaurav – Ajay; Kavya – Shwetha; Anjali – Amrutha S.

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Priyadarshini is a story of two sisters who bring their families together

Aragini is a love – hate relationship between Sidharth Patil, an arrogant business tycoon and Khushi, a bubbly young girl from Bijapur. A series of unexpected incidents in their lives brings them together. The tussle between these contrasting characters forms the crux of the story. Directed by Garani, the cast includes Sidharth Patil played by Harish and Khushi played by Meghana.

Milana is a story within the mind. It is an emotional drama woven by the three characters – Samarth, a successful corporate who has lived all his life as per his parents' instructions. He is highly ambitious and is looking to break-free from the clutches of his strict parents. Prarthana is a simple girl from a small town in Shimoga. She believes in small happiness and wishes for a happy family life. When Samarth's marriage is planned with Prarthana, he meets Aishwarya who is daughter of the maid in Prarthana's house. Aishwarya is an opportunist and desires all the happiness in the world. The love-triangle between these three characters forms the crux of the story. Directed by R Madhusudhan, the cast includes Samarth – Prashanth; Prarthana – Vinutha and Aishwarya – Pratula.

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The channel has canned about 10 episodes of each of the serials. "We plan for 70-80 episodes of a show at least, and we generally have a buffer of two weeks -12 episode bank in hand," revealed Narang.

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