MUMBAI: The promos have been hitting viewers hard with a frequency that has probably been seen rarely before. You guessed right: we are talking about Millie the new Star Plus series which is scheduled to debut in the 9 pm band on 4 April. It is being tomtommed as a series with a difference and it looks different from the rest of the saas-bahu weepy women fare on the leading GEC, if one goes by the promos.
A young orphan girl walks into a household that's having rifts galore as a domestic. She shakes it up and how, bringing in sunshine - a la Rajesh Khanna in Bawarchi - leaving her mark on every member!
With a storyline like that, there is every possibility that it will appeal to all age groups in the Indian TV viewing household.
Proffers Star Plus creative director Shailja Kejriwal : "We are not trying to get new audiences. We are just trying to retain them. This is not a niche show at all. This is the first time, I can confidently say that we have made a show that will appeal to 6 - 60 years. Millie does not have a basic target group and is family viewing in the real sense of the term. "
Who is Millie really?
You don't feel sorry for her but you want to protect her!
She makes you laugh and you want to cuddle her!
She is a maid but you want to make her your daughter!
The above multiple dimensions in Millie's personality, she avers, will make the show that revolves around her an appealing one to watch during prime time.
"I think what will really strike a connect with the viewers is Millie's spirit," proffers Kejriwal. "Millie is a girl who has a zest for life with buckets full of enthusiasm. She is the most spirited lead character on television. "
It is probably for the first time that television is making servants very integral to the plot of a series. So, one will see a different strata of society, delve into their concerns, humour and their way of life.
"Apart from having the family values, and various facets of the family, you have the servant class and the convent orphans. In that sense, there is a whole cross section of society that exist within this show," points out Kejriwal.
Millie is a format show adapted from an Argentinean telenovella Wild Angel. It is produced by Vinita Nanda and Moses, the same team that brought in the Rahul Bose-Koel Purie starrer White Noise.
The channel's management expect an average TRP of 7 in the Hindi speaking markets.
Kejriwal is confident that Millie is going to emerge as the 9 pm girl, though she is replacing four very well-known faces on television Dr Juhi (Gurdeep Kohli), Pammi (Sangeeta Ghosh), Flight Lieutant Monica (Sai Deodar) and Karishma (Pallavi Kulkarni). "I have great hopes for Mona Vasu (Millie). This is the biggest launch ever for her. On television, the launch that an actor gets beats even the biggest film being released. The exposure that television stars get today is unprecedented. So, she is definitely the next 9 pm girl."
