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Satyam

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Bachchan — Day 23

May 9th, 2008Related|Filed Under

(thanks to theskeptic, weirdly this did not show up at all earlier, I could see day 22 and so forth and then day 23 (i) but not this. On another note I see that recent IBOS piece has been referenced here)

Day 23

Nasik, May 9, 2008 12:19 pm

A late start to the shoot today and so a little time to catch up on sleep, an element that has been of some concern to many of you.

IBOS Network sent me the above graphics on the TV ratings of some of the game and other shows and I was wondering if, rather than gloat over them, they could become the base of some of my observations.

The strength of KBC as a game show is quite apparent. ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ was and is successful in over 80 countries, so India moved with some degree of advantage, Star TV having tested the waters so to speak, before its launch.

Major stars presenting it came as an added benefit and the little prelude on morals and life I think became attractive for the elders. KBC 1 ran non stop for almost two years and then with an adequate break the 2 and the 3. I am unable to understand its falling interest as the graphs show despite the fact that they were presented by bigger and more popular stars, namely ShahRukh.

And now to see ‘Panchvi Pass’, or as one rival channel executive sniggered, ‘Panchvi Fail’, after its not too encouraging numbers, facing relative lower ratings is what I wish to debate on and would love to have inputs from readers.

Is the format of question answer game shows loosing its shine ?

Despite the presence of the biggest name in the business, why its depleted performance ?

Are the TV ratings a correct indicator of the popularity of a particular show ?

The number of people accessible to TV has exponentially gone up. Does this reflect positively or negatively on the ratings ?

Is the fall in ratings due to the increase in the number of channels ?

These are some of the questions that arose in my mind. I am a layman as far as marketing and research and analysis is concerned and I was wondering if there were some geniuses out there who could enlighten me.

My motive is a little selfish. I am meeting several TV channel executives, keen for me to do something on TV again. They have made several presentations to me. Not knowing the prevalent hits and misses or the reason for their success and failure, I am at a loss as to which one to consider, if I consider at all.

Each project shows potential and each executive feels it is the right choice for me. Obviously I cannot entertain all, but some guidance from quarters that are greatly more knowledged, would be of immense help.

My very limited logic says this.

Humans sleep an average of 7 hrs every day, work at an average of 7 hrs too. That makes it 14hrs. Eating and other formalities another 4 hrs. 18hrs ! Travel and commuting 3hrs (a little more maybe in metro cities due to the traffic). Thats 21hrs. Socializing another 2 hrs. That makes it 23hrs. Of the 24hrs in the day, they get just 1 hr left for TV. Out of the 200 channels on show, which one would they have time to watch and for how long, not taking into account the time taken in surfing to find desirable channel ? Note that I am judiciously not even attempting to go into the territory of individual family member choices and the disputes thereof !

There is grave consternation on my inability to make personal responses to the comments you send. I have only apologies to offer, for, I am still gathering management inputs in the manner in which this can be addressed. I will find something, this I promise and if I cannot will devise some other compensation. So bear with me.

And, Hindustan Times, Mumbai, Thursday ay 8, 2008 carries an article titled ‘Laundered Reputations’ by V. Gangadhar who writes among other things that ‘Amitabh Bachchan has begun to blog’ and ‘has been giving clean chits to himself on all issues’ .

Clean chits Mr Gangadhar have been given to me by the esteemed and honored legal bodies of our land - the Honorable High Courts and the Supreme Court. Casting aspersions on their decisions could bring serious contempt of court proceedings against you. ‘Laundered’ is an ominous term. You are trying to say that the reputation of the individuals that you mention in the article are dirty and that they have been ‘laundered’ to look clean. This is defamatory and downright objectionable. Let me warn you that such remarks if not with drawn, could put you in not too pleasant a location, where you would personally have to be laundering your own clothes every morning !

My love for you and more -

Amitabh Bachchan

There Are 7 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by satyam on 9 May 2008:

    Satyam says:
    May 9th, 2008 at 9:37 pm

    There’s nothing very complicated about all of this with all due respect! First off it’s rather dismaying to see you call other stars ‘bigger’ or ‘more popular’. You have talked about the question of ‘metrics’ but I think such should also be brought up when you evaluate who’s the ‘bigger’ star. You have gone beyond the stage in your career where you have to compete with anyone in pure box office terms. You are currently India’s most transcendent public figure and therefore you must look at the overall market to figure out whether you are the ‘biggest’ or not. I have seen more than a few polls over some years now that reveal you are simply India’s most recognized icon. Your ‘name’ penetrates greater parts of India (according to one of these) than anyone else’s with the exception of the Mahatma, Nehru, Ambedkar. Guess who’s usually next on such lists? Sachin Tendulkar! I am not at all surprised with either result. India is not just a series of major metros but also ’small towns’ and villages. Specially in the latter you might see a hundred people seated around a TV screen for a particular show. If you now correlate the results of those polls with the latter phenomenon it is fair to state that your ‘lead’ over others is even greater than such ratings could suggest. Because if more people recognize your name more would also be drawn to show up around those screens in dhabas and public squares and so forth, any place where a television screen is ’shared’, when you were ‘on’ (incidentally there is no given day in any calendar year when one of your films isn’t shown on one or more of the major channels and for many years now; no other star can even begin to approach this record)!

    This also happens even with your films. I am told that Khakee released in parts of UP where Hindi cinema has more or less become a ‘memory’. Again it’s hard to measure all of this. Not least because those places do not add anything significant to to a film’s gross. And such is also the case with Sachin Tendulkar who is a God everywhere in India but particularly so in small town India. In essence you, followed by Tendulkar, have a very unique hold over the Indian imagination. This should not be measured in your case only by the box office but by your ad campaigns (ranging from ’soft drinks’ to something like the Polio effort where your interventions resulted in a 400% increase in vaccinations) where your appeal across every demographic is very evident. But also by the extent of the media fascination with you. So on and so forth. There are many indicators. Other stars can hardly match you in any of these respects.

    It is certainly true that you have diluted your box office impact considerably. You might have still been the top box office star in absolute terms much as Rajnikant is in Tamil cinema. To an extent poor film decisions on your part have led to this but it also true that cinema everywhere is a youth-driven industry and this puts you at something of a disadvantage in terms of the subjects you can attempt. Nonetheless the fact that you are so extraordinarily ‘present’ in every sense four decades after your debut, the fact that you remain so astonishingly relevant, is a great tribute to your ‘name’ and the force of your ’signature’.

    You said very recently at the Dasavatharam launch that Karunanidhi had presented you with your first National award for Saat Hindustani but that this was only a tribute to his longevity. I must disagree. It is equally a tribute to your longevity and an even greater one in some ways.

    As for those other stars you mention let me put this in stark terms. You had your first significant solo hit in ‘73, you had your most recent solo hit with Cheeni Kum in 2007 (looks like you will have another one in Bhootnath soon!). That is a spread of 34 years. And still counting! For Shahrukh Khan to do the same he would need a solo hit (he had his first solo one in ‘93 with Baazigar) in 2027. Hrithik Roshan (he had one in 2000) would need the same in 2034. I could multiply these examples. But let’s say that this is a rather tall order indeed and one wouldn’t want to bet anything on the odds of either event coming about, not to mention other similar ones!

    Getting back to KBC yes it was a big success in every country it was released but your contribution to it in India can hardly be exaggerated or overrated. Because in India the show became a phenomenon unlike any other. I have seen the success of this show at close quarters in the US and it had nowhere close to the kind of cultural impact that yours did.

    If you are genuinely surprised that Shahrukh Khan or anyone else could not equal your achievement in this format you ought to know that no star is likely to achieve what you have whether in cinema or anything else (or if anyone did it would be yet another ‘authentic’ event)! He is a big star without doubt. He is just not Amitabh Bachchan. Who could be?

    If this is yet another gesture of humility on your part I would suggest this is once again misplaced. Because you can be ‘humble’ without being self-deprecating. You can be ‘humble’ without giving the ‘lie’ to what is (or ought to be) obvious.

  2. Comment by Ravi on 9 May 2008:

    Very nicely written Satyam as always.

  3. Comment by Kanwal on 9 May 2008:

    There is nothing wrong in Big B saying srk is bigger star as he is comparing himself with srk in 2006+ not mid 70’s.And do you know why he said this - because he is sane, and know the reality .

  4. Comment by Kanwal on 9 May 2008:

    No doubt that big b is the most successful actor ever in bollywood but right now he knows where he is as a solo act, just see the opening of bhoothnath after being well hyped.Big b has done a good analysis here.

  5. Comment by Ravi on 9 May 2008:

    Bhoothnath, well hyped?

  6. Comment by rockstar on 9 May 2008:

    “Bhoothnath, well hyped” how ? , and ya if it is correct it proves to proves to propoganda machine bunty and bubli and sarkar where abhishek’s movie , not for nothing he deleivered a big solo guru last year

  7. Comment by ILG on 9 May 2008:

    I think AB is being a bit mischevious here.
    Of course he knows why a KBC3 cannot light a match to KBC1.
    He has to be careful in what he decides to do on TV. One of his biggest shortcomings has been over- exposure. While die hards fans have a less of a problem, ‘casual’ fans get a bit tired. Even the best things are good in small and properly spaced portions.

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