Film Industry: INDIAN TV GETS BIGGER WITH BETTER BUDGETS

INDIAN TV GETS BIGGER WITH BETTER BUDGETS

Producers are pumping in more money than ever before into daily soaps. Bombay Times figures out why

Akash Wadhwa

    It’s an oft-used cliche these days — television is getting bigger and better. But that’s not just because of all the Bollywood biggies flocking to host reality shows. Producers are now pumping in more money in daily soaps, whether for grander sets, better special effects or skilled directors and writers. Add to that the increasing cost of actors’ remuneration and shooting special episodes in foreign locales, which is quite a fad on Indian TV these days, and you have budgets that are more expansive than ever before.
TECH THAT! Take for instance the special effects required in mythological serials like Devon Ke Dev... Mahadev (DKD). “The show has a separate graphic department comprising 90 people. Imagine, 90 people for just graphics! Isn’t it huge?” asks Nikhil Sinha, producer of the show, and goes on to add, “TV was never a cheap medium. An average TV soap costs somewhere between 4-5 lakh per episode. Producers today are ready to invest much more, and take a serial into the league of crores.”
    According to sources, a single episode of DKD costs its producers approximately 14 lakhs, by far the steepest in the industry. By the same estimates, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s debut TV production Saraswatichandra comes second, at 10 lakh per episode.
GET SET, GO While the majority of soaps are still shot on a single set, day in and day out, the more ambitious shows are not shying away from expanding. As Shabbir Ahluwalia, producer of Savitri, a show about reincarnation of two mythological characters pegged at 9 lakh per episode, shares, “My serial has five different sets for shooting, and each set is huge in itself. I have made such an investment because the script required such visual effects. We are moving beyond the format of shooting saas-bahu serials. Producers are ready to take risks if the script demands and paying greater attention to detail.”
ON THE WRITE TRACK Apart from escalating infrastructure costs, actors, directors and writers are being roped in for never-heard-before prices for their services. Reportedly, director Ravindra Gautam, who specialises in doing launch episodes, was paid more than a lakh of rupees to direct the pilot episode of Savitri. “It is not only the technology and the sets that producers are investing in, even scriptwriters and experienced directors are being paid a handsome amount,” agrees Gautam, and elaborates, “Content is the mainstay of a serial, a lot of emphasis is laid on that. If you see, the top budgeted shows on TV are quite strong with their scripts and direction. TV serials are slowly turning into feature films.”
    That’s a sentiment echoed by Ajai Sinha, veteran TV director of Astitva Ek Prem Katha fame. “The cinematographic vision of youngsters working in television today is great. If you see, they are making serials just like films,” he remarks.
WHAT GOES AROUND,
COMES AROUND? It’s simple arithmetic for Saurabh Tiwari, producer of Madhubala — Ek Ishq Ek Junoon, which costs an estimated 8 lakh per episode according to industry insiders. “The TV industry is more aggressive in its attitude now,” he opines, adding, “The newer producers are ready to invest any amount of money in their shows because the returns are greater. There was a time when special episodes, which required a more expansive budget, were shot once in a blue moon. But now, nearly every month serials have a special episode wherein from costumes to sets, everything is larger than life. Toh iss sabse cost of production toh badhegi na!”
    Adds Sinha, “Producers are investing more because their serials are getting huge money in return from commercials aired during breaks. Once a serial is a hit, every product wants to get associated with it and FMCGs also have bigger budgets to be able to do that without thinking about financial restrains.”