Sony Entertainment Television India's chief creative director Sandiip Sikcand is the newly appointed man in the newly created position, tasked with the job of scripting a turnaround in the ratings fortunes of the network's flagship channel Set. And it is a task cut out for the experienced hand from Balaji Telefilms, who has been the creative head for projects such as K Street Pali Hill, Kkusum, Kaisa Ye Pyar Hai and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii.
After a four-year stint with Balaji working under the overarching leadership of Ekta Kapoor, Sikcand is tuning himself to a corporate structure, wherein he will be steering the creative aspects of Sony and also concentrating more on fiction. Geared to making a mark and getting the channel going, Sikcand talks about his plans and the road ahead in a conversation with Indiantelevision.com'sManisha Bhattacharjee.
Experts:
You are handling Sony, but the network also has Sab, so how do you differentiate and segregate the shows between the two channels? |
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With Sony now in third position, what is the course of action that the channel is planning? |
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You are looking at launching only soaps, does that signify that reality will take a back seat? We are presently running Jhalak Dikkhla Jaa. And will be launching Bigg Boss on November 3. In May, we have scheduled the launch of the third season of Indian Idol. We are also devising our own little reality show, which will be aired twice a week, which we are targeting to launch in February or March. |
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So what is this reality show that is homegrown? |
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Not being on a strong wicket as of now, and launching so many shows, isn't it too much too soon? Likewise, I do not see Sony coming back to number two or number one position overnight. It is process, which we have already started working towards. I am not saying either that all the shows are going to be stupendous successes. Some of the shows might not even work, we might have to pull them off and replace them with some other products. We are all geared for that. But it is a definitive step towards changing the number position of the channel. |
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It is a tough battle for Sony, as it has to fight the leader Star Plus and Zee, which has bounced back after a long while? |
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So what is the strategy you are looking at employing to help the channel stand up? |
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Besides looking at strengthening you prime band. Are you looking at the other bands? |
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What's this obsession networks in general seem to have with reality shows? But, the point being that the ratio with be 80:20 (in favour of soaps). We will have specific reality show making sure that we do not bring in the fatigue factor and also that we do not overkill it. |
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The channel will be shortly launching Bigg Boss. There are many who are skeptical about the chances of success in India of a show that is so in your face voyeuristic as Bigg Boss is? What makes you confident the Indian public will like such a concept? I do not believe in bifurcating my programmes into reality or fiction. Eventually, it is all about entertainment. It is important to understand that if soaps give you a certain amount of interest, so does the reality show. The fact remains that reality shows are clicking and drawing in viewers and that soaps have always brought in audiences. |
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So are you saying it is not reality vs soaps? |
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CAS is likely to change the dynamics of the television market? Your thoughts? |
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How do you view the whole general entertainment market? |
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You were present at Mipcom. What were the formats that you enjoyed? Well, there was this Endemol game show where one can win a fixed amount of money for his entire life span. Another show that I enjoyed was a reality show where a girl has to spot an eligible guy out of three where you have a gay, one already taken and a single guy. It is a show that can never be made in India. But the concept was interesting. |
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So have how many formats are you buying? |
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Has the tie-up with Smriti Irani affected your channel's relationship with Balaji? Now that I am with Sony, anything that I have to do, I will do for the betterment of the channel. Smirit had an amazing concept. So I see no reason why I should not do that show. In fact, Sony had been approaching Balaji for the last two months even before I joined. Ekta had her own reasons for not doing a show for Sony as she said that she is tied up somewhere else. But she is to do a show for Sab, for which she has time, which is great. That she has no time to do a show for Sony, is absolutely fine and acceptable. As and when she has a concept for Sony, all she has to do is dial my number. |
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Today, Sony is third, Zee had been lurking in this position for long. Zee's soaps have given them a fresh lease of life? |
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In the current situation, with your experience is it a tough battle to manage a channel's programming? It is a whole new corporate world. I feel at home. In this world of entertainment it is a combination of competitiveness and fun. I belief I too need my fair chance to prove myself. |
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What is the road map for Sony for 2007? |