ETV Marathi launches Zhunj Marathmoli with Shreyas Talpade
Regional channels today are on par with their counterparts viz. the Hindi and English entertainment channels. With no intention of lagging behind, ETV Marathi too is breaking new grounds of innovation in the regional space and with new concepts in their non-fiction space is capturing the viewer’s attention like never before. Their latest offering Zhunj Marathmoli promises to provide a heady concoction of action and drama while showcasing Maharashtra’s cultural extravaganza. Maharashtra is all set to embark on a unique road-trip with 14 celebrities and one dynamic host. Truly bringing alive the vast scenic expanse of the state, this new show with actor Shreyas Talpade at the driver’s seat promises to get the celebrity contestants to battle it out as they embark on this road-trip through their motherland.
The title Zhunj Marathmoli is derived from an expression used for a cock fight in the interiors of Maharashtra meaning ‘fight for respect as a true Maharashtrian’. The contestants will prove their grit and determination as they overcome the tough tasks assigned to them.
Speaking about this new role as host and the concept of the show, actor par excellence Shreyas Talpade said “Zhunj Marathmoli is a show that will make the youth of Maharashtra celebrate their motherland. Being a part of this show is a matter of immense pride and has helped me experience the unexplored traditions and locations of Maharashtra. I am sure that the show will entertain, educate and emotionally connect with the viewers of Maharashtra.”
According to Poddar, Zhunj Maratahmoli is another endeavour from ETV Marathi which believes in introducing shows that bring alive the Maharashtrian ethos and are contemporary and visually enriching. He also believes that through its engaging content and never seen before representation of Maharashtra, the show is sure to strike a chord with its viewers.
Anuj Poddar explaining the rationale behind coming out with a show of this genre said, "We started out on a completely clean slate and the team has been working on this since the last 6 months. The idea was to do a non-fiction that is different. In the last 1 year we have done KHMC, and we have also done our own dance shows which have not been a copy of any show in the television space. This time we thought of doing something different that has not been attempted in the Marathi space and we were very clear that we wanted to do something which involved a youthful attitude, and that is a segment we want to aggressively tap into. Thus the thought of starting a non-fiction materialized which would cover the youth as well as the entire family with a blend of the cultural element added to it. We were not keen on a studio based show and hence the cultural element had to come from an outdoor show so we ideated on loads of different versions before deciding the final concept."
He further stressed that Zhunj Marathmoli being a youth based show it would see participation from the dominant segment in the age group of 15-24 and 25-34 which is a significant segment of the audience. “In anything that we do, we are clear that we are a GEC meant for family viewing and for the young audience, making sure that there is something for everybody since we believe in catering to all age groups." “With an ideal mix of action and drama, we are sure that the show will help establish brand ETV Marathi as a channel that caters to all age groups. We are sure that the viewers as well as our advertisers will appreciate the novelty and scale of this show,” he further added.
Director Abinay Deo, of Ramesh Deo Productions who will be producing the show shared his views on the differentiated content that will be visible in this unique show. He said, “Zhunj Marathmoli will set new benchmarks of scale and grandeur on Marathi television. Apart from the fact that such a format has never before been explored on Marathi television, the show will also see a high decibel entertainment along with a fresh perspective of Maharashtra which the viewers are sure to love. My objective while creatively supervising the show will be to ensure that show has an attitude and style that is at par with the Hindi GEC and is a visual extravagance for its viewers.”
When asked how Abhinay Deo and his production house was their first choice in their latest venture, Poddar informed, “We've been associated with him and his production house in the past when they did a dance show for us. We share a long standing relation with Ramesh Deo Productions both as Viacom and as ETV. Three months back I had shared this thought with Abhinay of doing something very different in the Marathi space since he along with his team is capable of technical enhancement and have good production value."
Seen in an all new avatar on this Marathi television’s redefining entertainer will be actors & comedians Pandaharinath Kamble & Arti Solanki, choreographer Megha Sampat, actors Swapnil Rajshekhar Bhutkar & Vikram Gaikwad, performers Hemlata Bane & Satish Shivaji Dede, Celebrity Chef Parag Kanhere and reckoned singer and actor Tyagraj Khandilkar. Adding further drama, action and entertainment to the show will be the diva of Marathi television Deepti Devi, beautiful fashionistas Megha Dhade, Ruchi Savaran & Manisha Kelka and the handsome multifaceted stylist and dancer Abhijit Thakur.
Shedding light on the marketing and promotional activities Poddar said, “Particularly for this show we are going aggressive on digital. We released the music video on this which we first broke on Facebook and not on television. We will simultaneously use traditional media - cross channel TV, print, OOH and radio but given the attitude of the show we will be focusing more on social media than in the past.”
With regard to the budget for marketing he revealed that it is a single digit crore and a huge budget for Marathi television. “To us Zunjh Marathmoli is a flagship show for which the multi-layer campaign started 12 weeks before the show teaser was released,” he said.
Talks are already on for season 2 of the show. Does the network have plans of launching the show in other languages too? Replying to this Poddar said, “ That could be our interest sometime in the future but I think it's a little too early as we are yet to prove ourselves with this format and our focus right now is to set it right since shooting for the show has been a learning process for us ."
Commenting on the response received, Poddar shared that the response has been overwhelming in terms of likes and shares on Facebook. Despite being in the initial stages it has been the biggest response the channel has received for any of their Marathi shows. Plans are also on to add more elements like live chat on the platform to engage with their audience.
The sponsors for the show include Luna while two more activations are expected to be announced next week. Though he is hopeful with the show Poddar avers, “Marathi television has always been under-valued by the advertising community. We are proving that we truly believe in this space and are confident that advertisers too will understand our viewpoint. For us it is the value and growth that counts.”
On a concluding note Poddar said, “Interestingly KHMC was a benchmark for us in terms of rates and advertising and now it's already 30 percent higher than the rates we got on KHMC season 2 which is yet on air. The promo of the show Zhunj Marathmoli speaks for itself.”
The Marathi television’s first action road-trip, is all set to create a new wave of entertainment Produced by Ramesh Deo Production and Logical Thinkers, this new high octane show is all set to transform entertainment across Marathi television space starting 26th May, 2014 every Monday and Tuesday at 9.00pm
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