Wednesday,
October
10,
2007
Reality
shows
are
here
to
stay.
And
there's
no
doubt
about
it
especially
when
television
tycoon
Ekta
Kapoor
bets
her
money
on
it.
The
young
businesswoman
is
now
planning
to
make
an
acting-based
reality
show
for
Sony
TV
on
the
lines
of
Zee's
"Cinestar
Ki
Khoj".
She
has
been
taking
keen
interest
in
making
shows
for
the
channel,
especially
since
Sandeep
Sickand
quit
it.
While
Balaji
serial
"Khwaish" is
already
on
air,
sources
say
about
three
more
shows
are
in
the
pipeline,
one
of
them
being
the
reality
show
on
acting.
However,
statistics
show
that
only
reality
shows
based
on
singing
and
dancing
have
got
the
TRPs
soaring.
The
second
innings
of
Zee
TV's
acting
talent
hunt
"Zee
Cinestar
Ki
Khoj"
failed
to
earn
the
kind
of
TRP
ratings
its
debut
show
did.
The
response
led
to
Sony
and
Star
steering
clear
of
reality
shows
based
on
acting.
But
all
that
can
change,
believe
industry
insiders,
if
Ekta
puts
her
mind
to
it.
And
when
the
soap
queen
makes
a
plan,
usually
there
is
solid
conviction
behind
it.
Buzz
is
that
the
sudden
shift
of
focus
towards
Sony
is
because
Ekta's
top
actors
like
Prachi
Desai,
Ronit
Roy
and
Jai
Bhanushali
are
participating
in
"Jhalak
Dikhla
Jaa",
in
which
papa
Jeetendra
is
also
a
judge.
"With
her
increased
involvement
in
the
channel's
programming,
Ekta
has
already
occupied
the
hot
seat
in
the
organizational
hierarchy.
Her
serial
has
pushed
up
the
TRPs
of
the
channel,"
said
a
source
employed
with
the
channel.
Another
speculation
is
that
her
tilt
towards
Sony
is
because
her
serials
on
Star
Plus
and
Zee
are
not
doing
too
well
these
days.
However,
a
creative
person
associated
with
Balaji
Telefilms
is
all
praise
for
her
boss:
"Ekta
is
the
queen
of
soaps.
Whatever
be
the
matter,
she
is
enjoying
very
good
viewership
for
all
her
shows.
It
is
just
that
she
is
spreading
her
wings
and
not
limiting
herself
to
a
few
channels."
But
then,
the
TRP
charts
prove
otherwise.
Even
a
mythological-historical
show
like
"Prithviraj
Chauhan"
is
enjoying
higher
TRPs
than
Balaji's
prime-time
soaps.
Had
that
not
been
the
truth,
why
would
Ekta
sack
six
of
her
creative
people
all
at
one
go.
Her
rift
with
her
subordinates
could
also
be
because
of
her
bossy
attitude.
Her
possessiveness
about
her
actors
is
a
very
well-known
fact
in
the
television
industry.
At
the
same
time,
Ekta
also
has
loyal
supporters
amongst
her
actors.
Aspiring
actor
Jai
Bhanushali,
one
of
the
participants
in
"Jhalak
Dikhla
Jaa"
and
the
lead
of
"Kayamath",
says:
"Ekta
never
stops
us
from
doing
anything
we
want.
She
told
us
that
if
we
can
manage
it
then
we
could
go
ahead
and
work
with
other
channels
and
media
houses.
She
said
we
should
just
see
to
it
that
our
work
does
not
get
affected.
Ekta
wants
her
work
to
be
perfect
and
that's
it."
But
then,
would
any
actor
working
for
Ekta
dare
to
say
a
word
against
her?
Wouldn't
that
be
suicidal,
especially
when
one
is
at
the
threshold
of
a
career
in
television?
It's
only
after
carving
a
niche
for
themselves
that
Smriti
Irani
and
Cezzane
Khan
dared
to
stand
up
to
Ekta.
A
few
months
back,
when
Ekta
launched
Dhoop,
she
was
asked
if
it
were
an
alternative
to
her
serials
just
in
case
they
flop.
Her
reply
was
much
in
the
face.
"Yes,
may
be
you
all
can
consider
this
as
an
alternative
as
my
serials
are
not
doing
well."
Well,
Ekta
we
hope
that
your
new
experiment
of
getting
into
the
arena
of
reality
shows
saves
you
the
Dhoop
of
poor
TRPs
of
your
soaps.
Here's
hoping
Ekta
sets
a
new
trend
with
her
reality
show
on
acting
on
Sony.