Why do news channels bank on vintage Hindi music shows to grab eyeballs over weekends?
Why do news channels bank on vintage Hindi music shows to grab eyeballs over weekends?
The 7 o'clock news talks about a CBI raid, and the news at 9 revolves around a new threat by the Mujahideen. Somewhere between two sober news stories plays a familiar, old Hindi film song about love.
We are talking about Total Recall on Times Now, and Bollywood Blockbusters on CNN IBN, two shows and one formula to big television ratings scheduled over the weekend in prime time programming slots.
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Total Recall was launched in September 2008. The channel initially showcased classic advertisements, serials and films. "Later we realised that films worked best, so we stuck to the format," he says.
The Bollywood Blockbuster series on English news channel CNN IBN, began at the end of 2009. "Bollywood always works. It's a no-brainer. People love trivia and we dig up the lesser known details about stars from that generation," says Ritu Kapur, Feature Editor, CNN IBN.
Television rating points (TRPs) measured by Television Audience Measurement (TAM) reveal how shows about the golden years of Bollywood enjoy phenomenally high viewership -- among the highest, in comparison to other light feature shows on news channels. Total Recall ranks second among shows that feature on Times Now through the week, with 4.03 lakh viewers. Similarly, Bollywood Blockbuster enjoys a viewership of 2.39 lakh viewers, making it the sixth most popular show on CNN IBN.
"Films today frequently borrow from the older ones, whether for a music score or formula plots. A lot of contemporary films are going retro," says Kapur, talking of the rehash-the-old mantra.
Both shows, aired on rival news channels that are competing to give you the latest news and reviews for hard-hitting public comment, take a leisurely walk through vintage film reels every weekend. The shows act as tributes to masters who dominated the screen, delve into the making of films, and carry chats with composers, lyricists and choreographers involved with the making of the film.
The diva series on Bollywood Blockbuster started off a black and white film reel that takes an in-depth look at veteran actress Nutan's cinematic journey. It covers her rise to fame when she was just 19, her acting methods, how she inspired people to write roles for her, and what directors thought of her symmetrical nose.
CNN IBN meanwhile, has taken us through the making of the epic, Mother India starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raj Kumar. Filmed partly at Bandra's Mehboob studio, and in several villages across Gujarat, the film saw farmers readily offer their fields to shoot the flood scenes, as the episode revealed. It even got into the details of paychecks; on a budget of Rs 20 lakhs, star Rajendra Kumar took home a salary of Rs 5,000
a month.
While it's true that the shows try to pick up controversies, and trivia like including why Dilip Kumar never married Madhubala, or how Nargis nursed Sunil Dutt back to health after Mother India, media professionals attribute the popularity of the show to its high nostalgia quotient. The weekend feature format allows viewers to reminisce on a familiar memory.
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