Wednesday,
July
18,
2007
Soap
queen
Ekta
Kapoor
turned
up
at
the
press
meet
to
launch
her
new
show
Khwaish
for
Sony
despite
not
keeping
too
well.
Shot
in
the
picturesque
Dubai,
the
soap
is
the
first
from
the
Balaji
stable
catering
to
the
audiences
in
Pakistan
and
the
Middle
East.
Besides
expanding
the
television
software
production
house's
market
and
catering
to
public
demand,
Ekta
has
another
purpose
behind
the
making
of
the
new
serial.
"I
hope
to
be
a
bridge
builder
between
these
two
countries," she
said.
Apparently,
when
Kasauti
Zindagi
Kay
and
Kyunki
Saas
Bhi
Bahu
Thi
were
aired
illegally
in
Pakistan,
they
got
higher
TRP
ratings
than
Pakistani
shows.
"Bindis
are
not
common
In
Pakistan,
but
after
the
telecast
of
Kasauti
women
started
sporting
bindis,"
Ekta
informed
proudly.
"So
I
thought
why
should
I
not
make
a
show
for
them?"
Besides,
Pakistan
and
the
Middle-East,
Ekta
has
her
eyes
set
on
other
territories
as
well.
Balaji
shows
were
dubbed
and
aired
in
Sri
Lanka
too,
but
when
their
popularity
increased,
the
government
introduced
taxation
on
them.
"It
is
similar
to
octroi
which
is
imposed
on
imported
cars
so
that
the
Indian
market
does
not
suffer,"
explained
Ekta.
The
only
solution
in
sight
was
to
make
shows
featuring
local
artistes,
especially
for
the
Sri
Lankan
audience.
However,
the
scripts
are
original,
executed
by
specialized
creative
teams.
After
making
her
mark
in
Indian
television,
the
tycoon
dreams
of
reaching
other
milestones.
She
still
needs
to
come
up
with
"something
concrete"
for
the
NRI
audience,
and
a
foothold
is
needed
in
the
Hindi
film
industry,
too.
"Once
that
is
done,
I'm
also
planning
to
invest
in
South
Indian
language
films,"
informed
Ekta.
As
of
now,
Balaji
will
concentrate
on
television
software
and
producing
Hindi
and
Bhojpuri
films.
So
finally
Balaji
is
going
global
in
a
major
way?
"No,
I
wish
I
could
say
so.
At
present,
I'm
only
catering
to
a
few
south-east
Asian
countries,"
replied
Ekta.
At
the
same
time,
Ekta
is
slowing
disassociating
herself
with
the
daily
workings
of
the
soaps;
she
has
even
credited
Kyunki
and
Khwaish
to
Nivedita
Basu.
"I
will
now
act
as
a
trouble
shooter.
My
team
can
come
to
me
for
suggestions
and
I
will
intervene
for
a
month
only
when
I
find
that
the
serial
is
not
doing
well,"
Ekta
declared.
It
was
Ekta
who
started
off
the
trend
of
dailies
on
Indian
television.
"I'm
not
the
channel
and
I
only
do
what
the
channel
demands
of
me.
But
yes,
I
desperately
want
to
change
the
viewing
pattern
once
again,
from
dailies
to
weeklies".
That's
if
housewives,
who
form
a
major
chunk
of
her
audience,
accept
the
change.
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read...
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