'Taarak Mehta' owes its longevity to its strong script: Anooj Kapoor

‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’ has been going strong for eight years now and recently completely 1,900 episodes. What makes the show’s success noteworthy is that over the years the core concept has not changed, nor have the main characters. No fantasy elements have been introduced, there have been no time leaps, Gokuldham Society continues to be the home of all the action.

In an era where shows are going off air in a span of six months, and channels are also going for finite shows, family entertainers such as ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’ have managed to sustain themselves with good viewership ratings. With its clean entertaining values and subtle social message, the show has been entertaining the viewers since 2008 and continues to do so with its slice of life stories boasting of a loyal fan following.

In fact, the show has managed to surpass other popular Indian TV shows:

F.I.R. (SAB TV) – 1,323 episodes (2006 – 2015)

C.I.D (Sony Entertainment Television) – 1,346 episodes (1998 – still running)

Kasautii Zindagii Kay (Star Plus) – 1,423 episodes (2001 – 2008)

Kumkum – Ek pyara sa bandhan (Star Plus) – 1,449 episodes (2000 -2009)

Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii (Star Plus) – 1,661 episodes (2000 -2008)

Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (Star Plus) – 1,833 (2000 – 2008)

In conversation with AdGully, Anooj Kapoor, Senior EVP & Business Head, SAB TV, speaks about what has kept the audiences coming back to the show, the importance of having a strong script and relatable characters and more.

AdGully (AG): When ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’ launched in 2008, did you expect the show to have such a long run?
Anooj Kapoor (AK): Whenever you launch a new show, you launch it with the best intentions and the best expectations, but yes, we had certainly not expected to complete 1900 episodes. Therefore, it is a very big plus for us and a very big achievement for us.

AG: What do you think has led to the longevity of the show?
AK: The strength, the backbone of a TV show or a movie is always the script. In this case, for several decades, before the show was made, the article ‘Taarak Mehta Nu Ooltah Chashmah’ used to appear in ‘Chitralekha’ magazine every week. The flavour of the article was consistent and very well-defined and the article built a loyal audience base over the years. So, because the core of the show had already been defined by Taarak Mehta and adapted very accurately by Ashok Modi, there was complete clarity on which direction the show should go to what kind of characters there will be, because it all existed on paper much before we went on air. That, I think, has really helped not only in terms of belting out consistently good episodes centered around one core theme, but also in bringing in additional audiences for Taarak Mehta from those people and families who have been reading that article for several decades.

AG: How has the concept and storyline of the show evolved over the years keeping in mind the changing audience tastes?
AK: I think the best part of it is that it hasn’t changed and the reason for that is the way the basic format of the show has been set up right from 2008 is the way that the audiences loved it, So they love Daya and Jetha, who are the main protagonists; they love the interaction amongst the society members; they love the other families staying in the society. Therefore the reason why it has continued to be so valued is: first, a lot of material already exists written by Taarak Mehta that has been adapted into fresh stories every week; secondly, within the stories we have been successfully able to bring in freshness and variation without disturbing the core of the show.

AG: How have you been able to keep the audiences so invested with the characters of the show?
AK: Primarily, the concept of the show itself is very enticing – that within a society we are showing families who are coming from different strata and regions. So, Gokuldham Society is a replica of the nation and very positively delivers the message of unity in diversity. The various characters are very well depicted and fleshed out. I think in terms of getting the cast in the first place, Ashok Modi was bang on in getting the people who were not only accurate in their depiction but almost looked the character themselves. That has resonated very well with the audiences. That apart, we also keep doing various connect programmes where we take the artistes to various parts of the country to interact with the local people and have a lot of coverage on that.

AG: Could you share some details on how Taarak Mehta and the Smurfs got together?
AK: The Smurfs was a great integration because it was a Sony Pictures release, so it was a great network integration as well as it provided a fresh visual to the audiences and again while not deviating from the core of the show, brought in a certain variety. However, in the last eight years, such instances have been very few and far in between, and therefore I dedicate the success of the show to the very accurate and apt characterisation, the strong script and of course, the passion of the maker Ashok Modi, who is very dedicated to ensuring that the quality of the show doesn’t fall.