Anil Kapoor returns ” On AXN with "24', a US superhit

As the world found itself drawn into a benumbing battle against terrorism, an amoral anti-terror warrior appeared on the American TV-land. The warrior was insouciant in his belief that the ends justified the means, and torture was an ethical instrument in an era in which decency, humanity, and law were bloodied and gasping constructs. The warrior was Jack Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland, and the show that presented his disconcerting heroics was "24' ” it debuted on November 6, 2001, just a month after 9/11.

Now, AXN is bringing the show's eighth season to India. The series opens on August 23 and features India's Bollywood grandee, Anil Kapoor, in a key role. In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Rohit Bhandari, senior vice-president of AXN & Animax, explained the salient aspects of the forthcoming "24' season, whose finale was telecast in the US on May 24.

The show will run through 24 episodes, Bhandari said. When asked how many of those episodes would feature Kapoor, Bhandari said: "I don't want to share that information because it is an integral part of the storyline and it is best if people watch the show and see how the story unfolds."

It seems likely that the show will be telecast from 11 pm. "That is the slot which has been developed over the years for GECs," Bhandari said. "And that is time slot we will be looking at."

As for the promotional drive for the show, Bhandari said that Kapoor would play a significant part in it. "Mr Kapoor is going to be a part of everything," Bhandari said. "He is one of the finest actors India has produced. Also, one has to hand it to him for his longevity in the business. After having worked for so many years in the Hindi film industry, the next step was Hollywood. And American television was the next big thing to happen to him."

Bhandari said Kapoor delivers a spectacular performance in "24', playing Omar Hassan, the moderate leader of Kamistan, a fictional and Iran-like country in the Middle East.

"I have only seen a couple of episodes. Mr Kapoor is an integral part of the storyline," Bhandari said. "He is excited about this. And the fact that it is going to be seen in India for the first time is adding to the excitement. He is definitely going to be part of all the promotions."

Adgully asked Bhandari if some tinkering had been necessary to make "24' suitable for Indian TV. "We have done a couple of things," Bhandari said. "Earlier, there were eight seasons of "24', and one episode was relayed every week for 24 weeks. This time, "24' will be played four times a week and will conclude in six weeks. We are planning to include subtitles, something AXN normally doesn't do." Bhandari said the inclusion of subtitles would increase the reach of the show.

"We are also going to re-look the break structure," Bhandari said. "Normally, we used to have four breaks in the hourly show format. But here, we will have just one short ad break to persuade viewers to stay with the show. Our scheduling will be from Monday to Thursday. And the repeat will be from Tuesday to Friday, at 10 pm." Bhandari said there would also be a weekend repeat from 7 pm to 9 pm.

Adgully asked Bhandari why AXN had picked up "24' for India. He said the decision was consistent with the channel's strategy of presenting the A-list of programmes in this country. "We have some the biggest shows on American television like "House', "Lost', "Numbers' and others," Bhandari said. "With a show like "24', we want to give an opportunity to the audience to enjoy the show in an extended-period format. We just try to be a little innovative in scheduling the shows."

The promotion for the show's debut would be impactful, Bhandari said. "There is going to be an outdoor component where we want to announce to the world that "24' is launching on the 23rd of August and that Anil Kapoor is debuting on American television," he said. "Basically the highlights of the show will be featured. We will be cross-promoting by means of blind spots across like-minded channels. We are going online and using Facebook and Twitter. Last but not the least, Mr Kapoor has been doing a lot of press interviews and he will be doing more during this week."

Bhandari said the channel does not reveal ad budgets. "But broadly speaking, this is one of our larger projects of the year," he said. "This probably would account for 20-25% of our annual budget."

As for the innovation of introducing subtitles, Bhandari said AXN had tried it once in the past. "For us, this is an experiment with a popular show with a popular star who relates to India very well," Bhandari said. "We are doing this to expand our audience base. But today, all English-movie channels are using subtitles and some English-entertainment channels are also doing that."

Bhandari concluded by saying that AXN had some reality shows coming up over the next two to three months. "Generally, we telecast reality shows between 9 pm and 10 pm," he said. "Currently, it is a little premature to talk about the new reality shows. At any rate, we have a local show under discussion right now." He said that AXN had acquired a new show called NCIS: LA (Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Los Angeles) which stars LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell. "They are known faces in Hollywood," Bhandari said. "These are the big shows that will be rolled out in the next couple of months."