Exclusive | Colors all set with Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat...!
As it is believed in the Indian broadcasting space that if the investment in content is right then the shows on its own can build a connect with its audiences. Colors, right from the time of its launch has always experimented with different genre and unusual storylines. In their quest to catch the attention of the viewers the channel is now all geared up to launch another masterpiece from its bouquet of offerings.
After three and a half years (after Veer-Shivaji), Colors is all geared up to launch one of its most expensive and biggest historical offering of the year, Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat which is the creation of one of the sharpest minds in the entertainment industry . The show brings together some well-known faces from the industry and some outstanding technicians.
Produced by Contiloe Productions, the show has been extensively shot in various exotic locales across the country. A mammoth set with intricate designs which are reminiscent of that era have been put together at ND Studios, Karjat by two incredibly gifted designers, Omung Kumar and Nitin Desai. The opulent Mauryan era will be brought alive through the use of high-end VFX technology to make the overall viewing experience more engaging and entertaining for viewers.
With Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat, the channel aims to take the Indian audience beyond the confines of history books to narrate the never told saga of Emperor Ashoka for the first time on television.
Nayak said, “We have been toying with this idea since long as we wanted to launch something that breaks the clutter and stands tall as one of the marquee shows in the historical genre. While the television space has had a lot of shows in this genre but nobody had ever experimented with Ashoka and we hope that the visually rich scene-setter, epic sets and renowned cast provide the audience with a new perspective into one of our most magnificent projects in recent times.”
ChakravartinAshokaSamrat brings together a powerful ensemble cast which includes Siddharth Nigam (Ashoka), PallaviSubhash (Dharma), Sameer Dharmadhikari (Bindusara), Manoj Joshi (Chanakya), TejSapru (SeleucusNicator), Suzanne Bernert (Helena), SumitKaul (Justin), and Ankita Sharma (Noor Khorasan) among others.
Apart from that the channel has designed a special treat for television viewers and gaming enthusiasts. A 3D adventure-based shooter game called Ashoka: The Warrior will give players an opportunity to step into the shoes of Emperor Ashoka and fight off enemies and probable assassins before they can cause him any harm. Developed by Vroovy, the Game will be available for download from 28th January. Vroovy-a joint venture between South Asia’s largest Digital Media company; Hungama and India’s largest game service company; Gameshastra.
As creating a historical show is not an easy affair and takes a lot of research and development, when asked Singh on the production value and what went behind while creating this show, he said, “Absolutely it was not an easy job. We have been working passionately behind taking this show on-air. With a lot of research we are able to present a story on the life of India’s greatest ruler, Ashoka. The challenge for us is to make it a spectacle that is authentic yet relatable for today’s evolved viewers. Schedules have been synchronized and camera time has been maximized to ensure on-time delivery for such a large scale production.”
When asked about his expectations from this show, Nayak said, “No one can predict success and failure though but mythology and history are two genres that have always worked well in television space. These genres work because of the fact that they cater to wide age group of audience.”
The show is set to replace another big property of Colors, Bigg Boss and will air every Monday to Friday at 9:00 PM only on Colors. So on asking whether a weekday and a one hour slot would do justice to the show, Nayak said, “We at Colors are known as trendsetters and would always want to break the conventional style of programming. A show like this would need time to build a connect with its audiences and it would take time to convey the story in the right manner hence a weekday-one-hour slot is perfect for this show.”
Also as it has been seen and observed that historical shows do not always abide by the actual historical facts and production houses take severe creative liberties. Singh here opined that every show needs to be dramatised to an extent and history has to be told in an interesting manner but what matters is the fact that how one correctly fills in the blanks while creating a show.
A senior media planner on condition of anonymity said it’s a big gamble for the channel to launch such an expensive historical show .However he also opined that the show has been able to create a stir since the promos have gone live for quite some time now. Also it’s a story which has never been told in the television space. What remains to be seen how it can hold the attention of viewers.
As it’s a wait and watch game for now but we at Adgully wish the show, Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat a great success. | By Aanchal Kohli | Twitter: @aanchalkohli