Tags:
Journalism of Courage
With nine programmes currently on air, the Adhikari Brothers can justly claim to dominate the tele-scene. Playing out this success story is Gautam the director8217; and Markand, the administrator8217;.
The origin of Adhikari Brothers dates back to the days when Gautam attended the JJ School of Arts and later worked at various ad agencies as a commercial artist. In 1984, Markand 38 joined him and they established a small ad agency, Surya Communications, which made cinema slides, posters and press ads for quot;chaiwallas and hingwallas.quot; Gautam 45 was the creative force while Markand8217;s job was to chase clients. He had an all-lines railway pass and travelled to the remote corners of Mumbai 8212; briefcase in one hand and clutching on to dear life with the other hand in the overcrowded second class compartment. Once he even fell down on a platform and was quot;dead for half an hourquot;.
For the Adhikaris, satellite channels will always remain the second option. quot;On satellite TV, you are just acontractor. But on DD, we can create our own library and media assets,quot; explains Markand. The DD programmes can be rerun, rehashed, dubbed, sold abroad8230;in fact, Markand claims that their library is currently worth Rs 25 crore. quot;That is the advantage of DD,quot; he insists.
The brothers have churned out programmes in all genre 8212; from thriller, sitcom, soap, countdowns..even to to current affair programmes with Karan Thapar. They now produce his shows. In the pipeline is a sports-based programme with a quot;prominent cricketerquot;. The Adhikaris attribute their success to keeping a quot;tight watchquot; on everything from scripting to marketing of their projects. They do not believe in brainstorming session or strategy planning committees. quot;That only leads to confusion. Here, the two of us decide everything,quot; says Markand. He believes he has got a his finger on the viewer8217;s pulse. quot;If I look at programme I can tell whether it will be a hit or not,quot; claims Markand, adding that he has scrapped four projects 8212; one forwhich ten episodes were shot 8212; merely because he was confident the program would fail. And Gautam believes in giving what the audience wants.
quot;If they want Aring;ldquo;!, then we will give it to them,quot; he says, scatalogically speaking. His is a great fan of directors like David Dhawan who are not into arty8217; projects. quot;Anyone can make an art film. But to make a successful commercial film is the most difficult art,quot; he says. Another key to their success is that the brothers stuck to their core competence and never switched their job profile 8212; Gautam never dabbled in administration and Markand never tried his hand at direction. quot;We don8217;t believe in such risky experiments. If I take up direction, the company will wind up in no time!quot; laughs Markand.
The Adhikaris believe that the Indian market is saturated and the time has come to look elsewhere. quot;There are 10,000 pilots floating in the market.
Indian Airlines need not ever worry about pilots going on strike!quot; puns Gautam. So, the plan is to diversify intoneighbouring SAARC countries with locally-relevant programmes. The other forest they seek to cultivate is Bollywood. But Markand does not believe in chasing film stars for dates or hanging outside their AC cars. quot;I am not a struggler, we are running a corporate body. I will designate someone as Vice-President, Films, and he will do the running around!quot; he quips.Also on the dream boat, is a one-stop shop outside Mumbai, which will contain everything from shooting sets to cinema halls to amusement parks. quot;We will diversify into all fields of entertainment. Adhikari Brothers will become the Warner Brothers of India.quot; claims Markand. And a decade later, they may even have their own satellite channel. 8220;If people want good programmes, they have to come to Adhikari Brothers,quot; insists Markand. We don8217;t know about good but certainly, popular8217; is their middle name.
