GECs
Zee takes on ‘Kahaani…’ with ‘Kittie Party’
MUMBAI: Fortune favours the brave. That could well be the tack that Zee Telefilms is taking as it attempts to pick itself off the floor as far as the ratings are concerned.
With the full cast in tow and the show’s celebrity writer Shobhaa De present, Zee Telefilms director marketing Partha Pratim Sinha yesterday announced the launch of a daily soap Kittie Party slotted in the 10 to 10:30 pm band. Launching Monday, 19 August, Kittie Party is pitched directly against the Balaji blockbuster soap Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki that airs on Star Plus.
The serial revolves around the lives of eight women who meet every month fore their kittie party. The serial explores their individual lives through these meetings. And what is it that Zee hopes will connect with the viewer. According to the release issued, “Since the situations are from every day life, audiences will be able to identify the characters and the conflicts they deal with.”
“But if there is one key factor that Zee hopes will bring in the audiences it must be one of aspiration. For though De was at pains to point out that it was not only people of a “certain class” (the rich and upwardly mobile) that would relate to the show, the evidence of the AV that was screened did not indicate otherwise. De also took a swipe at the kind of fare that dominates prime time television, saying that the story was about issues relevant to today’s women and not the “saas-bahu sagas where the protagonists’ mindsets were 50 years behind the times.”
On the plus side, producer Manish Goswami’s Siddhant Cinevision has left no stone unturned to give the show top notch production values. The look as well as the background score is of a uniformly high quality and certainly seems to have done justice to the estimated Rs 450,000 per episode cost of the series. One cannot forget the high profile lead cast with the likes of Poonam Dhillon, Kavita Kapoor, Achint Kaur, Deepshikha and Maya Alagh, among others adding to the glam appeal.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… connection because this time, the game isn’t just about winning, it’s about who’s with you. Sony Pictures Networks India is gearing up to launch a new reality game show, Tum Ho Naa, expanding its unscripted slate with a format that promises both emotion and engagement.
The show will premiere soon on Sony Entertainment Television and stream on Sony LIV, with Rajeev Khandelwal stepping in as host. Known for his measured screen presence and selective choices, Khandelwal’s return to television adds a layer of familiarity and credibility to the upcoming format.
While specific details of the gameplay remain under wraps, the positioning suggests a reality format that leans as much on emotional resonance as it does on competition, an increasingly popular blend in Indian television, where audiences are gravitating towards content that offers both stakes and storytelling.
Khandelwal, reflecting on his return, noted that his choices have often been guided by instinct rather than convention, describing Tum Ho Naa as a project that feels “close to the heart”. His association also signals Sony’s continued focus on anchoring new formats with recognisable faces who bring both relatability and depth.
The launch comes at a time when broadcasters are doubling down on original non-fiction formats to drive appointment viewing, even as digital platforms expand parallel reach. By placing the show across both linear television and OTT, Sony appears to be aiming for a dual-audience strategy capturing traditional viewers while engaging digital-first consumers.
As the countdown to premiere begins, Tum Ho Naa positions itself not just as another game show, but as a reminder that sometimes, the biggest prize on screen isn’t the jackpot, it’s the journey shared along the way.
