Mythological serials make their way back to television

Back in the mid-eighties, mythologicals had caught the fancy of the nation with viewers glued to the epic tales of Ramayan and Mahabharat on Doordarshan. Their unprecedented popularity set a trend of Godly serials on the tube. The advent of satellite channels saw a holy war with multiple serials on the same God. But, too much of the same, even if it’s from the heavens didn’t go down well with the viewers.

However, everytime a new channel was launched, a mythological serial was considered a must. For instance, when Colors was launched, it had Jai Shri Krishna; and Ramayan in a revamped avatar did the trick for  Imagine. The latest one to join the ‘God’wagon, Devon Ka Dev Mahadev has upped the gross rating points of a relatively new channel Life Ok, for the first time since its launch a few months ago. The beleaguered Sahara One, the only serial that is bringing them a rating of one plus consisently is Jai Jai Jai Bajrangbali.

Says Nikhil Sinha, who is producing Devon Ka..., “We wanted to bring back the glory of mythos on TV as they have always been a source of good entertainment. As kids we have all heard stories of Gods from our grandmother.” It is this familiarity with the subject that draws the viewers to the shows.

Dheeraj Kumar, who has been in the forefront of making mythos like Om Namah Shivay, avers that the stories work because they are deep-rooted in the minds of the people. Which is why, according to Anand Sagar who directed the new Ramayan, mythos are always on the agenda of a channel.

As Prashaant Bhatt, Head of Programming, Fiction, Colors, says, “Mythological genre allows viewers to revisit stories narrated by their ancestors and h as its own set of loyal audience. When the channel was launched,  Jai Shri Krishna struck a chord instantly with the audiences for its appealing storyline and characterisation.” The channel is now re-running the series. Besides this, buzz is that they are set to start airing a new mytho sometime in September this year.

Star Plus, which had shelved Mahabharat, is likely to revive the project with a fresh cast. Even good old Doordarshan is airing Upanishad Ganga in a bid to revive the centuries old cultural heritage and philiosophy of the country.