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THE HUNDRED DESTINATION WOMAN
Anu Malhotra, who heads AIM Television, makes heads turn, not just for the way she looks but also because she makes the best travel shows in the country. She's headed in an altered direction with Breakfast With Zee and explains why:
After films I took a long sabbatical. I went back to my family's business in leather at a time when the film industry was at an all-time low with rampant video piracy. But a few years later when I was asked to host a musical show Farmaish I agreed. I don't think this was downsizing because the television world is much more corporatised and efficient than the film industry is.
What was the idea of producing Breakfast With Zee ? Are you satisfied with the response it has got?
We wanted a genuinely enjoyable breakfast show removed from spiritual programmes and re-runs of comedies that are so prolific on morning TV. Breakfast shows are popular abroad and we broke with the Indian tradition of centering them around news and current affairs. We wanted a fun programme which gives people a break from the riots and corruption which dominate the news. Breakfast With Zee is meant to uplift people to a maximum level of enjoyment and put them in a good mood for the rest of the day. It has been only three weeks since the show was on air and it's too early to guage the response, but things so far look promising.
The standing joke is that your anchors get so much exposure that they always move on to better things?
It's true. We had Sanjay Suri on Indian Holiday who has since become a film star. Mini Mathur was on one of our programmes before she went to MTV full time and so was Gaurav Kapoor before Channel [V] discovered him. We also had Mukul Dev before he became a star. We've always believed that the right anchor is like the perfect fitting garment - he makes the difference between shoddiness and a perfect finish. For Breakfast With Zee we now have Roshan Abbas who's very good and already well known.
Many people say that your first programme Namaste India is still your best to date. Comment.
I don't think so. Indian Holiday was a better programme though Namaste India was ambitious for its time. Five years ago when travel shows were in their infancy Namaste India showed Indians what their country really looked like. We were so fed up of BBC and other foreign channels showing up India in a bad light that we decided to highlight an India that was beautiful. But Indian Holiday took it one step further and actually constructed designer holidays for viewers and vacationers.
You've played anchor/presenter on a number of shows. What stopped you going in for that full-time?
I have presented India Magic and also the Lakme Fashion Catalogue for DD. But I would rather be behind the camera because that's my strength. Being a creative director and producer gives me far more kicks than pouting for the camera. It's the difference between finding a profession and finding a hobby.
After six years in the industry, are you as enamoured of the power of television as you were when you started out?
I think there are two sides to it. In some ways television can be very mediocre and on the other hand it can have an unbelievable impact. Personally, I would never produce a show that wouldn't reflect positive values. I wouldn't dream of passing off something to millions of viewers that would make them cynical of their environment or the times they live in. Do you know I was told by the Tourism Dept., that my Namaste India had done more for tourism than anything they had tried in the last 30-40 years? I believe that inflicting horror shows and crime stories on children is injurious not only to their health but to their whole life condition. What's to stop them from perpetrating what they see on TV? Television makes a great difference, whichever way you look at it.
We heard that there was a time when you were contemplating bringing Who Wants To Be A Millionaire to India but Siddharth Basu beat you to it with Kaun Banega Crorepati?
Yes we were interested in bringing Millionaire to this country and I had mooted the idea to my colleagues and fellow-producers. The next thing we heard, Star had bought the programme and Babu (Basu) was producing and directing it. But we have no regrets because it went to the best man present - and considering it was on Rupert Murdoch Network Worldwide, it would have gone to Star. Right now we're too busy with Breakfast With Zee to brood about it.
You've also done a couple of documentaries including one on Rajasthan...
Yes, the one on Rajasthan is called Colours of Rajasthan and it was challenging, both mentally and physically. We even developed original music for it which was extremely stimulating and enjoyable. Actually I relish travel shows the most because I'm in my element there. It's also a challenge operating within a limited budget because unlike travel shows abroad we can't afford recce expenses.
What are your future plans?
AIM television is developing something for Sony and Star. It's a mixed bag - a thriller, a sitcom, a drama and a game show. Uptil now I was in Delhi but now that I've shifted to Mumbai things will be a whole lot easier. I'll be able to interact more with the channels and that should increase my output. Touchwood.
Sony MAX Ka Jadoo
SONY MAX will be promoting the film 'Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya' throughout the month of August, wherein the viewers will be part of the promotional activities like 'MAX Mehmaan'.
'Max ka Jadoo' a unique contest which will give the viewer an opportunity to win gold instantly by watching MAX everyday from August 15 to 24 during 9 p.m and midnight. Abhishek Bachchan, Kirti Reddy,
Vashu Bhagnani, A.Muthu and Ikram Akhtar will ask the viewers questions related to the film, everyday. The lucky winner will take away 100 gms of gold. All one has to do is answer the question asked by the star, by calling an easy call number 9622006789 flashed on the screen from any of the following cities Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Calcutta.
Two winners will be picked out from the lucky draw and will receive 100 gms of gold each and will be announced in the same programme. In the grand finale on August 25, one mega winner from the 10 days contest will be announced in 'MAX Preview'.
On this ocassion the channel brings you exclusive never-before-scenes from the film Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya at 7.45 p.m on SONY MAX.
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