As Creative and Business Head, Creative Eye Limited, I am sure of having a very exciting journey ahead. Having said this, it is very early days as of now, as it has just been 20 days since I joined.
But yes, unlike my previous stint with SAB TV wherein I helped others to create shows, this opportunity will give me the chance to create concepts for myself. As you are aware, I have had a vast journey which started with me being a Creative Director, ad film maker, writer, director and channel head. I have always been able to keep reinventing myself creatively throughout. Now that I am on the other side, I asked myself whether I can create television content on my won. So yes, this will be a very exciting journey for me. But having said this, I have done all this earlier too. The only difference is that I will be creating content for myself here.
The journey with SAB TV was very satisfying, and more than being happy about reaching the top, the biggest satisfaction stemmed from the fact that for five days in a week, we made nearly 10 crore consumers smile and laugh with their families
The journey with SAB TV was very satisfying, and more than being happy about reaching the top, the biggest satisfaction stemmed from the fact that for five days in a week, we made nearly 10 crore consumers smile and laugh with their families. That was my high, where I was spreading a lot of happiness and laughter into families. Yes, I got a lot of professional accolades during this journey, but that came with the territory. Otherwise, my great excitement and contentment came with creating the content that made people smile.
Having seen both the sides of functioning, that is from the broadcaster’s end as well as the makers’ end, I will say that each has its own pros and cons. I am a person who will go with the flow of life. Once something is done, it stops exciting me. I took SAB TV to another level, and there was nothing more to explore. Here, Dheerajji’s (Kumar) is a Public Limited Company, one of the renowned production houses in the last few decades. Now the challenge is to take it to the top of the industry. So it is an exciting new challenge for me.
I am a person who will go with the flow of life. Once something is done, it stops exciting me. I took SAB TV to another level, and there was nothing more to explore
Dheerajji and my association have been for four years now. And that was when we developed fondness towards each other’s work. We had been in talks for this association, and we were waiting to take the plunge. And it was only logical that we started to work together.
Talking about my goals with Creative Eye Limited, I want to make it a robust production house which has a significant presence in television, digital, films and animation. You will agree with me that 20 days is too short to show up any development. Certainly, as we move on, there should be logically lot of developments. The aim is, as I said earlier, we should have significant presence in the verticals mentioned. To achieve that, we will have to create some compelling products and I am currently engaged in creating such products.
Dheerajji and my association have been for four years now. And that was when we developed fondness towards each other’s work. We had been in talks for this association, and we were waiting to take the plunge. And it was only logical that we started to work together
At Creative Eye, we are looking at all genres.All have seen my work in the comedy space. But just to tell you, at one time, two of my daily soaps were at the top. Even in ad films, I have always offered various flavours. So wherever there are opportunities, we will want to create good content.
The biggest addition to the Creative Eye diversification will be the branch out into the digital space. We have already seen a shift of viewership from the GECs to the digital. I only see that growing. Just like in the West, once the digital platforms become active you always have control on what you want to watch and when you want to watch. Having said this, there will always be a section of the viewers who will always stick to TV. Considering the fact that the larger Indian television viewing population consists of housewives, they will always want to look for television as the medium for entertainment. It might take a long time for them to graduate to the digital space. But I think the male audiences and the working class, especially in metros have gradually started to wean away from TV and have opted the digital space. Overall, it remains to be seen whether the homemakers migrate, and if they do, what percentage of them migrate and the time process that will take for them to do so.
Talking about my goals with Creative Eye Limited, I want to make it a robust production house which has a significant presence in television, digital, films and animation. . Already, Dheerajji has a beautiful team in place, and we will be utilizing their services as we move ahead
Digital space is really good and I don’t think there are any cons in it. At the end of the day, you are servicing the consumer. You are giving another option to the consumer which they are happy to lap up. It’s not only a great medium but also viable in business prospect.
Talking about comedy programs thriving today, well, I will not want to comment on them. But I will have to say that whatever is working it’s because a section of the crowd likes such programs. There is a demand for such content which is being met. That’s it!! I don’t think there is anything left to do in India in comedy in terms of reinvention. We have all kinds of comedy whether it is the stand-up comedy, various flavours of comedy tried out at SAB, family comedy, verbal comedy etc etc. So all genres of comedy that are existent across the world have been explored and exploited on TV in India.
Getting back to Creative eye, ‘Good stories told well’ – will be what viewers can look forward to in the days to come. We are in talks for International association also, but till we have anything in concrete, we will not want to talk about it. But I will want to tell one thing; I am very happy with the team that Dheerajji already has on board. Dheerajij, of course, is very creative, but apart from him, Sandhyaji, I have discovered is an amazing creative person; she has such an amazing collection of ideas already listed on board. CFO Mr. Sunil is again a fine, sharp, financially excellent person. Already, Dheerajji has a beautiful team in place, and we will be utilizing their services as we move ahead.
All I can say is that, watch the space at Creative Eye as we have a lot in store and keep reading IndianWikiMedia.
(As told to Srividya Rajesh)
