'Saas-bahus have their place but not on prime time'

Q&A: Samir Nair

When Samir Nair was with STAR, he "invented" the saas-bahu soaps. With NDTV Imagine "" which he started a year ago not really in a garage but in the business centre of a five-star hotel in Mumbai "" he is betting on a decline in this genre's popularity and eventual relegation to daytime slots. He tells Suveen K Sinha and Amit Ranjan Rai that, as the challenger, the onus is on him to cause disruption and bring about change. He hasn't had a bad beginning.

The new Ramayan and Nachle Ve With Saroj Khan seem to be doing well. Are they your biggest hits?

There are many of them. The response to most of our programmes has been good, and more importantly, it is different. Beside Ramayan and Nachle Ve, there is Jasuben [Jayantilal Joshi Ki Joint Family], which is very popular, particularly in Gujarat, Dharamveer is again very popular, and we've recently launched a show called Angrezi Mein Kahte Hain "" it's a "learn English" type of show. It's got legs and will stay for a long time.

Our programming is moving away from what is currently available in the general entertainment channel space. Of course, we have now figured that we will have to create faster than anyone can duplicate.

Are people duplicating?

It happens so quickly nowadays... I remember three-four years ago when you did something, you enjoyed a clear six-seven-month or a one-year run, before people started doing the same thing. When the first season of Laughter Challenge went on air on Star Plus, nothing similar came up until the next year.

How much of a free run do your programmes get these days?

Ramayan went on air on January 21, and now everyone has jumped on to the mythology bandwagon. Vaishno Devi went on air on April 28. Then there are two new Mahabharatas coming up around August. There is another one to be aired on Viacom around that time.

How is the expansion plan going? You were to launch a global movie venture called Lumiere?

Lumiere is not just about starting a TV channel on world cinema. We are getting movies into India to release them theatrically and on home video. Then we will go for the pay-per-view formats and then on to general TV channels.

The world cinema we plan to bring in would be more contemporary, more reflective of today's society the world over. Otherwise, it is generally associated with the old masters such as Akira Kurosawa, Federico Fellini and so on. Lumiere's focus would be the works of emerging directors. Some of the movies are as contemporary as being shown at the Cannes film festival next week.

The first theatrical release will be in May-end. We are working very closely with PVR Cinemas to release these movies at their multiplexes. We see an audience of over a million for this kind of cinema.

When will we see the saas-bahu-type serials on Imagine?

I am the one who invented them, my friend [laughs]. I used to explain their success to my colleagues from the US as, it's essentially daytime drama put on prime time, and it works magic. By daytime drama, we can say The Bold and the Beautiful type of shows. That kind of programming in the US is in the day time, but in India, it is all on prime time and has worked very well. But it has been eight years now. And that has to give way to the normal way things exist.

When will that be?

It always happens, especially with something that has been going on for such a long time. You have a core base that will follow it and then you have the rest of them who don't like it but they anyway like to watch it to not like it. But now change is occurring, when we launched Imagine, we did different things. We brought back the one-hour weekly format "" instead of the half-hour weekly shows. We put Ramayan into prime time to create a little bit of disruption into the viewing schedule. Change is bound to happen. In the next two-three years, it will change.

Is change around the corner?

Change is happening, and the onus is on new players like us. It is always hard for the incumbent to make the change. It is the challenger who can attempt the change, because he has the least to lose.

How long do you think the saas-bahu soaps will continue?

Logically speaking, you can go on forever. Santa Barbara and The Bold and the Beautiful are still on. I think over a period of time, it will get increasingly hard to maintain that same level of interest in prime time. Everyone cannot sit and watch it anymore. So over a period of time, these would need to move on from prime time to more exclusive time bands.

You had promised a lot of differentiation and innovation with Imagine...

We are pushing the envelope. Some programmes will work, some will not. Dhoom Macha De has established singers competing with each other on one platform, and they sing live, without any lip-syncing, which happens in most other such programmes. It's a pity that it hasn't connected with everyone so well. What we have done on NDTV Imagine since its launch is purely original creative programming.

What has been the mainstay of Star Plus in all these years? It's the soap opera "" that is consistent. People watch them night after night after night. That is what brings in viewership and revenue. What we are going for is programming that people can attach themselves to. Our main focus now is to compete with Star and Zee for prime time. It is a real hard fight. It's an old habit and old habits die old.

As you attack Star and Zee...

We cannot attack. They are big guys [laughs]... we are just doing our stuff.

How do you hope to make a dent into their belly?

Keep building programming.

Different, or more of the same?

I don't think you can do more of the same. The logic is that if I have my daily dose of soap, why would I shift from there to go to something else which is just a new version of that?

How do you see this business changing now that people with very deep pockets are entering?

I don't think money is an issue. Everyone in this business seems to be reasonably equipped for the battle. I don't think pure money power will be a differentiator. It doesn't matter how much money you spend. Unless there is differentiation, it would be hard to compete. Competition is intense, but it's a good thing, it makes everyone think.