We are the trendsetters

The name itself spell success. Way back in 1987 the Indian television industry witnessed the birth of a company which today is one of the...

The name itself spell success. Way back in 1987 the Indian television industry witnessed the birth of a company which today is one of the biggest names in the business: Adhikari Bros. Markand Adhikari, the younger of the two brothers and the administrative head of Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Ltd has truly emerged a winner. From their first regional language Marathi serial Bandini in November 8217;87 to the sitcom Shrimaan Shrimati in 8217;94 or Waqt Ki Raftar the daily soap launched in 8217;97, all the Adhikaris touch, turns to gold. They8217;ve produced 30 programmes in a span of 12 years. Currently they have 9 programmes on air simultaneously all on Doordarshan of which three are daily shows and just a few days back yet another show of theirs called Five Day Thriller 8211; a never heard before concept of a daily thriller hit the air. And in case you didn8217;t know, this is the only television company to go public in India. But still Markand Adhikari feels a lot is to be done.Excerpts from an interview with Murli Sharma:
While most producers are cribbing Market down hai 8211; how do you see the television industry going?
Of course, it8217;s true. Definitely Market down hai. And the recession is not just here, it8217;s all over the world. The percentage of growth is nil, instead there is a negative growth. If the market is bad it does affect everybody, even established producers like us. The only difference is we8217;ve more sustaining powers than the individual producers. Advertisers who used to pay up in 45 days now take 150 days as credit period and at times even a year. What can a producer do?

Now, as the financial year comes to an end what should be the turnover this year at Sri Adhikari Brothers?
This year we should be crossing Rs 30 crore and our 10 rupee share has gone up to something between Rs 80 8211; Rs 100.

You8217;re the only one to have three daily shows amongst your other shows all on Doordarshan and now you8217;ve started another daily called Five Day Thriller. Do you think it will click especially when the slot 2.30 afternoon 8211; DD2 caters to women audience?
It8217;s a daily thriller, a suspense with each story stretching into 5 episodes that is, each mystery will be solved in five days. There are so many social subjects on TV especially in the afternoon that this will be a novelty, something new in this slot. I guess women would also be fed up with so many tear-jerkers and it8217;s not that a thriller doesn8217;t interest women. And we8217;re known for doing something new. Like when Shriman Shrimati started in the 8pm slot 8212; a dead slot 8212; but today it is the best slot for a sitcom. We started All the Best, a countdown interwoven with a sitcom and today there are so many countdowns with sitcom formats.

And what about the commercial viability?
Commercial viability is difficult. Not just for this thriller but for anything on DD2. But we8217;re confident it will pick up. And we8217;ve dedicated and loyal to the channel. We8217;ll stick to it even in bad times and not run away like other producers. There was a time when DD2 was giving a run to the satellite channels. I feel there is a lobby campaigning against DD2 and they8217;re working hard to bring down the Network though of course even Doordarshan should improve its transmission quality.

Why is it that all your projects are on Doordarshan?
No we8217;ve worked with private channels earlier. Like Commander was produced by us for Zee. When EL TV started our sitcom Teri Bhi Chup Meri Bhi Chup was the first one, there was Kabhi Idhar Kabhi Udhar on Home TV. Now our main target is Doordarshan. Because of its vast reach. DD is the largest broadcaster with a connectivity of 60 million homes. And also working with a satellite channel means giving away the copyrights which we don8217;t want to. And also if your programme on a satellite channel is extremely successful you don8217;t get the fruits of it, all the profits go to the channel which is not the case with DD. It8217;s only in India that a channel asks for the rights, otherwise world over the property is owned by the producer.

Recently you also tied up with a channel in Sri Lanka. Why?
It8217;s an arrangement with a channel called Sirasa TV and we produce seven hours of entertainment in a week in their local language Sinhalese. It8217;s a new avenue for our group. We8217;re just trying to expand our empire.

After your first Hindi film Bhookamp with Rahul Roy and Mamta Kulkarni bombed is it quits on the film front or are you planning any more films?
We are working on a tele-feature film, not a telefilm. There is a difference. A tele feature film is a film which would first premiered on television. Everything else is done like a feature film. The music is by Anu Malik, audio is on Tips cassette. The budget of the film is around Rs 1 crore. We expect top break even in the first run. Then of course there are re-runs. This is the future of television and people won8217;t understand this now but will after five years. We are investing for the future and as I said we8217;ve been trendsetters.

Story continues below this ad

Finally tell us what else is in the pipeline?
We8217;re widening our range in the regional market. Because there is a lot of scope to grow in the regional areas. We8217;re producing software in South and Bengal. Then there is also a lot of export potential overseas. Like our programmes are being aired in America, New Zealand, UK, Mauritius and many other countries. So wait and watch. Laughs.