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Historical, mythological and fantasy costume dramas seem to have INDiA's rich history and mythology are once again feeding the small screen, with many new shows hoping to captivate viewers, like the Ramayan and Mahabharat did in the 1980s. From reality programmes, TV has taken a leap into history and legend, beaming palatial sets, elaborate costumes, glitzy jewellery and hi-tech action sequences into homes. "Our country continues to be religious, and mythological shows continue to have a place. They will always work," says Nikhil Madhok, senior director, marketing and communications, Imagine. Perhaps that’s why costume dramas — whether historical, mythological or fantasy — seem to have caught the fancy of TV producers, who are spending millions to recreate legendary stories like Shobhaa Somnath Ki, Dwarkadheesh, Kahani Chandrakanta Ki and Jai Jai Jai Bajrangbali.
"When Mahabharat, Ramayan and Shri Krishna were popular in the 1980s and 1990s, they were aired only on weekends. At that time, nobody thought of airing mythology-based shows on prime time," says Madhok. "In the early 2000s, everyone started moving from the once-a-week format to dailies and mythological shows got lost in between. But when we came with the new Ramayan in 2008 as a daily, it opened everyone’s eyes and there was a resurgence." However, the producers are ensuring there’s no repetition — they are either digging for untold historical stories or hunting for new angles from the lives of gods. Take, for example, Zee TV’s Shobhaa Somnath Ki — it is based on a Gujarati legend, which talks about Shobha, who fought fearlessly when Afghan invader Mahmud of Ghazni tried to destroy the Somnath temple in the 11th century. The idea was to make "a fairy tale with all the elements of valour, romance, poetry, adventure, bravery," according to Sukesh Motwane, programming head of Zee TV. Sahara One decided to open closed chapters with Kahani Chandrakanta Ki — a take off from the popular 1995 TV series Chandrakanta, which was a romantic fantasy about two lovers — Chandrakanta and Virendra, who belonged to rival kingdoms. Chandrakanta
was based on Devaki Nandan Khatri’s eponymous novel, and the latest
is inspired by his second novel Chandrakanta Santati. It
explores love between Chandrakanta’s son and the daughter of the
evil "Lately, people have been working on a lot of historical and mythological shows, and I felt there was a vacuum for a fantasy show. Also, the story of Chandrakanta has not been told repetitively... so, there’s a lot of freshness in our storytelling," adds Agnihotri, who also produced Chandrakanta.. There are also shows like Imagine’s Dwarkadheesh and Sahara One’s Jai Jai Jai Bajrangbali, which will show new facets of the lives of Lord Krishna and Lord Hanuman. Agnihotri says producers should not bring "educational" content on TV. "Nothing educational works. People only want entertainment, and there’s a cycle for everything. For a decade, saas-bahu sagas ruled, after which reality shows became a rage. Now, period dramas are back," he adds. The production costs of period dramas have escalated beyond imagination. Recalls Agnihotri: "In 1995, one episode of Chandrakanta used to cost me Rs 1,000,000. We used to shoot in Mumbai’s Film City by hiring a space for Rs 5,000 a day. It was a weekly show that time. Nowadays, we shoot in the set of a mahal (palace), which costs us Rs 1,50,000 a day. The costs are too high!" "Earlier, our leading lady Shikha Swaroop used to wear dresses that cost Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000 and now, none of her dresses for the role of queen Chandrakanta costs less than Rs 35,000. We are spending close to Rs 1, 400,000 per episode now, and it is a daily!" Madhok, too, points out,
"Everyone wants the best. People are shooting on HD
(high-definition) also these days, which itself requires higher
investment. The range of money spent on each episode of a historical
can be wild — anything between 10 and 50 per cent over and above the
money invested on a daily soap." But the makers are not cribbing
thanks to good viewership! — IANS
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