Life OK's betting it big for the upcoming show 'The Bachelorette'
In India, we have seen channels adapting international concepts and carving them according to the taste of the Indian audience. These days reality shows on television are undoubtedly creating loads of buzz on all the platforms. Interaction and engagement with such shows make them the preferred choice for audiences. Earlier we have seen shows like Rakhi Ka Swayamwar, Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayega and Ratan Ka Rishta telecast on NDTV Imagine and built on the concept where the actors would choose their life partner on the television medium and that too within a stipulated duration . These shows do grab eyeballs but of have been conspicuous by their absence on the small screen.
Life OK the channel known for it’s differentiated programming content such as Mahadev , Savitri, Shapath etc. is all set to roll out their most expensive show on the television screens this October.
Life OK shared the concept of The Bachelorette India - Mere Khayalon ki Mallika, the most anticipated show of Indian television months back when they announced the call for entries for the show and since then till date have received a fabulous response for the show. The show Bachelorette India is completely different from the shows mentioned above because it’s not the adaption of international show The Bachelor; but has acquired rights from Warner Bros.
In an exclusive interaction with selective media at Udaipur, Ajit Thakur, General Manager, Life OK, Pratik Seal, Marketing Head, Life OK , Fazila Allana, SOL Productions and Rishi Tyagi, Director, The Bachelorette India – Mere Khayalon ki Mallika shared insights with regard to the show and also agreed that it is the most expensive show for the channel so far in terms of both marketing and content.
At the onset of the interaction Thakur sharing the reason behind focusing much on this show, said, “We did research and understood that the channel has different audience viewership and has preference in comparison to other GEC’s. We want to be different from the network of channels present today. Post IPL we launched fiction shows like – Kaisa Yeh Ishq Hai, Do Dil ek Jaan and Police Dial 100 but now we wanted to create buzz and visibility for the channel through a show which will cater pan India, and whole family, and there was no better choice than The Bachelorette India.”
Starting 7th October 2013, the series will showcase an epic battle between the 30 final contestants as they fight it out for Mallika’s love, and will run for 90 days airing five days a week, but as of now the time-slot has not yet been finalised.
In a quest to finding her love, Life OK and Mallika Sherawat together have selected the most eligible men from across the globe to bedazzle her. This was done after a series of interviews, auditions and background checks. All the selected contestants come from varied backgrounds. It will showcase contestants from 
As a part of channels marketing plan, Seal explained, “We are planning to start off with the promotions of the show from 15th September, with traditional mediums like TV, Radio and print which will continue on digital and social media platforms from next week. Life OK will be promoting the show on 40 television channels outside the STAR India bouquet of channels, including music, sports, kids and news channels and plans to reach out to 37 cities through radio. Since the concept was announced it has caused a buzz on the digital and social media platform.”
For the first time the channel plans to run branded buses as a 
Seal added, “We are planning to run branded buses in a few towns in U.P. and Gujarat. Digital will also be integrated with the bus activation and the feed will be live on YouTube. We are focusing extensively on Outdoor and Digital mediums and soon will be launching an app too.”
The approximate budget for the show excluding marketing is said to be more than 30 crore.
Allana, who has produced shows earlier on the similar concept, explained how this plot is different from the earlier ones. She said, “It’s challenging and apart from that it is a totally different concept, produced for the first time in India. We have roped in Anu Malik and his daughter to build a title track for the show and a lot of hard work and budget has been invested for The Bachelorette.”
The Indian version of the globally acclaimed, competitive reality dating game show is packed with a desi punch which will be high on entertainment quotient as a host of celebrities will help Mallika make the right choice. Rohit Roy will be seen hosting the series and as the presenter, he will serve as a bridge between Mallika and the contestants.
For Tyagi, this is his first non-fiction show that he’s directing. When asked how challenging it has been for him, he said, “ I have directed many fiction shows for Hindi GEC’s, but this is my first reality show. In reality show, there’s actually not much to direct but yes bringing out realism and getting the best is a huge task. There’s always a surprise element in non-fiction that we have come across. The set is really big and we have opted for the multi-camera set up. We have shot the show maximum in Udaipur and Agra, and as of now 8-9 episodes have already been shot with the help of more than 200 crew members.”
“As we are launching the show during the festive season with Mallika, we are hoping for good responses. The channel was launched with an ideology to be different and so no saas-bahu sagas were presented. Coming to the non-fiction category the channel never had singing or dancing reality shows like other GEC’s. With the kind of programmes we are offering we are reaching out to our audiences extensively and also looking forward to it. On the anvil are a set of new shows that will be launched soon in the coming months,” concluded Thakur.
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